Mr. Li He, 59, Dies from Torture at the Jidong Prison in Tangshan City, Hebei Province

Mr. Li He from Zhuolu County, Hebei Province was tortured to near death at the Jidong Prison in Tangshan City. He passed away on June 27th, 2009. Since the persecution began in July 1999, Mr. Li He was arrested and his home ransacked, sentenced to detention and tortured numerous times.

Mr. Li He, 59 years old, lived in Taifu Village, Zhuolu County. He was a chauffeur in the army for over ten years. After he retired from the army he had many physical illnesses. He did not receive any benefits, so he lived a difficult life with poor health. Mr. Li began practising Falun Gong in 1996 and his health dramatically improved, reviving his hope and joy in life.

In March 2000, Mr. Li He was detained at the Zhuolu County Detention Centre because he refused to give up his belief in Falun Gong's teachings of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. After the police extorted 10,000 yuan¹ from his family, he was released forty days later.

On June 8th, 2008, he was once again arrested by the county's 610 Office² personnel Li Zhiming, Zhao Xuan, and Ban Zhiyong, and villagers Li Qingyi and Xie Zhenghua. He was detained at the Zhuolu Detention Centre for over four months. Afterwards, he was secretly sentenced to two years and was taken to the Jidong Prison in Nanpu District, Tangshan City for further persecution. At the prison, he was tortured to near death.

The prison tried to avoid responsibility for Mr. Li's extremely weakened physical state and notified the 610 Office to pick up Mr. Li. The 610 Office refused. Because the prison did not want to be held accountable for his death, Mr. Li was sent directly home.

After Mr. Li He returned home in critical condition, the authorities continued to harass him. The local 610 Office ordered people to monitor and pressure him, which caused him a great amount of mental anguish. On June 27th, 2009, not long after Mr. Li returned home, he passed away.

Persons directly responsible for Mr. Li's death:

Dong Fei, captain of the Domestic Security Division at the Zhuolu Police Department: 86-313-7985062 (Office), 86-313-6525952 (Home), 86-13932382700 (Mobile)
Zhao Xuan, director of the 610 Office in Zhuolu County: 86-313-6521076 (Office), 86-313-6534298 (Home), 86-13833358536 (Mobile)
Li Zhiming, Zhuolu County 610 Office staff: 6521076 (Office), 86-313-6533928 (Home), 86-13932390856 (Mobile)
Ban Zhiyong, Zhuolu County 610 Office staff: 86-313-6521076 (Office), 86-13653131933(Mobile)

Note

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

2. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/8/7/206070.html