Ms. Li Peiqin Persecuted to Death in Heilongjiang Province

Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, Ms. Li Peiqin had been arrested on several occasions. She died on January 24th, 2009 after being brutally tortured.

Before beginning to practise Falun Gong in May 1997, Ms. Li had suffered from various diseases including heart disease, kidney disease, and high blood pressure. She was so ill that she found it very difficult to do even simple household chores. After practising for a short while, all of her symptoms disappeared.

In March 2002, while taking care of her grandson in Shanghai, Ms. Li was arrested and sentenced to two years of forced labour. During her imprisonment, she was locked in a small isolation cell that could barely fit two people. To further torture her, the guards opened her cell window during the winter months and closed it during the summer months.

In November 2004, officers from Jiagedaqi Prefecture arrested and sentenced Ms. Li to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve for preparing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. During this period, officers regularly visited her home to harass and threaten her. Since her environment for studying the teachings of Falun Gong and doing the exercises had been seriously disrupted, all of Ms. Li's old diseases returned and she became seriously ill. In addition, her employer extorted 20,000 yuan¹ from her and provided her with only 300 yuan a month for living expenses.

In August 2005, officers from the Shanghai Police Department and the Jiagedaqi Prefecture Police Department visited Ms. Li's home but she was not there. The next day, after her husband left for work, the officers returned and arrested Ms. Li then took her to the local railway station. When her husband found out about the incident, he immediately went to the train station and firmly held on to his wife's hand. Many railway station police officers and officers from the Hongqi Police Station were called in to assist. Ms. Li was forcibly dragged to a waiting train bound for Shanghai. When she arrived, the officers detained her at the Jiading Subdistrict Detention Station and tortured her with sleep derivation. Two people were assigned to monitor her 24 hours a day. Even though she was in critical condition, the guards refused to release her.

At that time, an inmate who had just been released (her term had expired), told Ms. Li's family that she was in critical condition and suggested that they ask for her immediate release. When Ms. Li's husband went to the Shanghai Police Department, the guards would not allow him to visit with her. But later when they saw that Ms. Li was on the verge of death, they took her back to Jiagedaqi Prefecture.

During that time, agents from the National Security Division went to Ms. Li's home and work unit to harass her. As a result of their continuous harassment, her health began to deteriorate further. One day she was rushed to a hospital and bedridden for six days. The doctor on duty told her that she was in critical condition. Shortly after, Ms. Li miraculously recovered and left the hospital. Local police officers continued to harass her to the point that her health once again deteriorated. On January 24th, 2009, she passed away at the age of 58.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at ttp://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/5/6/200343.html