Mr. Qian Fengcheng Dies after Over a Decade of Repeated Arrests, Imprisonment and Torture

Mr. Qian Fengcheng, 75, died on February 3rd, 2014, after over a decade of relentless persecution for his belief in Falun Gong. He had been arrested multiple times and sentenced to prison twice. Just prior to his death, two officers from the Hai'an City Procuratorate and the Xinxing Town Police Station harassed him at his home.

Mr. Qian, a resident of Xinxing Town, Jiangsu Province, was sent to brainwashing centres six times since the persecution began in 1999. Attempting to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] him, brainwashing centre personnel subjected him to sleep deprivation and handcuffed him for two weeks straight.

Four-Year Prison Sentence Followed by Continued Harassment

Mr. Qian was sentenced to four years in prison at the Tinghu District Court, Yancheng City in February 2003. He was taken to the Hongzehui Prison and released on June 4th, 2006.

When police officers repeatedly went to his home to harass him in August 2009, he fled his home to avoid further persecution.

Officers from the Tinghu District Police Department, the Procuratorate, the court and the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), established a special team and went to Shanghai and Hangzhou to look for him. They also threatened his family members and children. The police were always on the look out for him and monitored his family. They also monitored his relatives' phone calls. Even though Mr. Qian's father was in his nineties, he was threatened many times by this team of officials. The father passed away during this period of constant police harassment.

Hospitalized in Critical Condition from Torture

Agents from the Domestic Security Division of the Yandu District Police Department, Yancheng City arrested Mr. Qian again on April 21st, 2010. He was held at the Yandu Police Training Centre. Guards tortured him to obtain a confession. He was tied to an interrogation stool for nine days around the clock, and deprived of sleep and food. Guards Zhu Chenggui, Xu Xiaotian and Xu Yusong beat him. He was later taken to the Yancheng City Detention Centre. Continued abuse put him in critical condition and was finally sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Mr. Qian's family was notified to pick him up on June 24th, 2010.

Ji Yao, the head of the Domestic Security Division, Deputy Chief Zhu Chenggui, Xu Yong, Xu Xiaotian, Guo Jing, chief Yang and Lu Dongqin participated in persecution.

Second Prison Sentence

Mr. Qian was tried once again on October 26th, 2010. He was not allowed to speak during the trial and even his attorney was restricted as to what he could say. The attorney requested as witnesses, people who were familiar with the case. The judge denied the request stating that those who knew about the case were accomplices, and they would not be allowed to testify.

The prosecution's case had included a written testimony by another Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Cao Fulin. It was later learned that the police beat him so badly to obtain this statement that he was severely injured and disabled. Thus, he was unable to appear in court.

The prosecution knew they had a problem regarding Mr. Cao and he was not mentioned again. No reliable evidence was provided and there were no testimonies given during the trial. A guilty verdict was handed down on February 17th, 2011. The verdict document showed that ten witnesses had been added to the record.

Mr. Qian was taken to the Hongzehu Prison.

After his release, Mr. Qian wrote about his experiences of being tortured for his belief, and he filed charges against the guards involved.

Arrested Again, Sent to Brainwashing Centre

He was arrested again at home by agents from the Wenfeng Police Station (previously named as Xiangyang Police Station) on July 10th, 2011, and was taken to the Hongzehu Prison.

The prison refused to admit him. However, the 610 Office would not release him. The Jiangsu Province 610 Office gave the order not to release him as long as he was breathing. Mr. Qian was then transferred to a brainwashing centre.

Authorities continued to monitor and harass him after his release from the brainwashing centre. Officers from the Huai'an Procuratorate and the Xinxing Police Station harassed Mr. Qian at his home on January 9th, 2014.

He died on February 3rd, 2014, at the age of 75.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Qian Fengcheng (钱凤成)
Gender: Male
Age: 75
Address: Xinxing Town, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province
Occupation : Unknown
Date of Death: Feb 3rd, 2014
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 10th, 2011
Most Recent Place of Detention: Wenfeng Police Station(文峰派出所)
City: Yancheng
Province: Jiangsu
Persecution Suffered : Sleep deprivation, brainwashing, beatings, hung up, imprisonment