Persecution Deaths of 33 Falun Gong Practitioners Reported July - September 2022
(Minghui.org) Minghui.org confirmed a total of 33 Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death for their faith between July and September 2022.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Since its introduction to the public in 1992, countless people have been drawn to its profound principles and health benefits. Fearing its ever-growing popularity, the Chinese communist regime launched a nationwide campaign in July 1999, attempting to stamp out the practice.
The newly-confirmed 33 deaths include one practitioner who died in 2009, one in 2015, one in 2019, three in 2020, five in 2021, and twenty-two in 2022. For the death cases that occurred in 2022, two practitioners died in January, one in February, two in April, one in May, two in June, seven in July, six in August, and one in September.
Since 92 deaths were reported in the first half of the year, the new information between July and September brought the year-to-date reported death cases to 125 (92+33), which could also be broken down into 73 cases that happened in 2022, and 52 in earlier years.
As of October 20, 2022, a total of 4,856 deaths have been confirmed since the onset of the persecution. The actual death toll is likely much higher due to strict information censorship in China.
Eight of the 33 newly-reported cases took place in Sichuan Province, five in Hebei, and three in Hunan and Henan each. Four other provinces had two cases each, and nine other provinces or municipalities each had one case.
Several of the deceased practitioners were professionals, including a famous author, a retired HR director, a former journalist, a government official, a factory technical expert, and company executives.
The 33 practitioners, 16 of them women, who died were between 39 and 87. Four were in their 80s and eleven were in their 70s. Several of the elderly practitioners succumbed to the mental distress from the persecution or were dealt a heavy blow following the arrests and incarceration of their loved ones, also for practicing Falun Gong.
Six practitioners passed away while still in custody, including days after being arrested or taken to prison. Several others died after being released from prison, after their health was damaged by the relentless torture in custody. One practitioner fell to his death after he was pushed out of a window by the police.
Below are a selection of the deaths. The full list of the 33 deceased practitioners can be downloaded here (PDF).
Deaths in Custody
Retired HR Director Dies the Day after Being Arrested for Practicing Falun Gong
Mr. Li Guoxun, a retired human resources director in Zhoukou City, Henan Province, died one day after he was arrested for practicing Falun Gong. He was 70 years old.
Mr. Li was arrested at home by eight officers at 11 a.m. on July 18, 2022. The police claimed that he and his wife, Ms. Yu Xiuying, had been reported for distributing Falun Gong materials. Without presenting a search warrant, the police confiscated the couple’s Falun Gong books, photo of Falun Gong’s founder, computer, media player, cellphone, and even their electric motorcycle.
They took the couple to the Zhoukou Economic Development Zone Police Station to prevent them from “disrupting social stability” prior to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party that opened on October 16, 2022.
The next evening, the police told Ms. Yu that Mr. Li was seriously ill (even though he was already dead). They released her and ordered her to stay at home. The couple’s motorcycle and cellphone were returned.
Ms. Yu was devastated to learn of Mr. Li’s death when her son said that the police had called and told him his father had died of a stroke. They said they’d taken him to the local funeral home. The police had him cremated, without allowing Ms. Yu or her son to see Mr. Li one last time.
Author and Educator Dies Six Days After Being Admitted to Prison
Mr. Wang Xueming, a well-known author and educator in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, was arrested on November 20, 2020, while he was in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia to give lectures on traditional Chinese culture. An insider revealed that he had been reported by a student’s parent for talking to him about Falun Gong. He was later sentenced to a four-year prison term.
Mr. Wang Xueming
Mr. Wang’s family was informed of his death on September 21, 2022, only six days after he was taken to the Hohhot No. 1 Prison in Inner Mongolia. While the prison refused to reveal any details, his family suspects that he died from torture, as he had always been healthy before being arrested.
Mr. Wang, who used the pen names of Yun Xiao and Tang Ming in his writings, held a bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and literature from Sichuan Normal University and a master’s degree in education from Southwest Normal University. He was a member of the Sichuan Writers Association and a director of the Longquan Writers Association. He was also awarded “Top Ten Outstanding Writers on Sohu.com in 2007.”
Former Journalist Dies in Prison Hospital 16 Months after Being Jailed for His Faith
Sixteen months after a Baoding City, Hebei Province man was transferred to the Jidong No. 5 Prison to serve a seven-year term for practicing Falun Gong, he passed away on August 10, 2022, in the hospital affiliated with the prison. Mr. Yang Zhixiong was 58 years old.
