(Minghui.org)

Name: Teng ShuliChinese Name: 滕淑丽Gender: FemaleAge: 53City: JixiProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: N/ADate of Death: January 10, 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: October 12, 2020Most Recent Place of Detention: Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison

A 53-year-old woman died in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on January 10, 2023, while serving a seven-year term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

After Ms. Teng Shuli was taken to the eighth ward in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison in 2021, she was forced to watch propaganda videos demonizing Falun Gong every day. She was also deprived of sleep and forced to sit on a small stool for extended hours without moving.

Torture reenactment: sitting on a small stool

The mental and physical torment took a toll on Ms. Teng’s health. She ate very little and became emaciated. She also developed a tumor in her abdomen, which caused severe bleeding while defecating.

Ms. Teng was so weak that she was bedridden. She couldn’t get up even when the guards came to inspect the cell. Her cellmates feared that she might die at any time. She was later found to have late-stage liver and rectal cancer.

Ms. Teng’s husband was denied visits with her despite his repeated requests. The prison also denied his request to have her released on medical parole, even when she was on the verge of death.

Ms. Teng passed away in prison on January 10, 2023.

Arrest and Sentencing

Ms. Teng was arrested at home on October 12, 2020. The police refused to allow her to put on a jacket, despite the chilly weather. At the Jiguan District Police Department, the officers took turns interrogating her. They didn’t allow her to sleep or use the restroom, even when she was having her menstrual period at the time. The 3,000 yuan cash she had in her bag was also confiscated.

Two other practitioners, Mr. Zhou Keming and Mr. Bao Wanming, were arrested on the same day.

The police later submitted the three practitioners’ cases to the Jidong County Procuratorate. The practitioners stood trial at the Jidong County Court on April 23, 2021. Ms. Teng testified in her own defense. She maintained that she didn’t violate any law in practicing Falun Gong. She also recounted the physical abuse she suffered in custody.

When one of the defense lawyers cited a notice from the Chinese Publication Bureau that revoked the ban on Falun Gong books, the prosecutor, Liu Chunbo, responded that “We don’t follow this [in prosecuting the case].”

In response to the lawyer’s request to verify the discrepancy in the number of pieces of evidence, the judge, Xu Zhongqi, ordered the lawyer to review the home-ransacking videos the next day, a Saturday when all the relevant agencies were closed.

The judge announced on June 2, 2021, to sentence Ms. Teng to seven years with an 80,000-yuan fine, Mr. Bao to nine years with a 100,000-yuan fine and Mr. Zhou to four years with a 50,000-yuan fine. Their appeals were rejected by the Jixi City Intermediate Court.

Related reports:

Three Heilongjiang Residents’ Appeals Against Wrongful Terms Rejected

Three Heilongjiang Residents Sentenced for Distributing Information About Their Faith