Elderly Mr. Qirimailatu Dies in Custody in Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region

Mr. Qirimailatu, 72, was a Falun Gong practitioner living in Huhhot City, Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region. He was a minority construction expert, employed by the Regional Civil Engineering Design Institute as a senior engineer. His name is in The World Minority Who's Who book. He began cultivating Falun Gong in 1999 and became healthy. He kept informing people about the persecution of Falun Gong and dispelling the state propaganda attacking the practice, wrote a letter appealing for justice for Falun Gong, and was sentenced to two years of forced labour, which he served in the Wuyuan County Forced Labour Camp. He was the oldest inmate in the camp and endured numerous instances of physical torture and threats. Prisoners closely monitored him 24 hours per day. His term was extended three additional months because he firmly held his belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." The camp administration said he "openly opposed the government," forced him to clean the toilets in the First Ward, and made him participate in cruel "physical training." Drug-addict inmate Liu Zhengrong (male, assigned to watch Mr. Qirimailatu) beat and cursed him, took his personal belongings, and often did not allow him to eat. Guard Zhao Naidong (male) encouraged Liu Zhengrong to beat him.

In the beginning of May 2004, Mr. Qirimailatu was arrested by plain-clothes police officers while distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong in a park. The police ransacked his home, then sentenced him to three years forced labour, imprisoning him in the Wuyuan County Labour Camp again. At the beginning of 2005, guards Yang Furong, Wang Donglei, and Liu Ming (all male) locked him in solitary confinement for several months. After serving more than two years of the term, he was bailed out on medical parole due to his physical condition.

On August 8th, 2007, police arrested him for the third time while he was distributing leaflets. They had him sentenced to forced labour again, but the camp refused to admit him due to his advanced age and the physical tests that he failed, so he was detained in Inner-Mongolia Detention Centre. He went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution on December 6th, 2007. He died after detention centre administrators rushed him to the prison hospital on January 5th, 2008. Information revealed he was as thin as a skeleton and was unable to speak during the time he was detained.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/4/20/176844.html