According to Mr. Yang’s family, when they saw his body at the Tangshan Union Hospital, he was emaciated and his eyes and mouth were wide open.
Mr. Yang had fallen into a coma due to myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells) on June 30, 2022, but the guards waited for two days before taking him to the hospital. Prior to that, he had often struggled with pain in his back and legs.
Mr. Yang was kept in the intensive care unit for nearly 40 days, between July 2 and August 10, and his family visitation was restricted. The guards also kept him handcuffed and shackled. A prison guard told his family after his passing that if Mr. Yang had renounced Falun Gong, they wouldn’t have treated him this way.
Mr. Yang Zhixiong
Mr. Yang was arrested on September 26, 2019, and sentenced to 6.5 years in prison on December 1, 2020. His appeal was rejected and he was taken to the Jidong No. 5 Prison around April 2021.
Denied Food in Prison, Shaanxi Man Chokes to Death When Finally Allowed to Eat
Because Mr. Niu Xuedong, of Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, refused to renounce Falun Gong while serving an unknown term at the Weinan Prison, he was once dragged out into the snow in only a thin layer of clothes by inmate Wang Kai. Wang struck him with a stick over 100 times, leaving Mr. Liu in a delirious state. He could no longer recognize people, and often relieved himself in his pants, unaware of what he was doing.
The head inmate later cut off Mr. Niu’s food and didn’t allow anyone to feed him, leaving him starved all the time. On February 26, 2022, when he was finally given two hot steamed buns, Mr. Niu ate so fast that he choked to death.
61-year-old Woman Dies in Custody Ten Months after Being Arrested
Ms. Li Jihui, a Pengzhou City, Sichuan Province, resident, passed away on January 20, 2022, after being detained for ten months for practicing Falun Gong. She was 61 years old.
Ms. Li was arrested on March 1, 2021, when she handed Falun Gong informational materials to a man, without knowing that he was a plainclothes officer. She held a hunger strike at the Chengdu City Detention Center to protest the persecution.
She developed severe anemia in October 2021. Her family applied to have her released on bail so she could receive medical treatment. The detention center denied the request.
A guard informed Ms. Li’s 30-year-old daughter in early January 2022 that she was in critical condition. Her daughter again demanded her immediate release, but it was still denied.
Ms. Li’s daughter was suddenly notified in mid-January to fill out her bail release document. This time her daughter insisted that the detention center cover the medical expenses, as Ms. Li developed the condition while in custody. The detention center denied that they bore responsibility for Ms. Li’s medical treatment.
A few days later, on January 20, Ms. Li passed away at the Chengdu Disease Prevention and Control Hospital. Her body was cremated three days later. The detention center paid for her funeral expenses. Officers from the Danjingshan Police Station followed her family throughout the entire cremation ceremony.
Deaths After Prison Release
Heilongjiang Woman Develops Cancer While in Custody, Dies Months after Release
Ms. Yan Jinxia, of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, developed uterine cancer while being detained for her faith in Falun Gong. Her condition continued to deteriorate after she was released. She passed away on January 17, 2022. She was 59 years old.
Ms. Yan was arrested on the evening of September 22, 2020, as part of the “Zero-out” harassment campaign that was sweeping across the country in 2020. Every Falun Gong practitioner on the government’s blacklist was targeted and ordered to renounce their faith.
Ms. Yan was first held at the Harbin City No. 4 Detention Center. When she refused to recite the detention center rules or write a statement renouncing Falun Gong, the authorities transferred her to the Harbin City No. 2 Detention Center.
The guards there forced her to sit on a small stool for long hours and exposed her to low temperatures, which caused her to have excessive vaginal bleeding. The guards would not get her any medical attention until her family paid them first. Although she was diagnosed with late-stage uterine cancer, the guards refused to release her and continued to pressure her to write statements renouncing Falun Gong.
Despite her condition, Ms. Yan was later made to stand trial at the detention center, and was sentenced to six months in prison. She was released after serving the full term.
Ms. Yan’s condition continued to deteriorate after she returned home. Although her family took her to the hospital, the doctor said she was beyond help. She passed away in less than a year, on January 17, 2022.
