Mr. Guo Xiaowen Persecuted to Death in Jinzhong Prison, Shanxi Province

Name: Guo Xiaowen
Gender: Male
Age: 40
Address: Shangwang Village, Wangqiao Town, Xiangyuan County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: March 12th, 2013
Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Jinzhong Prison
City: Changzhi
Province: Shanxi
Persecution Suffered: Persecution Suffered: beatings, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, force-feedings, detention

Mr. Guo Xiaowen was a Falun Gong practitioner in Shangwang Village, Xiangyuan County. He was transferred to Jinzhong Prison (also known as Shanxi No. 1 Prison) around March 6th, 2013. Within days, on March 12th, he was dead at the age of 40.

His family saw two red marks on his head when they were viewing his body. As they were about to lift his clothes and check further, guards stopped them and chased them away. They only stayed with his body for a few minutes.

He has left behind his wife; his parents, who are in their 70s; and his ten-year-old son. The family is overwhelmed by his death and the great injustice.

Mr. Guo was arrested in August 2012, for informing people about the persecution of Falun Gong online. He was first detained in Xiangyuan Detention Centre, then sentenced to three years in prison. Around March 6th, 2013, he was taken to Jinzhong Prison, where he was brutally beaten, subjected to solitary confinement, force-fed, and otherwise tortured.

Instead of directly notifying the family about his death, the prison first notified the village committee. The family was notified by phone on March 13th. The prison claimed “death by natural causes.” When the family went to the prison for his body, the guards did not allow them to take any pictures and took away their mobile phones. To cover up, the prison moved the body from Qi County to Yuci County, then avoided the issue, leaving the case unclosed.

According to practitioners who have been imprisoned in Jinzhong Prison, the prison uses ruthless inmates as personal monitors to harass practitioners. Guards openly told them to “manage (practitioners) bravely” and “guards will take the responsibility if things go wrong.”

Practitioner Mr. Wu Baoshan from Houma was beaten by the guard of ward 15, Wei Dong, and was injured all over. Wei ordered inmates Li Fengzhi (a convicted murderer), Hu Fengjun, and Zhao Guisheng to harass practitioners 24 hours a day. They brutally tortured practitioner Mr. Mao Xiuyun from Wutai until his legs were horribly swollen. Practitioner Mr. Liu Derun from Shuozhou had wounds all over his body after he was beaten by Li, who used a rubber-covered club.

Practitioner Mr. Lu Haixing, 45, was tortured to death on January 10th, 2012. This was reported on Minghui in January. See: "Engineer Mr. Lu Haixing Killed in Jinzhong Prison (Photo)" http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2012/1/21/130862.html.