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12 More Falun Gong Practitioners Confirmed Dead From Torture in China - Actual Death Toll Remains Unknown |
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Deaths, Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners Considered "State Secrets" in China
Individuals who have exposed the illegal detention, torture and
deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Chinese police custody have been charged
with "leaking state secrets," and sentenced to prison terms or held in detention
and tortured themselves. The following Falun Gong practitioners were recently confirmed
dead. The available names and phone numbers of those responsible for the deaths
of these 12 people are included below: Woman Tortured to Death with Electric Shock Baton - Family
Members Forbidden to See Her Body Liu Shumin was arrested in Tianjin in 2001 and taken to the 5th
Brigade of the Banqiao Labor Camp, where she was forced to perform hard labor
every day. In mid-January 2003, several Falun Gong practitioners in the camp
decided to protest their illegal detention by going on a hunger strike. The
police, led by a particular guard surnamed Kou, attempted to force practitioners
back to work by beating and shocking them with electric batons. Several practitioners
were injured, including Liu Shumin, who died very soon thereafter. In attempts to avoid responsibility for their actions, labor
camp officials declared that Liu Shumin died from a heart attack and forbade
her family members to see her body. Local Police Loot Falun Gong Practitioners' Homes, Beat Practitioner
to Death In the Meihua Police Station in Maoming City, Guangdong Province,
a practitioner named Yang Cheng was illegally detained and then beaten to death
in April 2001 by a police officer named Liang Zheng. Woman Abducted from Home, Dies Two Weeks Later On the morning of January 30th, 2002, Mrs. Zhou Biru was preparing
a meal for her family at her home in Jiulong Town, Pengzhou City. Zhao Gukai
and other police from the Guankou Police Station forced her to open the door
and let them in. They proceeded to beat her, falsely claiming that Ms. Zhou
had "attacked" them. They looted her home and took her to the city detention
center. A week later, her family was told to come and take her home. Ms. Zhou,
who was previously very healthy, was in terrible health upon returning home,
and died just a week later. Her family did not dare to give out details about
her death for fear of reprisal from the police. Persons Responsible for Zhou Biru's Death: Elderly Man Has Home Ransacked, Found Dead the Next Day Guo Jiaxiang was a man in his 60's who worked at a chemical plant
in Linfen City, Shanxi Province. In July 1999 when the persecution of Falun
Gong commenced, armed police rushed into his workplace and confiscated his Falun
Dafa books. Although he tried to protect the books with his life, he was no
match for the policemen. According to witnesses, he cried out loudly. The next
day, July 21, 1999, he was found dead at his home in the chemical plant residence
complex. Police Admit to Practitioner's Death, But Claim Cause Was
Tuberculosis Mr. Liu Zaofeng was a farmer in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province.
He was detained in Shijiazhuang City because he practiced Falun Gong and died
from torture on July 1st, 2002. The Daming County Public Security Bureau recently
confirmed his death and that he was a farmer, but refused to reveal where he
was detained or where he was from. Although they admitted that he died soon
after returning home from where he was detained, they claimed that he died from
tuberculosis, a common ploy to relieve themselves of responsibility for their
beating practitioners to the edge of death. Woman Dies From Force-Feeding, Husband Still Detained in Labor
Camp Mrs. Gao Shuhua, a middle-aged woman from Weifang City in Shandong
Province, was illegally detained on March 13th, 2003, while handing out materials
about Falun Gong. She was detained in the Shuiku "Re-Education" Center, where
she was tortured both mentally and physically. She attempted a hunger strike
to protest her illegal detention, and was force-fed brutally as a result. Badly
wounded from repeated beatings, she died from on March 27th, 2003. Mrs. Gao's
husband is also currently in detention at the Changle Labor Camp in Weifang
City. Practitioner Dies After Torture in Forced Labor Camp, Family
Forced to Keep Silent Yao Sanzhong was a 34 year-old university graduate who resided
in Luohe City in Henan Province. The local "610" Office sentenced him to 3 years
in the Xuchang Forced Labor Camp. He was tortured nearly to the point of death.
