Hubei Man Dies Two Weeks After Being Imprisoned for His Faith

A Wuxue City, Hubei Province resident died two weeks after he was imprisoned for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Liu Jigang, 68, was arrested at home on July 19, 2019. The police ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books and materials, one computer, and two printers. He was held in Wuxue City Detention Center before being transferred to Fanjiatai Prison on August 26, 2020, to serve a 2.5-year term.

On September 13, 2020, the prison authorities informed Mr. Liu’s family that he had just passed away. His family rushed to the prison. The authorities only said that Mr. Liu died from breathing difficulties without providing any other information. They gave the family 10,000 yuan in compensation.

This was the second time that Mr. Liu was imprisoned at Fanjiatai Prison for his faith. He was previously arrested at home at around 11 p.m. on July 25, 2008. The police confiscated his computer, printer, cameras, Falun Gong books and satellite dish. His wife, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong, was beaten and had injuries all over her body for trying to stop the police from arresting Mr. Liu.

Mr. Liu was sentenced to three years on July 7, 2009. For refusing to cooperate with the prison’s brainwashing efforts, he was beaten in June 2011 and developed facial paralysis as a result.

The Fanjiatai Prison has been one of the major prisons in Hubei Province to house Falun Gong practitioners wrongfully sentenced for their faith in the past 21 years. It uses coercive brainwashing, intensive labor and other physical abuses to torture the practitioners.

Torture methods used in the prison include beating, verbal abuse, stabbing with needles, hanging, freezing, chaining practitioners with dog leashes, and restraining practitioners on a tiger bench. The guards also forbade the practitioners from talking to others, forced them to drink urine, and injected them with unknown drugs. Other long-term abuses include sleep deprivation, starvation, and denied use of daily necessities, such as toilet paper, detergents, and toothpaste. No family visitation or phone calls were allowed.

The prison sometimes hires experts from brainwashing centers, colleges and the 610 Office (an extra-legal agency created to persecute Falun Gong) to brainwash and pressure the practitioners into renouncing their faith.

Another practitioner, Mr. Li Dayao, was persecuted to death by Fanjiatai Prison on November 30, 2019. He was 67.