Ms. Xu Guifang, 66, Dies after Being Detained in a Forced Labour Camp for Six Months

Name: Xu Guifang
Gender: Female
Age: 66
Address: Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: October 3rd, 2012
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 3rd, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Shaanxi Women's Forced Labour Camp
City: Tongchuan
Province: Shaanxi
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, imprisonment, torture, home ransacked, detention.

Ms. Xu Guifang, 66, was incarcerated in the Shaanxi Women's Forced Labour Camp in 2012. She was very weak and lost her senses after six months of detention. She was released on September 14th, 2012. She couldn't remember how to get home and was unable to recognize her acquaintances. She died on October 3rd.

Prior to practising Falun Gong, Ms. Xu had many illnesses, including stomach problems, kidney inflammation, sciatica, low blood pressure, anemic, and migraines. She was taking medication all the time. She started practising Falun Gong in March 1999, and all her illnesses disappeared. She was full of energy and could do all kinds of household chores.

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its suppression of Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, Ms. Xu was repeatedly arrested and detained. She was once sentenced to 18 months of forced labour and sentenced to three years in prison at another time. After being released from prison, she was often harassed by the local police and 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). She had to leave home to avoid the harassment. Her elder daughter, Ms. Liu Chunxia, suffered a mental collapse after being tortured in Shaanxi Women's Forced Labour Camp.

Ms. Xu was arrested at noon of February 3rd, 2012, by Yintai District Police Department officers Zhang Wei and He Dan for speaking with people about Falun Gong and handing out informational materials. The police later ransacked her home and confiscated many personal belongings. Ms. Xu was taken to the Shaanxi Women's Forced Labour Camp on February 16th, 2012, to serve two years. Ms. Xu was severely tortured because she refused to renounce Falun Gong. The police urged Ms. Xu's younger daughter to persuade her mother to renounce Falun Gong. When she refused to cooperate, she was not allowed to visit her mother for four months.

When Ms. Xu's family was able to visit her in September 2012, her daughter could barely recognize her. Ms. Xu was extremely emaciated and had lost her senses. She was too weak to speak, had a runny nose, and looked a wreck. The camp authorities refused to release her. The daughter bought some glucose and crackers for her as nutritional supplements. The Tongchuan 610 Office did everything it could to prevent Ms. Xu from being released. Ms. Xu was not released until September 14. Less than 20 days later, on October 3rd, she died.

Persecution Suffered by Ms. Xu and Her Daughter

Several officers from the Yintai Police Station, led by Wang Lujun, broke into Ms. Xu's home on December 25th, 2000, and ransacked it. They took her to the police station and detained her for one day.

More than a dozen officers went to Ms. Xu's home on June 12th, 2002, and ransacked it because Ms. Xu's daughter had been reported for posting Falun Gong informational stickers. The police went to the daughter's and Ms. Xu's home to arrest them. Ms. Xu was arrested and released in early August. After she was released, she went to look for her daughter. The police and the 610 Office didn't give Ms. Xu a straight answer. When Ms. Xu went to Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, to appeal, the police and 610 Office personnel took her home and sentenced her to 18 months of forced labour. Her daughter was sentenced to two and a half years of forced labour.

Ms. Xu's daughter was threatened and intimidated in the Shaanxi Women's Forced Labour Camp. She quickly became mentally disordered, and her situation worsened. The camp authorities did not want to be held responsible and told her family to pick her up. After returning home, she made a gradual recovery. However, officers from the Wangxi Police Station and the 610 Office often came to harass her. When the daughter explained the facts about Falun Gong to the officers, they took her to a mental hospital and injected her with drugs that damage the central nervous system. She suffered a mental collapse and got much worse. She was extremely emaciated and talked all sorts of nonsense. After much investigation, it was confirmed that the person who administered the injection was Zheng Jingli.

Officers from the Tongchuan Police Station went to Ms. Xu's home in 2006. They ransacked it, fabricated evidence, and cooked up charges against her. Ms. Xu was sentenced to three years in prison, where she was tortured. After being released, local police and the 610 Office went to her home and attempted to persecute her again. Ms. Xu was forced to flee her home.

When Ms. Xu returned home in late 2011 to take care of her husband who had just had an incident, she was again arrested.