Woman Falls Unconscious While Forcibly Having Blood Drawn, Dies 6 Days Later

A 66-year-old woman was left unattended for more than two hours after she fell unconscious while having her blood forcibly drawn by police. She died six days later in a hospital.

Ms. Liu Lanying from Lanzhou City, Gansu Province was arrested on August 18th, 2015 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong, a self-cultivation system being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party.

The police chief of Zhangyelu Police Station ordered his officers to draw blood from Ms. Liu, but refused to specify the reason when questioned by her.

When Ms. Liu unexpectedly fell unconscious, four officers kicked her and claimed that she was faking her death. They didn't send her to a hospital until more than two hours later. By then it was too late – Ms. Liu passed away on August 24th.

Ms. Liu's husband Mr. Guo Xueze was arrested on the same day as her, when the police raided the couple's home on August 18th. He was released on bail after Ms. Liu passed away, but was threatened by police to not talk to anyone about his wife's death.

Both Wife and Husband Imprisoned Before for Their Belief

Ms. Liu was a retired employee of Lanzhou City Vegetable Company, and Mr. Guo was an accountant with a local petroleum company. They were arrested in August 2002 for practising Falun Gong and both given prison sentences, with Mr. Guo receiving five years and Ms. Liu four years.

Ms. Liu was strip searched on the day of her admission to Gansu Province Women's Prison on December 30th, 2003. During her incarceration, she was monitored around the clock and suffered various forms of abuse. She was once cuffed to a bench – unable to stand up or squat down – for 14 hours. Another time she was forced to do hard labour for more than 14 hours during the day and subjected to non-stop brainwashing at night for four straight days. Her blood pressure shot up to dangerously high levels.

The couple's ordeal didn't end after their release, as the local police frequently harassed them at home. Not long before Ms. Liu's death, she and Mr. Guo filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in their ordeals.