31-year-old Ms. Huang Zhao was beaten to death by Chinese police on April 16, 2004. Her husband was also beaten and tortured. |
Two weeks later, Huang was dead.
Witnesses say by the second day of her detention, Huang had been severely beaten and could no longer walk. Because she refused to renounce her beliefs, on April 4th Huang was transferred to the No.1 Branch of Wuhan City Police (the local “6-10 Office”) where she was tortured further.
Huang died at 3 a.m. on April 16th at the Wuhan City No. 3 Hospital.
Sources familiar with Huang’s case say local police are monitoring Huang’s family members and the hospital where she died to ensure information about her death is not made public. Everyone walking in and out of Huang’s residential building is questioned, they say.
Huang’s husband, Liu Ning, was also beaten and tortured after being detained, but he was later released to his family. When Liu visited his mother-in-law to enquire about his wife’s whereabouts, he was arrested again.
NEWS – May 4, 2004
European Falun Gong Information Centre, www.clearharmony.net
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." Practiced in over 50 countries world-wide, Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture. With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's Communist leader Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report). Since that time, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. The European Falun Gong Information Centre has verified details of 958 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2001, however, Government officials inside China reported that the actual death toll was well over 1,600. Expert sources now estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE EUROPEAN FALUN GONG INFORMATION CENTRE
Peter Jauhal + 44 (0) 7719 508 268 Nicolas Schols +32 47 98 75 734
More contacts. http://www.falungonginfo.net/europe.htm
Email: [email protected]
* * *
You are welcome to print and circulate all articles published on Clearharmony and their content, but please quote the source.