Jinan Woman Dies as Result of Persecution in Detention Centre

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Chen Xiumei of Jinan died in a detention centre on February 28, 2016, after being detained for eight months. Her body was cremated on March 31, 2016.

Her husband was a medical expert with many years of experience and concluded that both the detention centre and prison hospital should be held responsible for his wife's death.

Ms. Chen Xiumei

The Arrest
Ms. Chen was forcibly taken from her house on the morning of June 24, 2015, by officers from the local police station and 610 Office. They ransacked her house and took many personal items and Falun Gong books.

The next day they went to her other residence. They confiscated more personal items and also took her husband to the police station. Her husband was released that night; Ms. Chen was taken to a detention centre.

The landlord who rented the house to Ms. Chen was arrested and released the next day. Another practitioner who was in contact with Ms. Chen was also arrested and released a month later.

The family learned that, long before the arrest, the police department had monitored Ms. Chen’s activities and had placed a monitoring device on her car. They ordered the local police station to carry out the arrest.

Held in Detention Centre
The authorities detained Ms. Chen for two months. Her case was sent to the procuratorate but was not officially filed, so Ms. Chen should have been released. Instead, she was placed on trial several times, which caused her to have a mental breakdown and suffer from depression.

Ms. Chen's husband hired four attorneys for her, one of whom told the husband that she had become mentally unstable. The family requested her release for medical treatment, but the detention centre continually delayed her release.

Dies in a Detention Centre
Her first medical appointment was eventually set for February 29, 2016. The day before the appointment, Ms. Chen's husband received a phone call and rushed to the hospital, only to find that Ms. Chen had died.

He asked to see the surveillance video and the electrocardiogram. After reviewing all the information that he could get, he concluded that both the detention center and prison hospital should be held responsible for Ms. Chen's death.

Ms. Chen's body was cremated on March 31, 2016, after the authorities pressured her family. Only her immediate family witnessed the funeral ceremony, with a dozen police officers monitoring the whole process.

Parties responsible for Ms. Chen's death
Zhao Ruoren, head of Jinan Detention Centre: +86-133-35129539Mr. Yang, police officer, Jinan Detention Centre: +86-531-82806868Mr. Guo, officer, Quanchenglu Police Station: +86-178-53178578