Ms. Yu Libo Dies After Being Imprisoned for Eight Years

Name: Yu Libo
Gender: Female
Age: 38
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Employed at a pharmaceutical factory
Date of Death: October 31st, 2011
Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 26th, 2001
Most Recent Place of Detention: Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison
City: Zhaodong
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Beatings, imprisonment, physical restraint, interrogation, detention.

Ms. Yu Libo died on October 31st, 2011, after enduring eight years of imprisonment. After she died, her eyes and mouth remained open, and blood was visible around her mouth. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong caused her and her family tremendous pain and grief.

Ms. Yu graduated from Harbin University of Chinese Medicine and was employed at a pharmaceutical factory. She worked hard at her job.

Ms. Yu was arrested in June 2001 as she was distributing Falun Gong informational flyers in a residential area. A person who had followed her reported her to the Fendou Police Station. The police kicked, punched, and pulled out the hair of both her and another practitioner at the scene. This violence angered the crowd who witnessed the arrests, and they commented on how brutally the police officers beat the two defenceless women. During her detention, guards made Ms. Yu sit on the tiger bench¹ for two days and one night, with metal rods fixing her legs in one position. The guards took turns beating her when they questioned her. She was tortured so badly that her face and body were badly disfigured. Her legs were swollen and she was barely able to walk.

Mr. Yu was sentenced to eight years in prison and transferred to the Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison, where she was physically abused and mentally tormented, in late 2001. As a result of the mistreatment, Ms. Yu Libo developed severe intestinal problems as diagnosed by physicians at an outside hospital.

On August 21st, 2007, Ms. Yu's father-in-law and her son went to the prison for their limited monthly visit (a "level two" restriction for those who refused to give up their belief in Falun Gong). They saw that Ms. Yu was emaciated and was constantly holding her abdomen. Her eight-year-old son did not even recognise his mother, and her father-in-law was very distressed by what he saw.

Three days later, Ms. Yu's parents and her father-in-law went to the prison again, attempting to petition for outside medical treatment for her. The prison officials refused to let them visit, saying, "How do you know her condition is critical?" When the family insisted on having her checked by an outside medical facility, the prison guards told them that Ms. Yu had cooperated with the treatment provided, and her condition had improved. They said that her life was no longer in danger. That was clearly a lie. How could a person who was so sick three days earlier recover so quickly?

Ms. Yu finished her eight-year prison term and returned home on the afternoon of June 26th, 2009. In order obtain Ms. Yu's release from prison, her family was required to get a letter from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and the court in Zhaodong City. Those organisations deliberately made things difficult for Ms. Yu's family. The 610 Office even ordered several officers to go with them to receive her. On June 27th, the day after Ms. Yu returned home, 610 Office head Yang Dali, along with Pang Guoyi, Ma Chunsheng, and some community management personnel, went to Ms. Yu's home to monitor her.

Ms. Yu was physically abused and mentally tormented during her eight years in prison. When she returned home, she was emaciated and frightened. The 610 Office agent, Pang Guoyi, and other officers wouldn't leave her alone. They went to her home and harassed her during the summer of 2011. The tremendous pressure and terror worsened Ms. Yu's condition.

Ms. Yu's husband was imprisoned for nine years for practising Falun Gong. He was released in May this year and his hair had turned all white at the age of only 40. Their child, now 12, has been brought up by his grandparents. His grandfather died however, in the summer of 2009. His grandmother injured one of her legs several years ago and had to live a hard life with the child.

Just a few months after the family reunited, Ms. Yu died, on October 31st, 2011, at the age of only 39.

Related report:

“Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Yu Libo is Emaciated from Torture at Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison”
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/9/16/89592.html

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/11/7/248824.html