Harassed after Four Years in Prison, Mr. Li Hailong Dies at Home

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Li Hailong, 42, passed away in September 2014. He had been imprisoned for four years, and was arrested again on October 18th, 2013. The police took him to the local police station and threatened him. Mr. Li was released after the police extorted 2,000 yuan¹ from him. His health deteriorated and he became emaciated.

Mr. Li was arrested in June 2007, and his home was ransacked. He was taken to the Henan Street Police Station, where the police handcuffed him to a beam and tortured him during the interrogation.

He was taken to the Chuanying Police Department that evening and restrained on a tiger bench² for the entire night. He was transferred to the Jilin City Detention Centre the next day.

Mr. Li's parents and relatives tried to visit him at the detention centre, but were not permitted to see him.

Mr. Li was sentenced to a four-year prison term in December 2008. He was often harassed after being released.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Li Hailong (李海龙)
Gender: Male
Age: 42
Address: Jilin
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: September 2014
Date of Most Recent Arrest: October 18th, 2013
Most Recent Place of Detention: Local police station
City: Jilin
Province: Jilin
Persecution Suffered: Beatings, suspended by handcuffs, imprisonment, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Note

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

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.