November 9, 2001

There are reports that a former judge in China's Jiangxi Province who was a Falun Gong follower has died in prison hospital.

A doctor at the prison told the Reuters News Agency that Hu Qingyun, died of leukemia earlier this year. The New York-based Falun Dafa Information Center says Mr. Hu, the former head of the Jiangxi Province High Court, was sentenced to seven years in prison last year for his Falun Gong beliefs.

The movement was banned by Beijing in July, 1999 [...]. Since then, there has been an ongoing crackdown against the Falun Gong including many arrests and prison sentences. Falun Gong claims that some 200 followers have died in prison because of beatings and various forms of torture. The Chinese government says their deaths were due to natural causes or suicide.