Liaoning Man’s Health Ruined by Torture in Prison, Dies Three Years After Release
Mr. Zhang Guoyou, a resident in Xinbin County, Fushun City, Liaoning Province, had systemic edema, difficulty breathing, and heart failure when he was released from prison in 2019 after serving three years. He struggled with failing health for the next three years and passed away on August 5, 2022. He was 76 years old.
Mr. Zhang was arrested on June 26, 2015 for filing a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese communist regime who ordered the persecution in 1999. He stood trial at Tonghua County Court on November 23, 2015 and was sentenced to a three-year prison term. Having been previously released on bail, Mr. Zhang was taken back into custody at Tonghua City Detention Center on March 31, 2016, and later to Gongzhuling Prison.
To prevent Mr. Zhang Guoyou from appealing the verdict, the detention center guards deceived him into writing a note, worded, “I agree with the sentence and I will not appeal.” Mr. Zhang later came to his senses and asked for the note back, but the guards refused to return it. He also could no longer find his verdict, which was needed for him to file the appeal.
Salt Factory Technical Expert Blinded After Serving Four Years, Dies Eight Years Later
Because she upheld her faith in Falun Gong, Ms. Liu Siqing served two labor camp terms and a prison term. By the time she was released from prison in 2014, she had almost completely lost her vision as a result of the torture. She struggled with poor health for the next few years, while facing continued pressure from the persecution. She passed away on May 4, 2022, at age 59. Even months before her death, local authorities harassed her three times.
Ms. Liu’s last arrest was on March 1, 2010, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was beaten by the police and her body was covered with bruises. The Jialing District Court later sentenced her to a four-year prison term.
At Jianyang Women’s Prison, guard Huang Yanping forced her to say loudly “I’m a bad person” for every step she took. She was also ordered to recite the prison rules and perform forced labor. The tremendous mental pressure took a toll on her health. She was in a delirious state and always felt very nervous. She developed high blood pressure, diabetes, and a heart condition. Her vision declined quickly. The food provided in the prison was extremely poor and she was always starved.
Real Estate Company Executive Dies Three Months After Serving Five Years
Mr. Wu Guangcheng, a former real estate company executive, was very weak when he was released on April 6, 2022, after serving five years for practicing Falun Gong. The Kunming City, Yunnan Province resident slipped and fell on July 27 while using the restroom. He lost consciousness and died hours later. He was 63 years old.
Mr. Wu Guangcheng
Mr. Wu’s passing capped his two decades of suffering for upholding his faith. In addition to his latest 5-year term, he served two labor camp terms totaling 3 years, and a prison term of 6.5 years.
In addition to his own ordeal, his wife, Ms. Wang Deping, was also given two labor camp terms totaling five years, for practicing Falun Gong. Their son was traumatized by the persecution and developed a mental disorder. He is unable to work, and stays at home all the time.
While Mr. Sun Renzhi survived three years of relentless torture in prison for practicing Falun Gong, the Mianyang City, Sichuan Province resident suffered declining health due to continued harassment and passed away two years later on June 25, 2022. He was 68 years old. A residential committee director had come to harass him just twelve days before his death.
Mr. Sun, a former credit union director, had been repeatedly arrested after the Chinese communist regime began to persecute Falun Gong, as well as had his home ransacked and been held in brainwashing centers. He was given 1.5 years at Xinhua Forced Labor Camp in 2003 for distributing Falun Gong materials.
His second to last arrest was on December 13, 2016 for talking to people about Falun Gong. He was given 15 days at Anzhou Lockup.
Mr. Sun’s last arrest was on April 9, 2017, also for talking to people about Falun Gong. He stood trial at the Anzhou District Court on March 27, 2018. The judge sentenced him to three years with a 10,000-yuan fine on May 22.
At the Jiazhou Prison, Mr. Sun had spicy water sprayed onto his face and into his eyes. He was also deprived of sleep, denied the use of the restroom, beaten for hours, and then forced to squat. When he protested the torture, the inmates poured boiling water over his head and down to his neck.
