Mr. Jin Dezhu Dies as Result of Persecution in Jilin Province

Mr. Jin Dezhu, in his 40s and of Korean ethnicity, was a teacher employed by Longshan Elementary School in Dongshengyong Town, Longjing City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province. He was fired by principal Zhao Zhegao in 2002 for refusing to give up Falun Gong and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Under enormous pressure, his wife divorced him.

In 2003, officers from the Longjing City Police Department ransacked Mr. Jin's home when he was not there. He was forced to live away from home and went to Weihai City, Shandong Province. He was detained for one month in Weihai City due to distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong . He came back to Yanbian Korean Prefecture, but dared not stay at his home due to the danger of arrest.

On February 28th, 2006, Domestic Security officers from the Yanji City Police Department arrested Jin Dezhu again in Yanji City, and detained him for one year in the Yanji City Detention Centre. The police had to release him after one year, since they could not find an excuse to sentence him.

At noon on September 29th, 2007, two plain clothes officers arrested Mr. Jin at his work, saying that someone reported that he talked to people about Falun Gong on a bus. After being detained for 15 days, he was sent for 18 months of forced labour at the Yinmahe Forced Labour Camp in Jiutai City, Jilin Province.

Mr. Jin was tortured and spent a long time on the sitting board¹. The board was very cold and hard, and he was forced to sit straight, with both hands on his knees; if he moved a little bit, he would be cursed at or beaten. Practitioners were not allowed to talk, and were forced to read articles slandering Falun Gong. They were forced to get up at 4:00 a.m. They were starved, only fed two small buns at each meal.

After seven months, Mr. Jin became emaciated and developed severe tuberculosis. His life was in danger and he passed out many times. The labour camp had doctors take him back home to avoid responsibility for his condition. Mr. Jin was hospitalized twice, but died on December 31st, 2008.

Note

1. Sitting Board: Every day, practitioners are forced to sit on benches with their hands on top of their laps, backs straight, 18 hours per day. This continued for over fifty days. The authorities even limited the practitioners' restroom use. Because of the long time spent sitting on hard benches, practitioners' buttocks developed big sores that hurt badly. Many practitioners could not urinate normally because of the pain. The labor camp was very damp, and the guards would not allow practitioners to have any ventilation or the chance to get some sunlight. Because practitioners were locked up for long periods, some practitioners developed scabies that were extremely itchy and painful. See case at: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/7/29/24631.html.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/1/28/194399.html