(Minghui.org) A woman’s back was broken while she was chained and shackled at the command of a guard captain at Lanzhou City First Detention Center. Detained for practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Yuan Xiuying had to be carried out by her cellmate to meet with her lawyer in December 2017.

Her hands were cuffed and chained to ankle shackles for nine days. The injury rendered her unable to sleep on her back and needing help to get out of bed. There is now a protrusion on her back and she is in constant pain.

Falun Gong is a mind and body practice persecuted in China since 1999. Ms. Yuan told her lawyer that she had suffered diarrhea for over a month because of the abuses she was forced to endure.

Ms. Yuan has filed a lawsuit and a complaint.

Unjustified Persecution

Ms. Yuan, 50, began the practice in September 1996. She was fired from her job in the Public Office after the persecution began in 1999. Over the years, authorities detained her twice and ransacked her home three times. Her latest arrest occurred on June 18, 2017 when she was taken from her home.

Ms. Yuan practiced the Falun Gong exercises while she was in Lanzhou First Detention Center to stay healthy. A captain of the guards instigated other detainees to beat and insult her. She was frequently not allowed to use the toilet. This lasted for five months during which time she had diarrhea for a month.

Ms. Yuan refused to wear a prison uniform, stating that remaining steadfast in her chosen faith was no crime. The captain, Li Li, ordered a man from another brigade, Ding Runping, to put handcuffs and shackles on her. The handcuffs were then chained to the shackles. Ding held Ms. Yuan down to prevent her from struggling while he chained her up. Ms. Yuan heard her spine snap and told Ding. Ding ignored her remark.

She has had a painful protrusion on her spine ever since. She couldn’t sit, had a hard time lying down, and needed help out of bed. Despite all her troubles, she had to stay in a bent-over position 24 hours a day because her handcuffs were chained to the shackles.

Someone had to carry her when she needed to use a toilet and go to bed. She had to drink water from a straw and had a hard time getting food to her mouth. The cuffs and shackles were removed nine days later on Dec 7, 2017. Ms. Yuan’s back has hurt constantly since then.

Ms. Yuan’s father and husband went to the detention center on Jan 19, 2018, to complain about the torture. Director Jin Aixing told them that an investigation would be conducted. Jin later called the family and said that Ms. Yuan’s health was fine after she had a checkup at a local hospital.

The family didn’t believe this and asked Deputy Director Wu Jingdong for the health report on Feb 14. The X-ray report showed a fracture in Ms. Yuan’s T11 vertebra of the thoracic spine.

Wu promised that the authorities would have Ms. Yuan re-examined in a better hospital. When the family asked to speak with Ms. Yuan over the phone in accordance with the rules of the detention center, the chief stopped responding and the family was given the runaround.

Detention center guards told Ms. Yuan that she was fine physically.

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