Deaths of Elderly Practitioners While Their Loved Ones Are Still Serving Time
85-year-old Wife Dies in Distress, 82-year-old Husband Still Imprisoned
After living in fear for two decades through the persecution of Falun Gong, an 85-year-old woman passed away on August 24, 2022, with her 82-year-old husband still serving a five-year term for his faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Wang Yue was a retired teacher in Sanhe City, Hebei Province. Her husband, Mr. Ma Weishan, was arrested on April 22, 2014 for sending text messages about Falun Gong. The Sanhe City Court sentenced him to a five-year term on November 5, 2015.
Mr. Ma was later released on parole, only to be arrested again on September 28, 2018, after he was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a farmers’ market. Despite his high blood pressure, the local detention center accepted him and transferred him to the Jidong Prison days later to serve out his five-year term.
Mr. Ma’s incarceration dealt Ms. Wang a heavy blow. She often cried, and her health quickly declined, especially her diabetes. Suffering persistent high fever, she was hospitalized in July 2022, yet the doctors couldn’t bring her temperature down after a month. In her final days, she often mumbled, “Why hasn’t Weishan come back home yet?”
Mr. Ma Weishan and Ms. Wang Yue submitting their criminal complaint on May 25, 2015 against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999
Elderly Woman Passes Away After Her Daughter’s Two Recent Arrests and Prison Sentence
Shortly after a Beijing resident was sentenced to 1.5 years for practicing Falun Gong, her elderly mother, who shared the same faith, passed away.
While distributing informational materials about Falun Gong on the street on June 4, 2020, Ms. Xu Yanqiu placed a copy on a car, without knowing that it belonged to a police officer. When the police came to arrest Ms. Xu at the home of her mother Ms. Kang Shuling, the elderly woman, then 74, went after the police, trying to stop them. The police threw two of her confiscated Falun Gong books out of the car and drove away as she picked up the books.
By the time Ms. Xu was released after 15 days of detention, Ms. Kang had become incapacitated due to the mental distress from worrying about her. The elderly woman couldn’t talk and was unable to take care of herself.
Ms. Xu was arrested again on September 17, after she was reported for distributing Falun Gong materials while taking her mother out for a walk on August 25. The Fangshan District Court quickly handed down a verdict of a 1.5-year prison sentence and a 2,000-yuan fine on December 25, 2020.
Ms. Xu’s sentencing dealt Ms. Kang a heavy blow. Her health continued to deteriorate and she passed away on September 16, 2021.
Death Following Displacement to Avoid the Persecution
Mr. Luo Zhenggui and his wife were forced to live away from their home after he was put on residential surveillance following a brief detention on November 5, 2021. The Gulin County, Sichuan Province, resident suffered declining health while he was displaced. He returned home in critical condition and passed away two weeks later, on July 6, 2022, six days after the passing of his mother-in-law. He was 87 years old.
Mr. Luo, a former Shibao Township Government official, had been repeatedly arrested, harassed, and detained for refusing to give up his faith after the Chinese communist regime launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate Falun Gong from China in July 1999.
Mr. Luo served three and a half years between 2004 and 2007. Although he escaped another arrest in 2009, the authorities confiscated his apartment and suspended his pension. He was forced to move from one place to another until he was arrested again in 2012 and given a second prison sentence of four years.
Mr. Luo’s last arrest was on November 5, 2021, when he was on his way home after visiting a bank. The police smashed the lock on his rental apartment and raided the place. Mr. Luo’s wife, Ms. Zhang Ziqin, was at home caring for her mother when the police broke in.
Upon entering, the police held Ms. Zhang’s arms and didn’t let her move. They took photos of her and recorded her voice, all against her will. Only when her mother insisted that she be allowed to change her diaper did the police loosen their grip.
After taking Mr. Luo to the Gulin County Police Department for interrogation, the police measured his height and weight and collected his fingerprints and footprints. They also took his photo and recorded his voice. They then took him to the hospital for a physical exam before taking him home at around 11:30 p.m.
The police also attempted to arrest Ms. Zhang and carry her away. But because she shouted for help and struggled, the police gave up and interrogated her at home.
When the police took Mr. Luo home, they announced that the couple would be placed under residential surveillance. To avoid further persecution, Ms. Zhang entrusted others to help take care of her mother and lived away from home with Mr. Luo.
When Mr. Luo’s health started to decline while on the run, they decided to return home. But shortly after that, Ms. Zhang was dealt a heavy blow with the death of her mother and Mr. Luo six days apart.
