67-year-old Man Dies in Prison While Serving Seven Years for His Faith

(Minghui.org)

Name: Ge ZhenhuaChinese Name: 葛振华Gender: MaleAge: 67City: HarbinProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: Telephone booth ownerDate of Death: October 22, 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 20, 2016Most Recent Place of Detention: Hulan Prison

A Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province resident suffered a stroke while serving seven years for his faith in Falun Gong. Mr. Ge Zhenhua passed away on October 22, 2022. He was 67.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Ge and two other practitioners, Ms. Su Kun and Ms. Wang Cui’e, went to nearby Shangzhi City to put up banners about Falun Gong and distribute informational materials on June 20, 2016. They were reported by a villager and arrested on their way back. Their minivan was impounded by the police.

Ms. Su and Ms. Wang were detained at the Harbin City No.2 Detention Center and their arrests were approved on July 28. Mr. Ge was held at the Shangzhi City Detention Center. His arrest was approved on July 29.

Zhang Yijun, a prosecutor of Shangzhi City Procuratorate, indicted the three practitioners on October 9. The presiding judge, Dong Wenkuan, of Shangzhi City Court issued his ruling on December 2, 2016, sentencing Mr. Ge to 12 years with a 50,000-yuan fine, Ms. Su to 10 years with a 40,000-yuan fine and Ms. Wang to 5 five years with a 10,000-yuan fine.

The practitioners appealed with the Shangzhi City Intermediate Court. Judge Zhao Lu of the higher court upheld their convictions on March 17, 2017, but reduced Mr. Ge’s prison term to 7 years with a 30,000-yuan fine, Ms. Su to 6 years with a 20,000-yuan fine, and Ms. Wang to 2 years with a 5,000-yuan fine.

Mr. Ge served time at the Hulan Prison and Ms. Su and Ms. Wang at Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison.

Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, Wei Yuchuan, the new president of Hulan Prison, and Deng Xiaogeng, the director of the correction ward, ordered strict management of incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners. They forced the practitioners to sit on small stools all day long and denied their family visits. The prison authorities also ordered the practitioners to renounce their faith and those who refused to comply were subjected to brutal torture.

Mr. Ge’s family was informed by the prison around early October 2022 that he suffered a stroke and was being treated at the intensive care unit at Harbin Medical University Second Hospital. The prison ordered the family to pay for his medical cost, which was over 10,000 yuan every day. The family couldn’t afford to pay and the prison forced them to sign a consent to stop the treatment. Mr. Ge passed away on October 22.

Past Persecution

After Mr. Ge was laid off in the 1990s, he opened a telephone booth to make a living. On July 22, 1999, two days after the onset of the persecution, he went to the provincial government to appeal for the right to practice his faith, only to be arrested and detained for 17 hours. Since then, the authorities constantly came to harass him. His ID was also confiscated.

Mr. Ge was arrested again on February 16, 2001. He was held at a brainwashing center for 80 days and then taken to a detention center, where he was kept for 16 days. He was subjected to frequent beating and verbal abuse during that time. An official from the local economic commission extorted 1,600 yuan from him.

Mr. Ge was having lunch at home one day in September 2002, when a police officer came and questioned him whether he still practiced Falun Gong. Mr. Ge said that the practice improved his health and helped him to stay fit, which saved a lot of medical costs for the family. The police arrested him and raided his home.

The police also attempted to force Mr. Ge to report on other practitioners. He refused to comply and was held at Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp for nearly two years. He suffered dangerously high blood pressure due to physical torture and was still forced to work without pay.

Related reports:

Higher Court Upholds Conviction but Reduces Sentences of Three Falun Gong Practitioners

Harbin Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Displaying Falun Gong Banners

Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp Physically Devastates Falun Gong Practitioners, Resulting in Many Cases of Death and Disability