Mr. Liu Liyan from Hunan Province Passes Away in Hospital from Torture-Inflicted Wounds

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Liyan from Xiangtan City, Hunan Province, died in Changsha No. 2 Affiliated Hospital, Hunan Province, on the morning of June 13th, 2014. He was taken to the hospital from Xiangtan County Detention Centre, where it appears he was tortured to the brink of death.

His family demanded an autopsy that revealed bruises, bleeding in the brain and injury to his internal organs.

More details follow:

Mr. Liu Liyan, 63, lived in Yijiaqiao, Fuqiang Cillage, Hutan Township, Xiangtan City. He was a kind and honest person and healthy. He made a living driving a tricycle. On September 2nd, 2013, he went to Shebu Town, Xiangtan County, to distribute materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. He arrested and taken to Xiangtan County Lockup and detained there for 15 days, then transferred to Xiangtan County Detention Centre.

When Mr. Liu's family found out that he was in the detention centre, they went to visit him and found out that he had been sentenced to three and a half years.

When Mr. Liu's family visited him, they saw he had lost some teeth. The police would not let him talk, but his family discovered that he did not get a penny of the 1,000 yuan¹ that they had handed in for his use. Mr. Liu told his family not to bring him any more money.

In the morning on June 13th, 2014, Mr. Liu's family received a notice from the local police station that he had passed away at 6:20 a.m. that very day. His remains were in Changsha No. 2 Affiliated Hospital.

Devastated, his family went to the hospital and saw his body covered and his head exposed. His mouth was stuffed with gauze. They demanded an autopsy and also that he be uncovered so that they could see his remains.

The 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and officers from the police station and the detention centre did not agree to an autopsy or allow the family to uncover him.

Staff members from the 610 Office claimed: "Liu Liyan died of illness" and agreed to compensate the family 30,000 yuan. But the family stressed that Mr. Liu had been very healthy. Even if he was sick, it would only have been something minor. If he had had anything serious, the detention centre should have notified them and allowed him to go home for treatment, which was routine procedure. It was obvious to Mr. Liu's family that he did not die of an illness.

They hired a medical examiner and a lawyer and again demanded an autopsy. The authorities then agreed but would not allow his family members to be present.

The examiner said that Mr. Liu's body was covered with bruises, there was blood in his brain, and his internal organs had been injured.

Mr. Liu Liyan's wife pointed at the police officers and staff members from the 610 Office and cried angrily, “You have no conscience! Liu Liyan did not commit any crime. Why did you beat him to death?!” The authorities had no reply and avoided the family.

According to an investigation, after Mr. Liu was injured by being beaten in Xiangtan County Detention Centre, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel took him to Yisuhe Hospital in Xiangtan County. Four or five days later they transferred him to Changsha No. 2 Affiliated Hospital, where Mr. Liu died.

Many questions remain unanswered: Was Mr. Liu taken to the hospital for treatment or just for a blood test to see whether his internal organs were still in good condition? Why was he transferred to Changsha No. 2 Affiliated Hospital? Why was his body covered after he died? His mouth was staffed with gauze with his head exposed. Was he operated on? What happened to Mr. Liu in Changsha No. 2 Affiliated Hospital?

We urge anyone who treated Mr. Liu in Xiangtan County Hospital and Changsha No. 2 Affiliated Hospital--doctors, nurses, or administrators--who still has a spark of humanity or knows the truth, to step forward and report the facts.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.