Ms. Xu Chunxia Dies, Family Threatened to Keep Silent

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xu Chunxia, 58, passed away on December 2nd, 2014, after a one-year detention. Prison authorities demanded that her family not publish the news of her death. They also threatened them in attempt to get the name of the person who wrote the article about her situation, which was published on the Minghui website. They claimed that they would detain family members if they didn't cooperate.

Ms. Xu was taken to Shenyang No. 739 Hospital in critical condition on November 27th, 2014, from Liaoning Women's Prison. Despite her condition she was handcuffed and her feet shackled, even at the hospital.

Prison authorities contacted Ms. Xu's family to sign documents for her release, but her family refused to sign away their legal right to take legal action against the prison. The prison kept demanding their signatures on the parole paperwork. The two sides were deadlocked.

Ms. Xu was arrested for distributing calendars containing information about Falun Gong on December 8th, 2013. She was sentenced to four years in prison six months later, and transferred to Liaoning Women's Prison on November 26th, 2014. She had been detained earlier at Shenyang No. 1 Detention Centre.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Xu Chunxia (徐春霞)
Gender: Female
Age: 58
Address: Shenyang City, Liaoning Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: December 2nd, 2014
Date of Most Recent Arrest: December 8th, 2013
Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women's Prison (辽宁省女子监狱)
City: Shenyang
Province: Liaoning
Persecution Suffered: imprisonment, detention