Hebei Man Dies After 19 Years of Displacement
Mr. Zhou Shuquan and his wife had been forced to live in displacement since 2002, to avoid being arrested for their shared faith in Falun Gong. They constantly moved from place to place, doing menial jobs with minimum pay, in order to survive. The hardship of life took a toll on his health. He passed away on December 9, 2021. He was only 55 years old.
Mr. Zhou, a Luan County, Hebei Province resident, developed a severe heart condition in his early 30s. He often felt dizzy and tightness in his chest. He couldn’t do anything while suffering a medical episode. Unable to afford medical treatment, he endured the ailment, only to have more frequent episodes.
Mr. Zhou took up Falun Gong in 1998 and his condition soon disappeared. He was full of energy and took on more work for the family. He paid off a huge family debt left by his parents and felt optimistic about the future.
With the onset of the persecution a year later, Mr. Zhou was arrested in September 1999 and tied up by the police. They tightened the rope every once in a while. The torture caused excruciating pain and he almost fainted. He lost feeling in his arms and legs, and had bruises on his body.
In addition to the tying torture, the police also beat him, slapped him in the face, and pulled his hair. One officer burned his wrist with a cigarette, leaving a large, permanent scar.
When his family delivered food to him in the evening, they noted that he was exhausted, unable to move or eat. At the time, the police chief came over. Mr. Zhou gathered all his strength to stand up and tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to him. The chief refused to listen and slapped him in the face in front of his family.
Mr. Zhou’s mother, wife, and uncle sought help everywhere. After he was finally released, he suffered lasting pain in his back, which often prevented him from falling asleep at night. It took more than 40 days for him to recover.
The authorities then confiscated Mr. Zhou’s ID and arranged for people to monitor him around the clock. His relatives also shunned him. Not wanting to live under such persecution, he decided to live away from home with his wife in late 2002. The authorities looked for him everywhere. His family also couldn’t live a normal life, due to frequent police harassment.
Mr. Zhou sometimes returned home in the middle of the night, to check how his daughter was doing. The girl later wandered around with her parents, despite the hardship. When it was time for her to start high school, she was denied admission, as she couldn’t provide local household registration.
Without an ID, Mr. Zhou did all kinds of odd jobs to make a living, including raising pigs, and loading and delivering goods. The family stayed in a deserted mobile home, which didn’t have any lights. Without heat in the winter, they had to keep all their clothes and shoes on while sleeping.
Mr. Zhou and his family moved from place to place over the years to hide from the authorities. They rented a small room in 2012. By then, his mother was in her 80s and struggled with severe kidney stones. She had trouble drinking water and relieving herself. To take care of her, Mr. Zhou took her to his rental place, only to be followed and reported to the police by someone who knew the family.
A group of officers broke into their residence early on the morning of June 9, 2012. As Mr. Zhou hadn’t come back from working a night shift, the police arrested his wife and took her to the Shijiazhuang Women’s Forced Labor Camp two weeks later.
Mr. Zhou was again forced to live away from the family. His mother, who was traumatized by the police, soon passed away. His teenage daughter was then left at home alone and struggled to take care of herself.
Years of hardship and mental distress took a toll on Mr. Zhou’s health. He suddenly fainted while walking on the street in December 2021. Despite emergency treatment, he passed away days later on December 9.
Deaths Due to Mental Pressure From Harassment
79-year-old Woman Dies After Police Harassment
Ms. Li Dianqiu, of Xinyang City, Henan Province, was arrested in December 2021, after being followed by the police for distributing Falun Gong materials. Although the police released her after she failed the physical examination, they repeatedly harassed her.
During the last harassment on August 2, 2022, a staff member from the local court called her husband and asked for her photo. She passed away three days later. She was 79 years old.
Another 79-year-old Woman Dies Due to Harassment
Ms. Shi Qiaoyun, also 79-years-old and a resident of Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, was reported for giving out Falun Gong materials on May 22, 2019. The Yuhu District Court ordered three months of surveillance of her, between May 26 and August 25, 2020. She was ordered to wear a monitoring device on her wrist.
Wearing the monitoring device caused Ms. Shi to suffer tightness in her chest. Her weight kept dropping, and a month later she went to the police station and demanded it be removed. The police ordered her to pay 100 yuan and installed a tracking device on her cellphone. She was also not allowed to leave home.
