Belated News: Zhengjiang Woman Died of Torture from Prison 11 Years Ago

Ms. Lin Yunjuan, a resident of Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, was arrested in May 2007 for her belief in Falun Gong. She was sentenced to three years in Zhejiang Women's Prison, where she was brutally tortured. She was released on medical parole in critical condition in 2008 and died in January 2009. She was 66.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, a large number of practitioners have been detained, tortured, and imprisoned.

An earlier report in January this year summarized the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Liandu District of Lishui City, where Ms. Lin lived. Under directives from Liandu 610 Office, an extralegal agency tasked with eradicating Falun Gong, more than 30 local practitioners in the district have been detained at detention centres, labour camps, and prisons over the years.

Harassment from Officials Even in Her Final Days
Eight practitioners in Liandu District were arrested on May 27, 2007, and they included Ms. Lin Yunjuan, Ms. Zhu Changming, Ms. Zhou Aizhen, Ms. Ye Juyun, Ms. Guan Shufen, Mr. Lai Xiangnan, Ms. Xiang Yunxian, and Ms. Shan Cuifeng.

The police ransacked the practitioners' homes and sent them to a brainwashing centre at Shuidong Village, where they were deprived of sleep for three days straight.

The practitioners were then transferred to Lishui Detention Centre located at Sanyansi. During those days, Ms. Lin was tortured savagely, making her unable to sleep or eat well. Her health declined and she suffered from various sicknesses.

Liandu Procuratorate later brought charges against these 8 practitioners and a secret trial took place at Liandu Court in late December 2007. Ms. Lin was sentenced to three years and taken to Zhejiang Women’s Prison in January 2008.

The continued mistreatment in the prison worsened Ms. Lin's health. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent surgery in the prison hospital. To shirk responsibility, the prison released her on medical parole in early 2008.

Ms. Lin’s family took good care of her after bringing her home, only to see Liandu 610 Office agents harassing them at home frequently. As her condition deteriorated, she was hospitalized. The agents kept harassing her at the hospital until she died in January 2009.

Additional Persecution Cases
Like Ms. Lin, many other practitioners in Liandu District have also suffered tremendously for their belief in Falun Gong. After Ms. Liu Haiyan was forced to stay away from home in 2007 to avoid being arrested for practising Falun Gong, the 610 Office agents and police kept harassing her mother, Ms. Zhu Yuerong, who was already in her 80s at that point.

One time they came at night to pry open the door and damaged it. The door could not be closed and Ms. Zhu had to contact a locksmith the next day to fix it. The police gave Ms. Zhu one year of bail, meaning that she would be scheduled for a court trial after being on bail for one year. The constant harassment from police worsened her health, and Ms. Zhu became hospitalized. Her daughter was detained during her hospital stay, and Ms. Zhu died at the hospital in 2015, at the age of 88.

Mr. Wang Yihui was closely monitored between July 20, 1999, the day when the persecution of Falun Gong began, and February 2000. He had to work during the day and was interrogated at night with little sleep allowed. His home phone was removed, and he was not allowed to contact anyone. By February 2004, his residence had been ransacked 9 times by the police. After an arrest in December 2012, he was sentenced and admitted to Zhejiang Fourth Prison in August 2013. He was tortured and denied use of the restroom. The prison forced him to undergo a gastroscopy, which led to massive bleeding. He lost consciousness and went into shock. After nine hours of resuscitation, he was sent to the hospital morgue. When another person was sent here, a staff member saw Mr. Wang’s hand moving and took him back.

After Ms. Chen Suying was forced to stay away from home in 2007, her husband lived in distress and had to face constant intimidation and harassment by the police. In the end he died in grief in 2008. After Ms. Chen was arrested in September 2009, she was sentenced to four years in Zhejiang Women’s Prison in June 2010. Mistreatment in prison damaged her health and impaired her eyesight, leaving her with difficulty reading, even now.

Ms. Ye Juyun, a retired hospital accountant, was arrested in May 2007 and later sentenced to a three-year term. Liandu 610 Office agents and police officers ransacked her home in October 2012 and sentenced her to jail again, with a term of three and a half years. Ms. Ye’s pension and all other benefits were also stopped since May 2007 because of her practice of Falun Gong. Upon being released from prison, she had to sell the small apartment she had. Now 80, she has no income to support herself.