10 Jul 2011

NEW YORK--From June 10 to July 10, the Falun Dafa Information Center obtained information on nine new cases of Falun Gong practitioners who died in 2011 due to persecution. The victims come from around the country and all strata of society, including a farmer from Shandong, a bookstore owner from Guangdong, and a retired accountant from Sichuan.

As rumors circulate in China that former Communist Party-head Jiang Zemin is brain dead or dead, these cases highlight the brutality of the campaign he launched, as well as its continuation nationwide even with Jiang incapacitated. 

"We must not forget that Jiang Zemin is a mass murderer. He is directly responsible for the unjust campaign of terror against Falun Gong that has gone on for 12 years and has devastated tens of millions of lives, including those of these nine victims and their families," says Falun Gong spokesperson Erping Zhang.

"Jiang's legacy will be a stain on China's human rights record for generations to come. We hope those in China who have been following his lead will listen to their conscience and stop cooperating with orders to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.”

Several of the victims were forcibly injected with unknown drugs while in custody that caused permanent mental and physical damage from which they never recovered. 

On May 30, the center published the details of 26 other individuals who died from abuse since January 1, 2011 (news / photo gallery). The new cases bring this total to 35. Given the Chinese authorities' efforts to cover up such deaths and the difficulty smuggling information out of China, the actual Falun Gong death toll is likely even higher.

The following are brief summaries of the cases and the circumstances of the victims' deaths. Additional details are available upon request:
 
* Mr. Liu Yiming, a retired accountant from Sichuan, died on February 21, 2011, after having been detained in 2005 when distributing information about Falun Gong and the abuses suffered by practitioners. He was released four months later but in a dazed state after apparently having been injected with drugs; he never fully recovered from the experience.

* Mr. Zhang Zenggui, a farmer from Shangdong, died on April 13, 2011 at the age of 67. Zhang was abducted from his home in April 2010 by police. He was released shortly afterwards when the authorities extorted 3,000 yuan from his son, but never recovered from the abuse in custody.

* Mr. Huang Wei, a bookstore owner from Guangdong, died on April 29, 2011 at the age of 44. Huang was abducted by police on the morning of April 6, 2009 and sent without trial to Sanshui Labor Camp, where he was repeatedly tortured and forcibly medicated with unknown drugs. He was released on April 17, 2011 emaciated, weak, and disoriented. He died 12 days later.

* Mr. Sun Xianming, a former factor worker from Jilin, died on April 30, 2011 at the age of 59. Sun was abducted by police in April 2008 for putting up Falun Gong-related posters in a residential area and was sent to Fenjin Labor Camp. Torture from a previous labor camp stint had already left him without the use of one arm. He was released in mid-2010 thin and sick with tuberculosis. He was forced to leave home to avoid further harassment and died on April 30, 2011.

* Ms. Zhao Shuhui, a Beijing resident in her 60s, died on May 2, 2011. Zhao was abducted from home in 2006 and sent to Beijing Women's Labor Camp for two years, where she developed diabetes and other illnesses. After her release, she was again abducted ahead of the Olympics and taken to a brainwashing facility. The repeated detentions and harassment took their toll on her health and she never recovered.

* Ms. Liu Honghua, a former electric company employee from Shandong, died on June 2, 2011. On March 30, 2009, officers from the Domestic Security Division broke into Liu's home and abducted her. She was taken to a Falun Gong brainwashing center at Taojialing Dongjiao School, where she was badly tortured. She was released several days later, but never recovered and died in June 2011.

* Ms. Zhang Zhongfen, a Chongqing resident in her 50s, died on June 14, 2011. Police detained Zhang in August 2008 when she was speaking to people at a farmers' market about Falun Gong. She was sentenced to one year at Maojiashan Women's Labor Camp, where she was badly abused, causing a serious head injury and broken leg. She was released in 2010 but never recovered and died in June 2011.

* Ms. Du Juan, a 56-year-old Beijing resident, died on June 14, 2011. Ms. Du was detained by police on May 6, 2010 and sent for the second time to Beijing Women's Prison for practicing Falun Gong, this time for three years. She was badly abused and diagnosed with cancer. Despite her families repeated applications for medical parole, she was kept at the prison without proper treatment and died on June 14, 2011.

* Mr. Bai Shuang, a teacher in his 50s from Heilongjiang, died on June 20, 2011 at Mudanjiang City Prison. Bai was abducted from his home on January 15, 2010 and taken to a detention center. He was then sent to the prison, where he was tortured to the point of suffering a stroke. Denied proper medical attention, he died in custody on June 20, 2011.

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