Hunan Woman Imprisoned for Third Time for Speaking Up for Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A Xiangtan City, Hunan Province resident was imprisoned on April 28, 2021 to serve her third term for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Lu Mengjun, 59, was arrested, and her home was ransacked, on June 2, 2020. The police held her at the Xiangtan City Detention Center and denied her family visits. It was reported that Ms. Lu was secretly sentenced to 7.5 years in Hunan Province Women’s Prison. Details of her case remain unclear at the time of writing.

Ms. Lu took up Falun Gong in 2003, and she credits the practice for her quick recovery from severe rheumatism. For telling people the facts about Falun Gong and raising awareness about the persecution, she has been sentenced twice for a total of eight years, before being convicted a third time.

While Ms. Lu survived the torture in custody, two of the practitioners who were arrested along with her, in 2007 and 2013, Mr. Lu Songming and Mr. Liu Liyan, have both been persecuted to death, in 2021 and 2014, respectively.

First Four-year Prison Term

Ms. Lu and Mr. Lu (no relations) were arrested on February 4, 2007 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Ms. Lu was later sentenced to four years in Hunan Province Women’s Prison, and Mr. Lu received five years in the Jinshi Prison.

Because Ms. Lu did the Falun Gong exercises in the prison, the guards handcuffed her, slapped her in the face, and forced her to stand facing a wall for 24 hours without closing her eyes, or the inmates would apply irritating oil to her eyes.

Ms. Lu was later taken to the sixth ward in the prison. She was once forced to stand upright around the clock for a month. The guards also handcuffed her arms behind her back, with one hand pulled over her shoulder to meet the other hand twisted upwards behind her back. This excruciating torture caused the bones of her right hand to become exposed. Her left arm was completely bruised, and she struggles to lift her right arm even now. As the guards repeatedly handcuffed her in this manner, the injuries on her wrists were unable to heal.

Torture reenactment: Handcuffed with the arms behind one’s back

To force Ms. Lu to give up practicing Falun Gong, the guards instigated inmates to submerge her head in a large bucket of water. They repeated the torture until the inmates themselves became exhausted. They then forced Ms. Lu to stand with her hands cuffed. They didn’t allow her to sleep. When she couldn’t keep her eyes open, they applied the irritating oil to her.

Torture illustration: Submerging one’s head in water

Ms. Lu said she couldn’t remember how many times she was tortured. The long term handcuffing caused her hands to suffer severe infection and the wound just wouldn’t heal. She couldn’t lift her right arm, and had to do laundry with her feet.

At one time, the guards ordered her to sew bamboo mats. As she couldn’t finish the task on time, several inmates lifted her up and threw her down. Her tailbone fractured as a result and the pain was excruciating. Whenever she groaned due to the pain, the inmates came over and beat her. The guards didn’t take her to the hospital until two months later.

The day after she was released on February 3, 2011, Ms. Lu was arrested again and sent to a brainwashing center. She was arrested once more at home on September 27, 2011 and taken to the brainwashing center again.

Second Four-year Prison Term

Ms. Lu and Mr. Liu were arrested on September 2, 2013, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was sentenced to four years and Mr. Liu to three and a half years in March 2014.

One day after Ms. Lu was taken to the Hunan Province Women’s Prison on June 12, 2014, Mr. Liu died suddenly in the hospital. His family said his mouth was stuffed with gauze and his body was covered with bruises. An autopsy indicated that there were blood clots in his brain and his internal organs had been injured.

Shortly after Ms. Lu was released on September 1, 2017, she was arrested again on October 17 and held at a brainwashing center.

Related reports:

Mr. Liu Liyan and Ms. Lu Mengjun from Xiangtan Illegally Sentenced

Ms. Lu Mengjun Arrested Again after Four Years of Imprisonment and Torture

Ms. Lu Mengjun Tortured at Hunan Women's Prison for Three Years

Once Imprisoned for Eight Years, Hunan Woman Arrested for Her Faith Again