After the three-month surveillance ended, the authorities continued to harass Ms. Shi. She lived in fear and suffered declining health. With only a few hundred yuan of low-income subsidy each month, Ms. Shi struggled to make ends meet and couldn’t afford to buy enough food. She passed away on June 23, 2022.
85-year-old Man Dies After Suffering a Stroke
Mr. Yao Chengda, of Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on December 22, 2020. The police ransacked his home, interrogated him, and threatened to give him a lengthy prison term.
The mental pressure took a toll on Mr. Yao’s health. He lived in fear and suffered high blood pressure and a subsequent stroke. He passed away on April 27, 2022. He was 85 years old.
Prior to his latest arrest, Mr. Yao was detained once and held at the Mishan City Brainwashing Center twice.
47-year-old Man Dies From a Heart Attack
In addition to the elderly practitioners who succumbed to the mental pressure from the persecution, the tremendous pressure also turned out to be detrimental to prime-aged men as well.
In Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, Mr. Song Gang, a former employee of the Bank of Communications, died from a cardiac arrest on July 19, 2022. He was only 47 years old.
Mr. Song’s ordeal dated back to August 2015, when he filed a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin. The police arrested him on October 29, 2015 and interrogated him. He was arrested again two days later, interrogated, had his home ransacked, and given one month of criminal detention.
The police put him on a one-year bail when they released him. During that time, they often returned to take his photo and interrogate him. The harassment continued when the bail condition expired. The lasting mental pressure eventually claimed Mr. Song’s life.
Belated News
Small Business Owner Falls to His Death After Police Push Him out of a Window
Mr. Yin Zhibo, a small business owner in Yanji City, Jilin Province, fell to his death after two police officers pushed him out of a window when he tried to prevent them from confiscating his Falun Gong books. The 44-year-old is survived by his wife and their teenage son.
Mr. Yin Zhibo and his family
Two officers, Piao Dongjie and Sun Haitao, broke into Mr. Yin’s home on March 16, 2021, after he was reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. When he tried to stop the police from taking away his Falun Gong books, they shoved him to the window and then pushed him out. He died immediately.
Mr. Yin’s wife fainted several times upon learning of her husband’s sudden death. Their son, Yin Dongdong, rushed downstairs, leaned on Mr. Yin’s body and tried to wake him up.
Despite testimonies from Mr. Yin’s neighbors who witnessed the incident, the Yanji City Police Department exempted the two officers from being held accountable for Mr. Yin’s death.
His older brother, Mr. Yin Zhifeng, was harassed and threatened with seizure of his family land when he went to the local government to appeal for his brother’s case. The brothers’ nephew, Mr. Xu Xiaogang, was also arrested on July 15, 2021 and detained 15 days, after the police suspected that he also practiced Falun Gong.
39-year-old Woman Dies 13 Years Ago
Ms. Qu Huifang
Ms. Qu Huifang, of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, was arrested in December 2000, when she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. The police forced her to stand in the snow overnight, wearing only thin clothing. She was deprived of sleep for the next few days. She was released after over 40 days of detention.
Ms. Qu suffered poor appetite and had a sallow complexion upon returning home. The doctor said her liver function was damaged due to the abuse while in custody.
For the next few years, the police constantly harassed Ms. Qu, leaving her terrified. The mental pressure took a toll on her health. She passed away on September 24, 2009. She was only 39 years old. She was survived by her then-14-year-old daughter and elderly parents.
Anhui Woman, 77, Passes Away 49 Days After Last Arrest
Ms. Liu Guoyu, of Hebei City, Anhui Province, was arrested on August 23, 2015, for putting up informational materials about Falun Gong. She was held at the police station for over ten hours and released at around midnight.
Upon returning home, Ms. Liu began to suffer from headaches and pain in her eyes. Her legs remained swollen. When her family took her to the hospital, the doctor refused to treat her, as her heart and lungs were failing.
Ms. Liu passed away on October 12, 2015, 49 days following her arrest. She was 77 years old. Her family suspected that she was given a toxic injection at the police station.
Prior to her latest arrest, Ms. Liu had been arrested three times between 1999 and 2000 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. She was arrested again in 2003 for distributing Falun Gong materials and sentenced to three years in prison. She was beaten, subjected to brainwashing and deprived of sleep at the Anhui Province Women’s Prison. She had become emaciated and had difficulty walking when she was released.
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