59-Year-Old Sichuan Province Woman, Chen Guijun, Tortured to Death by Police (Photo)

Falun Dafa Practitioner Chen Guijun, an elderly lady, was tortured to death on December 21, 2003, after 47 days of hunger strike.

Chen Guijun was a 59-year-old lady who lived in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. She retired from the Second Farm of Xinjiang Province Construction Corporation.

Chen started to practise Falun Gong in 1995. As a veteran practitioner and a volunteer assistant, she actively promoted Falun Gong in her local area. People all knew that she was a kindhearted and sincere woman who was always willing to help others.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 22, 1999, Chen took the initiative to step forward to appeal for Falun Dafa.

On April 14, 2003, Chen was staying with several elderly female practitioners in a house when they were abducted by the police. After interrogating and torturing her in a separate room for one month, the criminal police brigade of Qingbaijiang District Police Department, along with the "610 Office," transferred Chen to the Pi County Detention Centre in Chengdu City. According to some practitioners who were detained together with Chen, she was often brutally beaten by police, and had wounds all over her body. However, despite the torture, Chen insisted on clarifying the truth to the police. Starting September 26, 2003, Chen began a hunger strike to protest her illegal persecution.

During her hunger strike, the People's Court in Qingbaijiang District tried her secretly on October 28, 2003. The unlawful people did not inform her family of the trial, nor did they allow Chen to hire lawyers. They did not even announce the time and location of the trial. Chen was illegally sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Chen firmly resisted the illegal verdict, and continued her hunger strike. After she showed life-threatening symptoms, she was secretly transferred to the Qingyang District People's Hospital in Chengdu City for emergency treatment. In December, the hospital issued an announcement stating that she was near death. On many occasions Chen's family had requested that she be released on medical parole. However, they were rejected by the detention centre. After suffering numerous tortures, Chen passed away at around 5:00 p.m. on December 21, 2003. Before her abduction, Chen was a healthy lady who weighed about 145 lb. However, she was only about 60 lb when she left the world. After her death, the police did not allow her family to take her body back home. Instead, on December 24, they took her body to Wenjiang County Funeral Home for immediate cremation.

Chen's family of five all practise Falun Gong and all her family members have been subjected to persecution to various degrees. In 2001, her husband Zhu Yu was arrested and detained in the Xinhua Labour Camp in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. During his detention he was persecuted so badly that he almost lost vision in both eyes.

On a business trip to Jiange County, Chen's eldest son-in-law Shen Xuqing exposed the so-called "Tiananmen Self-Immolation" to the local public. As a result, police detained him April 3, 2001 and sentenced him to one year of forced labour. The police also illegally confiscated the 50,000 yuan that Shen Xuqing's work unit gave him to do business. At that time, the factory Shen worked for was in financial trouble, so Shen took out his savings of 20,000 yuan and borrowed 30,000 yuan from his sister, and lent the money to the factory. The factory issued a borrowing receipt to Shen. Shen's family members and his work unit had driven over 10 hours to Jiange County to claim the confiscated money, but the police there plainly rejected their request.

Chen's eldest daughter Zhu Rui and second daughter Zhu Li were both sentenced to one year of forced labour education for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. After they were released from the labour camp, they were again arrested at home in November 2001 and sentenced to 3 years in a labour camp. Currently they are still being detained at the Nanmusi Women's Labour Camp in Zizhong City, Sichuan Province where they suffer brainwashing and physical torture. While Zhu Li was detained in the Pi County Detention Centre (before she was sent to the labour camp), she was brutally force-fed and had wounds all over her mouth and nose. In the labour camp, the torture she received has caused both of her legs to be broken, leaving her paralyzed.

On December 29, 2001, 8 policemen went to ransack Chen Guijun's home. They stayed there for a whole day, taking away all the Dafa materials in the house. They also froze 50,000 yuan saved under the name of Chen's husband in the bank, forcing the couple to borrow money to make a living.

Entities that have directly participated in the persecution of Chen Guijun's family:

Pi County Detention Centre
"610 Office" of Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu City
Qingbaijiang District Police Department
Qingbaijiang District People's Court
Dawan Police Station of Qingbaijiang District Police Department
Tuanjiecun Police Station of Qingbaijiang District Police Department

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/5/64085.html