Heilongjiang Woman Dies One Year After Completing 12-Year Prison Term
(Minghui.org)
Name: Zhang HuijuanChinese Name: 张慧娟Gender: FemaleAge: 63City: YilanProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: N/ADate of Death: February 5, 2025Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 29, 2013Most Recent Place of Detention: Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison
Zhang Huijuan, 63, from Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province, was diagnosed with cancer while serving a 12-year term for practicing Falun Gong, but the prison authorities still refused to release her on medical parole. The police continued to harass her when she was finally released at the end of her term. Her health kept deteriorating and she died a year later, on February 5, 2025. She was 63.
Ms. Zhang Huijuan
Ms. Zhang Huijuan was arrested on the evening of March 29, 2013, during a police sweep. The arrest order came from Wang Xiankui, then governor of Heilongjiang, who was infuriated after discovering banners bearing information about Falun Gong along the highway. Within a few days, more than 50 practitioners in Yilan and nearby counties were arrested.
When the police came to arrest Ms. Zhang, they mistakenly scaled her neighbor’s fence and were driven out. They waited outside and arrested her when she returned home around 10 p.m. The glass in her front door was smashed. Her home was turned upside down. Her two computers, twelve printers and 1,000 yuan in cash confiscated. Her husband, Mr. Ge Yanzhong, was also taken to the police station for interrogation. He was released one day later.
Directed by the Yilan County Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the 610 Office, two agencies tasked with overseeing the persecution, the Yilan County Court sentenced 14 of the arrested practitioners to prison, with prison terms ranging from 3 to 13 years. Ms. Zhang was given 12 years.
While serving time at the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison, Ms. Zhang wasn’t only subjected to brutal torture, but was also forced to work for long hours without pay. She was not allowed to sleep or eat when she failed to finish the daily quota. Due to the heavy work load and the meager amount of food she was given, she fainted while carrying a heavy bag of goods. The other inmates stepped on her in order to get their own work done quickly.
One product Ms. Zhang was forced to make was paper containers or bags. Without any personal protective equipment, her body always swelled up, including her eyes, every time she came into contact with the glue or other toxic substances.
Other products Ms. Zhang worked on included artificial eyelashes, teeth picks, and coffee stir bars. Many practitioners experienced significant decline of their vision while making the eyelashes. One practitioner became blind in her right eye.
Ms. Zhang later developed a lump on her arm, which often oozed pus and fluid. Although the lump was confirmed to be cancer, the prison rejected her family’s application to release her on medical parole. Ms. Zhang’s health quickly deteriorated after she was released in 2024. Yet the police never stopped coming to harass her. She died on February 5, 2025.
In addition to Ms. Zhang, at least another 34 practitioners were tortured to death in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison or passed away shortly after they were released.
The practitioners were: Ms. Bi Yunping, Ms. Wang Ying and Ms. Guo Meisong, Ms. Qu Jie, Ms. Wang Fang, Ms. Liu Qianqian, Ms. Du Jinglan, Ms. Li Haiyan, Ms. Chen Weijun, Ms. Ni Shuzhi, Ms. Jin Chunxian, Ms. Zhang Yaqin, Ms. Liu Deqing, Ms. Li Yaru, Ms. Zhao Bixu, Ms. Wang Xiuyue, Ms. Lou Weiming, Ms. Yang Ruiqin, Ms. Liu Lingling, Ms. Wang Caiyun, Ms. Zhao Chunyan, Ms. Liu Xiuqin, Ms. Yang Lihua, Ms. Wang Fang, Ms. Su Yunxia, Ms. Liu Yaqin, Ms. Teng Shuli, Ms. Fei Shuqin, Ms. Mou Yongxia, Ms. Meng Hong, Ms. Li Guiyue, Ms. Guan Hongyan, Ms. Li Yuzhen, and Ms. Shi Guizhi.
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Yilan Woman Sentenced to 12 Years; Husband and Daughter Suffer Under Surveillance
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