Sichuan Man in Serious Condition after Serving Prison Term, Dies after Continued Police Harassment

Mr. Jiang Libin had whole-body edema and was very weak after he finished serving a three-year prison term in 2018 for practicing Falun Gong, but the police continued to harass him frequently during the next two years. He suddenly vomited blood on the evening of October 13, 2020 and passed away hours later. He was 59 years old.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Jiang took up Falun Gong in June 1999, and he credited the practice for curing his dizzy spells and nosebleeds. His wife, Ms. Xie Fufen, also began to practice Falun Gong at his recommendation in 2005, and her gastric ulcer, gallstones, and mastitis soon disappeared.

To support their family, they opened a rice noodle shop, but were soon forced to close it due to police harassment.

The couple was arrested by police on September 30, 2009, and their home was ransacked. Their computer, printer, DVD burner, Falun Gong books and materials, as well as the money they had earned from the noodle shop, were confiscated.

Mr. Jiang was sentenced to a three-year term with five years probation after 197 days of detention. Ms. Xie was detained for 30 days and released on bail.

The police harassed Mr. Jiang on August 17, 2010 and took him to a brainwashing center located in a senior center. He was held there for 20 days, and was monitored around the clock by two staff members. The authorities also attempted to arrest Ms. Xie, but relented after learning that her elderly mother had a fall and she had to stay home to take care of her mother.

The police harassed the couple again in October 2011 and they were forced to live away from home to avoid the harassment.

As a result of Mr. Jiang’s not reporting to the police on time, he was put on the wanted list and taken back into custody on March 30, 2015. His arrest was approved on the same day.

On April 13, 2015, when his family went to the Beichuan County Detention Center to visit Mr. Jiang, they were told that he had been transferred to the Jiazhou Prison on April 9.

His family then found Gao Guojian, the presiding judge in charge of Mr. Jiang’s case. Gao said that they issued Mr. Jiang’s arrest warrant due to his failure to report to the police. They were now executing his previous verdict of three years given almost a decade ago. When his family tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to judge Gao, he said, “I don’t want to listen at all.”