Husband of Falun Gong Practitioner Dies as a Result of Persecution

Beijing practitioner Qiu Jinrong's husband Xie Linquan did not practise Falun Gong, but he was still subjected to persecution and died on October 30th, 2009.

Ms. Qiu Jinrong was arrested twice by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and taken to a forced labour camp. The first time was on Chinese New Year's Day in 2002, when she was arrested and put in a forced labour camp for distributing Falun Gong materials. The second time, she was arrested at her home for simply being a Falun Gong practitioner.

At approximately 2 p.m. on December 24th, 2007, Ms. Qiu and her husband Xie Linquan were at home when suddenly someone knocked urgently on the door. The person yelled, "We are maintenance workers here to check your heater." As soon as the door was opened, the police rushed in and ransacked the home. They seized a computer and other valuables, and arrested Ms. Qiu and her husband. Mr. Xie was stunned by the police's actions. The couple, who were in their 60's, were taken to the Chaoyang District Police Department and interrogated until 2 a.m. The police let Mr. Xie go home, but detained Ms. Qiu and sentenced her to two and a half years of forced labour. She is currently being held in the Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp.

During the two times that his wife was detained in the forced labour camp, Mr. Xie either lived in his own home at Gaojiayuan, which is under the jurisdiction of the Jiuxianqiao Police Station, or lived in his son's house at Jianfujiayuan, which is under the jurisdiction of the Jiangtaixiang Police Station. During this period, he was repeatedly harassed and threatened by officers Li Yuhong from the Jiuxianqiao Police Station and Wang Zheng from the Jiantaixiang Police Station. Under such tremendous pressure, Mr. Qiu's blood pressure went up and he developed heart problems, had trouble breathing, and soon became bedridden. He passed away on October 30th, 2009.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/12/19/214678.html