Mother Seeks Justice in Son's Death

“My husband passed away when our son was five years old. It was not easy to raise two children as a single mother. I survived only because of my son. He was so kind and loved me very much. He told me once: 'I will take care of you, Mum, even if I end up a beggar.' I worked so hard to raise him. He was strong and healthy, but he died when he was only 39. They (Wumaping Prison authorities) said they were not responsible...” said Ms. Peng Guangzhen, a 70-year-old mother seeking justice in the death of her son, Mr. Xu Langzhou, who died in suspicious circumstances in a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prison, incarcerated for his belief in Falun Gong.

Family Separated and Mr. Xu Tortured to Death

Ms. Peng Guangzhen is a Falun Gong practitioner, as was her son before he was killed. Mr. Xu was an outstanding police officer in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province. His good deeds were reported in the local media multiple times. He donated money to the “Hope Project” to build schools for children in poverty. The city recognized him as an “outstanding worker” for four consecutive years for his fairness and diligence at work.

Because of his belief in Falun Gong, Mr. Xu was fired by the police department, detained, and sent to forced labour and a long prison term. He was tortured with the Death Bed¹, shocked with electric batons of more than 10,000 volts, and hung up and beaten. He was tied up and exposed to the baking sun for long periods. He was forced to do hard labour in high temperatures. Throughout his eight years in prison, he maintained the compassion and wisdom of a Falun Gong practitioner, and was admired by some sympathetic guards. Six months before his term was up, he suddenly died. The circumstances surrounding his death were very suspicious.

His wife divorced him and took their son after he was persecuted. Since then, his mother, Ms. Peng Guangzhen has lived alone.

Seeking Justice Is Difficult

Ever since Mr. Xu was sentenced to eight and half years in prison, his mother never stopped appealing on his behalf. She told everyone she met, “The Chinese law never banned Falun Gong. It is all media propaganda. We have the right to believe in Falun Gong and speak the truth. My son is innocent. He should be released immediately.” She also disclosed that the Panzhihua City Police tortured and framed Mr. Xu.

As a result, she was also detained and sentenced to two years in prison. The police tortured her with the Tiger Bench² and tying her hands together behind her back, and hanging her up so that her feet did not touch the ground. When she passed out and stopped breathing, the police let her down and allowed her to recover. In the detention centre, the police sometimes tortured her until she started to convulse. In the prison, she was detained in a “strict confinement room” for seven months.

She was devastated by the death of her son, but it did not destroy her will to find justice for him.

Mr. Xu died, Wumaping Prison refused to do an autopsy. The Leshan Procuratorate also lied to the mother, telling her, “We did the autopsy already. His death was normal.” However, when asked to provide the autopsy report, the prosecutor could not respond.

The prison and the Procuratorate did everything they could to prevent Mr. Xu's family from having an autopsy done. The family contacted several forensic agencies in other provinces, but most of them refused to take the case. When one finally did, they refused to give Ms. Peng the autopsy report. Although she was Mr. Xu's only family member present, she was forcibly removed from the facility by two policewomen.

When Ms. Peng visited the prison for her son's medical records and autopsy reports, several guards attacked her and threatened to have Mr. Xu's body cremated. The guards even threatened the attorneys she hired in Beijing. The prison went through the Beijing Bureau of Justice and forced the attorneys to leave.

Ms. Peng could not find any government agency to help. Most of staff members were sympathetic until they realized that the case was related to Falun Gong. Then they started to avoid the topic or defend the prison, as if any crime involving Falun Gong practitioners was permitted in China.

Finally, Ms. Peng officially filed against Wumaping Prison for state compensation and appealed to the Sichuan Province Superior Court. During this time, she encountered more unreasonable treatment.

After Ms. Peng filed for state compensation, she also filed a complaint that the prison only allowed family visits when accompanied by a letter from the local 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), which was illegal. The receptionist from the Bureau of Prisons, who called the prison and confirmed it, told Ms. Peng she needed a written statement from the prison to file the complaint.

The superior court ignored Ms. Peng's suit. Ms. Peng did not get any response after she appealed to the Sichuan Superior Court in October 2013. Three months later when she went to inquire, the superior court claimed that the case was outdated and refused to accept it. After Ms. Peng showed the post date, the superior court could not find any excuse to reject it, so they accepted the case on January 24th, 2014.

The superior court did not try the case publicly. Only three people were allowed to observe, then it was changed to three family members only. Right before the trial started, they would not allow anyone to observe. Ms. Peng and her attorneys protested, and the court allowed the family and their friends observe.

During the trial, the prison only provided testimonies from other prisoners and the guards. The prison also fabricated medical records and manipulated forensic reports to avoid responsibility for Mr. Xu Langzhou's death. The prison did not provide any video record that the attorneys had asked for. Ms. Peng's attorneys pointed out that the prison could not prove that they did not torture Falun Gong practitioners, nor could they prove that they were not responsible for the death of Mr. Xu.

Ms. Peng said, “My son was sentenced to prison for his belief. There is no legal grounds to persecute Falun Gong, even according to official Chinese law. Falun Gong teaches us to be kind and honest.” She told the court president, “I will continue to appeal, even if I have to go to the United Nations.”

The court adjourned without a decision.

Parties Involved in Persecuting Mr. Xu Langzhou:

Jiazhou Prison in Sichuan Province (merged by Wumaping Prison and Chuannan Prison)
Phone: +86-833-2349097, +86-833-2349089
Zhu Wei (祝伟), warden and the CCP secretary of the prison
Tian Yi (田义), Deputy Warden
Zhang Jian (张健) Warden of the 7th ward
Man Maolin (满茂林)
Yang Jianyuan (杨建元)
Someone with last name JiQiu Yunnan (邱云南): deputy warden for the entry group of the prison. 86-13890685086 (Mobile)
Bai Yang (白洋)
Liu Yubin (刘玉斌)

Attorney's Office in the Prison for The Leshan City Procuratorate:
Li Lei (李雷): director
Zhang Xianzhong (张先中): +86-833-2116064

The Chengdu City Prison for Patients
He Zhengde (何正德): director
Prison doctors involved in Mr. Xu Rangzhou's case:
Tang Ruichen (唐锐臣), Tang Xiaofan (唐小凡), Wang Jun (王君), Zhao Shumei (赵书梅), Liu Jianhang (刘舰杭), Liu Tianming (刘天明)

Prison nurses involved in Mr. Xu Langzhou's case:
Yao Qiushuang (姚秋霜), Xu Yongliang (许水良), Huang Yawen (黄雅文), Fu Rui(符锐), Liang Xiaorong (梁晓蓉), Gao Simao (高思懋), Zhu Jihong (朱继红), Yang Jie (羊婕), Zhang Cuilan (张翠兰), Deng Hongyan (邓鸿雁), Deng Li(邓莉), Mao Simin (毛思敏), Zhao Chunyan (赵春艳), Lai Jin (赖静), Xie Yaoyao (谢遥遥)

The Bureau of Prison in Sichuan Province:
Liu Zhicheng(刘志诚), director
Zhang Wei(张伟), representative for this case: +86-28-86652562

Note

1. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

2. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.