In December 2002, fearing his death while in their custody, Xuchang Labor Camp
staff took Mr. Yao and dumped him, alone and close to death, on the side of
a road in a distant unfamiliar city. His family got word of this and had him
sent to a hospital for emergency treatment even though it would cost them thousands
of Yuan per day. Despite their efforts to save him, Mr. Yao passed away in mid-January. After Mr. Yao's death, the Luohe City "610" Office placed Mr.
Yao's wife and child under strict surveillance in attempts to keep the story
of their crimes from being told. Persons Responsible: Relentless Abuse Leads Shandong Woman to Mental Breakdown
and Death Ms. Bo Shihua lived in the Laiwu Iron Group Residence in Shandong
Province. She was sent to the Shandong No.2 Labor Camp, and later to the Wangcun
Female Labor Camp because she practiced Falun Gong. She was later confined to
a group brainwashing "class" near where she lived, administered by the local
"610" Office. There Ms. Bo was physically and psychologically abused to the
point of having a mental breakdown. She passed away in March 2003. Female Medical Student Killed in Labor Camp - Hole Found in
Her Head Dong Cuifang, a 29 year-old female resident of Gaocheng City,
Hebei Province, was a medical student at a university in Shijiazhuang City when
she began to practice Falun Gong. She went to Tiananmen Square many times to
appeal for justice for Falun Gong, and was constantly harassed by police for
doing so. In the Spring of 2002, Ms. Dong was arrested while handing out
flyers and sent to the Daxing Forced Labor Camp in Beijing. She died from torture
on March 20th, 2003, ten minutes after being delivered to a hospital for emergency
treatment. Her body was black and blue all over, and sources report a hole in
her head (it's not certain whether this was caused by a bullet or by some other
weapon). The Hebei Security Bureau notified Ms. Dong's family of the news, claiming
that Ms. Dong died from a mental collapse. Practitioner Dies in an Inner Mongolia Forced Labor Camp -
Five Other Lives in Grave Danger Ms. Zheng Lanfeng, 39, lived in Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia.
She was sent to the Tumuji Labor Camp at the end of 2000 and forced to perform
hard labor for a year because she would not give up her practice of Falun Gong. On February 11th, 2003, Hongshan District police officers arrested
her while she was handing out flyers. On February 28th, she died from torture.
Her body was sent to the Chifeng No.3 Hospital. Her family came and saw that
her body was black and blue from intense beatings, yet guards forbade anyone
from touching Ms. Zheng's body, and followed her family with two police cars,
even to the funeral. Five other Falun Gong practitioners, including Zhou Caixia, a
Chifeng City General Labor Union Official, are hunger striking to protest their
illegal detention in the Chifeng No.3 Hospital. Their lives are in grave danger. Middle Aged Woman Paralyzed From Torture Eventually Dies Ms. Chen Xingtao lived in Yanglin Village, situated in Yueyang
County, Hunan Province. On January 31st, 2001, she was confined to the Baimalong
Female Labor Camp in Hunan Province because of her refusal to renounce her faith
in Falun Gong. Ms. Chen's legs were paralyzed after the beatings she received.
Crippled, she was released on May 17th, 2001, and after a year of suffering,
she passed away on May 27th, 2002. 50 Year-Old Woman Dies After Only a Week of Detention An employee of the Handan Daily Editorial Department, Ms. Zhang
Xiaoru lived in Handan City, Hebei Province. She left her home to escape persecution
by the "610" Office in 2001, and had no home of her own for two years. On February
27th, 2003, while handing out flyers, Ms. Zhang was arrested by the Puyang City
Public Security Bureau in Henan Province. She died a week later from the brutal
torture inflicted on her. Posting date: 1/May/2003 |
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Australian Falun Dafa Information Centre: www.falunau.org |