Mr. Yan Hongjie of Harbin City Dies as Result of Persecution

Mr. Yan Hongjie, 46-years-old, began practising Falun Gong in January, 1998. Prior to beginning the practice, he suffered from illnesses of stomach, trachea and lungs. His illnesses disappeared. once he took up the practice. He followed the principles Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, to become a good person. The persecution that Mr. Yan Hongjie was subjected to caused him physical damage and financial ruin. During the 2008 Chinese New Year holidays, Mr. Yan's condition became critical, and he passed away on February 24th, 2008.

In November 1999, Mr. Yan Hongjie went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. He was arrested by the police from Harbin City Liaison Office at Beijing, and was taken back to his home town. He was detained in Acheng District Detention Centre for three months, and sentenced to one year in a labour camp. He was first imprisoned in Yimianpo Forced Labour Camp of Heilongjiang Province, and later was taken to Suihua City Forced Labour Camp. The labour camp did not release him on time but extended the prison term eight months.

When Mr. Yan Hongjie was imprisoned in Yimianpo Forced Labour Camp, the guards tortured him both physically and mentally. The guards at Yimianpo, enforced Jiang Zemin's, [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] policy against Falun Gong practitioners, "ruin their reputations, bankrupt their financially and destroy them physically." Mr. Yan was steadfast in his belief in Falun Gong. He refused to write the three statements that renounce Falun Gong, and he would not read slanderous articles about Falun Gong. The guards tortured him with electric batons, forced him to stand along a wall for long periods of time and deprived him of sleep. They ordered other inmates to violently beat him. He received internal injuries from the beatings and he could not walk, set up in bed or turn over. He also coughed continuously, spit up blood, and even taking a breath would make him wince with pain. The camp conditions were very poor. He was infected with scabies, and had numerous canker sores all over his body. His open wounds bleed and oozed with pus. His underwear often stuck to his body with dry blood. His bed sheets were also full of blood. He limped when walking. Even the guards had a hard time watching him. Under these brutal tortures and harsh living conditions, Mr. Yan did not give up his faith in Falun Gong.

On April 25th, 2004, Mr. Yan Hongjie and other practitioners were doing the Falun Gong exercises. As punishment, the guards forced them to carry rocks, which was very hard physical work. A full basket of rocks on one's shoulder could make a person fall and breathing was difficult. Even so, they were forced to run uphill with a full bucket of stones on their shoulders. This hard labour produced wounds all over the practitioners bodies. The wounds on their shoulders were bleeding, oozing fluids, and even some bone was exposed. The practitioners were not allowed to drink any water though the temperature was 115oF. If they were tired from carry the stones, they would be dragged from the top of the mountain to bottom of the mountain. Their clothes were worn, and their legs were bleeding.

At end of 2000, Mr. Yan Hongjie, and some other practitioners were transferred to Suihua City Labour Camp. The guards used all kinds of methods to force the practitioners to accept the brainwashing and give up their practice. Mr. Yan Hongjie again held steadfast in his belief in Falun Gong from the beginning to the end. Finally, the guards from Suihua Labour Camp gave up on their attempts to transform [brainwash] him. All of the guards and prisoners who knew him, admired him. In July 2001, Suihua Forced Labour Camp released him unconditionally.

The persecution that Mr. Yan Hongjie was subjected to caused him physical damage and financial ruin. During the 2008 Chinese New Year holidays, Mr. Yan's condition became critical, and he passed away on February 24th, 2008.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/2/29/173321.html