Details Revealed on Severe Beating that Caused Shanxi Practitioner's Death

Further details about the severe beating in Jinzhong Prison that led to the death of Falun Gong practitioner Han Haiming have been revealed by an insider.

The beating occurred on April 4th and Mr. Han was hospitalized on the same night. He died of a brain haemorrhage in the early morning of April 8th. His family received his ashes by noon. Local authorities orchestrated the immediate cremation.

Two days prior, Mr. Han had come under attack by the prison authorities for denouncing the “guarantee statement” he had signed under coercion and declaring that he would resume his practice of Falun Gong.

Four inmates were assigned to monitor him. He was forced to hold a military stance until 11 p.m. every day for three days. The standing torture challenges one's physical limits and was especially difficult for Mr. Han, who was 67 years old.

As he exited the water room on the night of April 4, he said a few words to a passerby. An inmate who was assigned to monitor him yelled at him. He explained, “I only asked him to help me wash my clothes.”

Lin Huanxiang (凌怀祥), head of the four inmate monitors, severely beat Mr. Han in front of over 10 cellmates when he returned to the cell that night. Other inmates gathered outside to watch when they heard the commotion. Another practitioner was slapped twice for speaking up for Mr. Han.

Shortly after the beating, Mr. Han collapsed. He lay next to the bed and kept vomiting all of his stomach's contents through his nose and mouth. Inmates near him wiped his face to prevent him from suffocating. They urgently reported to the prison police, who summoned the prison doctor and called an ambulance.

Mr. Han never regained full consciousness in the hospital. He couldn’t speak, and often moaned in pain. His left hand often trembled uncontrollably, and clenched. Pieces of scalp were missing on the left side of his head and there were traces of blood as well as bruises on other parts of his head.

Mr. Han was illegally sentenced to 3.5 years in 2012 for his belief in Falun Gong and was transferred to the Jinzhong Prison on April 10, 2012.