Mr. Wu Junyang Tortured to Death at Benxi City Detention Centre

On the morning of September 18, 2004, with the support of heads of the 610 Office in Benxi City, Liaoning Province, the Benxi Public Security departments illegally arrested over 50 Falun Dafa practitioners. Wang Lianying, over 70 years old, a retired government official from the City's 2nd Light Industry Bureau, was beaten to death by police that very night, raising a stir in the city. Further grievous news came today: practitioner Wu Junyang was persecuted to death 70 days after his arrest.

Wu Junyang

Mr. Wu Junyang, 30 years old, was an employee of the Benxi Chemical Fertilizer Plant. In 1999, because he was determined in practising Falun Gong and frequently went out to appeal for Falun Dafa, he was arrested and sentenced to two years of forced labour and detained in the notorious Weiningying Forced Labour Camp in Benxi City.

In order to force Wu Junyang to give up his belief, heads of the 610 Office, tortured him in various ways, including solitary confinement, shocking him with electric batons, beating, and stretching him on a bed. These tortures could not destroy Wu Junyang's will. After he was released, he exposed to the public the fact that Weiningying Forced Labour Camp subjected practitioners to brutal torture. Mr. Wu's actions frightened the corrupt staff of the labour camp, and they intended to arrest him, so he was forced to leave home for three years.

In the early morning of September 16, 2004, personnel from the Benxi National Security Bureau discovered Wu Junyang's whereabouts. Several police officers forced open the window where Mr. Wu was staying and arrested him, without any legal warrant. They extorted a "confession" from him by torture. After several days, Wu Junyang was covered in wounds and still detained at the Bailou Detention Centre. The police noticed that he had become very weak and his life was in danger. In order to avoid responsibility for his impending death, Tongqianjin Police Station sent Mr. Wu to Benxi City Central Hospital on November 16, and informed his family that Wu Junyang was sick and being treated at the Central Hospital. Upon hearing the news, his family went immediately to the hospital, where the police tried to force them to sign a pre-written release paper. They refused to sign and insisted on seeing Wu Junyang. The police said, "If you don't sign the paper, you won't be allowed to see him." Thus, his 70-year-old mother and his sister were forced to sign the document against their will.

Then the police took Wu Junyang's family to a hidden place in the Central Hospital, where Wu Junyang lay on a bench. There was no indication that he had received life support or had been treated. His eyes were bruised and slightly opened. He said in a faint, hoarse voice, "The police beat me to this condition." At this moment his family discovered that the police had disappeared, and they suddenly understood what had happened and felt extremely grieved. Wu Junyang knew that his family was quite short of money, and his father had been sick all year. He implored his mother to take him back home. With nowhere to appeal and no money to treat his condition, as a last resort, his family took him back home. Mr. Wu was blind in both eyes, his body was covered in wounds and bruises, and his penis was black. He was unconscious, couldn't speak, and suffered incontinence of his bowels and bladder. On November 27, 2004, at 1:00 a.m., Wu Junyang passed away.

Under the instructions of Jiang's regime, since 1999 the Benxi City 610 Offices have persecuted five Falun Dafa practitioners to death: Zheng Ziran, an employee of the No.1 Ironworks Factory of Benxi Iron and Steel Company; Zhang Cuizhen, a teacher from Benxi Normal School; Zhou Zhi, an engineer from the Benxi Iron and Steel Company; Wang Lianying, a retired government employee from the City's 2nd Light Industry Bureau; and Wu Junyang. The situation for practitioner Lu Yuankun is still unclear (see below).

(Note: Benxi Dafa practitioner Mr. Lu Yuankun, about 40 years old, was sentenced to forced labour. After he was released, he devoted himself to exposing the persecution. In 2003, Lu Yuankun was listed as wanted by the police in Zhengzhou City, and he was later arrested. His current situation is not fully known. Because of his determination in cultivating Falun Dafa, his wife was also sentenced to forced labour and detained in the notorious Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. After she was released, she went several times to the Benxi Public Security Bureau and the Political and Judiciary Committee to appeal for and inquire about her husband, but was rejected. The authorities have monitored her for long time.)

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/1/13/93428.html