Heilongjiang Man Dies After 12 Years of Imprisonment and Subsequent Harassment

A 48-year-old man died three days after the 2020 Chinese New Year, becoming the latest victim of the Chinese communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Mr. Li Huifeng, a resident of Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, served 12 years in prison for refusing to renounce his faith in Falun Gong. The police constantly harassed him after he was released in January 2013. Even after he moved to other cities to avoid the persecution, the police always managed to find him, and sometimes harassed his family as well.

The police harassed Mr. Li at work prior to the communist regime’s 70th anniversary of its founding in October 2019, leaving him in deep distress. He had a stroke on January 20, 2020 and died eight days later.

12 Years in Prison
Mr. Li and his wife, Ms. Zhang Shuzhe, were arrested on January 22, 2001. While interrogating him, the police cuffed his hands behind his back and hung him up by the handcuffs. They then tied to each of his feet and pulled the ropes in opposite directions, making his legs split and parallel to the ground, leaving him in excruciating pain. They also kicked and pushed him to make him swing like a pendulum.

One officer laughed at him and said, “My pleasure is built upon your suffering.”

The police then shocked his genitals with 100,000-volt electric batons, leaving his private parts severely burnt. His arms were also injured, and he couldn’t lift them until six months later.

Mr. Li was sent to Qiqihar City No. 2 Detention Center and sentenced to a 12-year prison term by the Jianhua District Court in July 2001. He appealed the verdict, only to receive a document from Qiqihar City Intermediate Court, which stated that he agreed to the verdict and gave up the right to appeal.

His wife was sentenced to a four-year term, and served time at Harbin Women’s Prison.

Mr. Li was sent to the Harbin No. 3 Prison on January 24, 2002. Because he held firm to his faith in Falun Gong, he was held in solitary confinement for 39 days. In the bitter cold winter, the guards didn’t allow him to wear warm clothing, and provided no bedding or comforter to him. They also opened the window to freeze him. He was given only a small amount of corn meal each day. Two inmates monitored him around the clock.

Mr. Li was later sent to the sixth ward of the prison. He was forced to perform unpaid labour and write thought reports and statements renouncing Falun Gong.

The guards ordered the inmates to monitor him and verbally abuse him. They withheld the money his family sent him, rendering him unable to buy daily necessities. Mr. Li’s correspondence with his family was blocked, and he was forced to watch propaganda videos slandering Falun Gong on a regular basis.

After several Falun Gong practitioners were beaten to death at Harbin No. 3 Prison, Mr. Li and the other 29 Falun Gong practitioners were transferred to Daqing Prison on July 1, 2004, as the authorities attempted to cover up the persecution.

The guards at Daqing Prison also restricted his daily activities and denied him family visits.

Wang Yingjie, the head of Daqing Prison, ordered several guards to beat Mr. Li and two other Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Li Hai and Mr. Xia Yong, at around 1:00 a.m. on March 1, 2006. They kicked them and whipped them with belts.

The guards forced Mr. Li to wear the inmate’s uniform and hung him up by his wrists for seven hours. One of his ribs broke from the beating and he couldn’t sleep on his side for a month.