According to statistics from Clearwisdom.net, 26 innocent Falun Gong practitioners were verified to have died as a result of persecution in police custody during the month of May, 2004. This caused the total death count of Falun Gong practitioners to reach 973.

The 26 deaths from torture that were exposed in May are from 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities nationwide, including Hebei (5), Liaoning (4), Jilin (3), Gansu (2), Sichuan (2), and one each from Henan, Guizhou, Shanxi, Hunan, Chongqing, Hainan, Guangdong, Hubei, Shandong, and Xinjiang.

Of the 26 death cases recently exposed, 57.7% were people over 50 years old, 61.50% were women; the youngest was 20-year-old Zhou Rong from Xiaohe Dazhai Village, Guiyang, Guizhou Province. The eldest was 70-year-old Zhang Caihou from Shuangcheng Town, Wuwei City, Gansu Province. Two elderly female practitioners were tortured to death by the police; they were Zhao Xiaoping, 62, a retired teacher from Xinjiang, and Zeng Lingxiu, 60, from Guanghan City, Sichuan Province.

Like most practitioners, they attained healthy bodies after practicing Falun Gong. For example, Zhou Zebi from Sichuan and Liu Fu Meihui from Guangdong were sickly and weak, but became healthy and strong; Li Chunrong from Liaoning and Wang Jingrong from Henan had high blood pressure for many years but were cured without treatment; Zhang Yuzhen from Hebei had advanced lymph cancer, and Zhou Yuqin from Hebei had intestinal cancer, but both completely recovered after beginning Falun Dafa practice. The tailbone of Yan Liyou from Hainan had been permanently damaged in a car accident, and was completely cured after practicing Falun Gong. He donated his wheelchair, crutches, and other equipment to the residents committee of his town. These are all members of mainstream society, each with a different occupation, including workers (Zhang Yuzhen from Hebei, Yang Meiying from Shanxi, Tang Yun from Chongqing), villagers (Zheng Fuxiang from Jilin, Zhou Rong from Guizhou, Zhao Mingxiang from Shandong, Zeng Lingxiu from Sichuan), teachers (Yu Fenghua from Liaoning, Zhao Xiaoping from Xinjiang), and a company general manager (Yan Liyou from Hainan).

Under Jiang's secret elimination orders, "Ruin Falun Gong practitioners' reputations, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically," the "610 Office" (1) and policemen have used all means to brutally persecute Falun Gong practitioners. The deaths reported in May resulted in most cases from persecution. Generally the people suffered severe physical torture along with mental torment. Many of them were abducted and their homes ransacked. They suffered from different kinds of violent beatings, brutal punishment, forced brainwashing, and extortion. They have been held in forced labor camps, detention centers, and brainwashing centers. The local public security officers and "610 Office" cruelly persecuted them and tried to force them to give up their belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance."

Besides regular beatings, the lawless police used various other torture methods. For example, Yang Meiying from Shanxi was beaten while she was hung by her handcuffed wrists for a long time; Wang Xiuyuan was deprived of sleep, physically punished, and forced to do hard labor; Zhou Zebi from Sichuan was punished, and only given two corn flour steamed buns each day; Yan Liyou from Hainan was soaked in ice-cold water during the winter, that was filled with body waste, and was shocked with several electric batons at the same time, and Zheng Fuxiang from Jilin and Sun Lancheng from Hebei were barbarically force-fed.

Dafa practitioner Mr. Zhao Mingxiang was 46 years old and lived in Zhaojiaguan Village, Renzhao Town, Pingdu City, Shandong Province. On December 21, 2003, he was arrested while distributing truth clarification materials in Duanbolan Town of Jimo City. A few days later, he was brutally tortured to death in the Duanbolan Police Station. The lawless police discarded his body in order to escape responsibility. Villagers discovered his body in a haystack on December 30, 2003. They reported it to Duanbolan Police Station. The police said the body was "unclaimed" and "unidentified." On May 25, 2004, Zhao Mingxiang's family went to the Jimo City Police Department to claim the body. The police said Zhao Mingxiang died from "hunger and cold weather." His family asked to take back his ashes, but the police said there were no ashes. Zhao Mingxiang's family saw four pictures of him in the police portfolio, in which he looked emaciated with long, unshaved facial hair. He wore only underwear and was disheveled. Zhao Mingxiang obviously died after suffering nine days of brutal torture at the Duanbolan Police Station in Jimo City.

Ms. Zhang Yuzhen, was a 48-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Qiaoxi District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. In 1998, she was diagnosed with advanced lymph cancer. She had difficulty eating, was extremely weak, and her life was in danger. After being introduced to and practicing Falun Gong, she recovered from cancer and regained her physical and mental health. She went back to work, and performed her job well. After July 20, 1999, when the persecution of Falun Gong began, Zhang Yuzhen went to Beijing to appeal and brought her medical records with her. However she was arrested by the National Appeals Office, and brought back to her hometown by the local police. After she returned, she was illegally detained and fined. Afterwards, Qiaoxi Beixin Village police station and the local office harassed her many times at home and at her workplace, and even abducted her and took her to both the local office and brainwashing center several times. Zhang Yuzhen had to leave home after experiencing this brutal persecution several times.

On the night of February 17, 2004, lawless policemen from the Zhangjiakou City Qiaoxi Public Security Sub-branch and the Qiaoxi Dajingmen Police Station kidnapped Zhang Yuzhen and detained her at the Shisanli Detention Center. Later, the Qiaoxi Judicial and Political Committee and the Qiaoxi Public Security Sub-branch sent her to the brainwashing center. In mid-April, when visited by her family members, they found that her mind was not clear. They believed this to be from her being persecuted. On May 4, 2004, Zhang Yuzhen died in a small clinic in the Qiaoxi HuaXiangzi area. The Dajingmen Police notified her family members after she died.

Ms. Zhao Xiaoping, 62, was a resident in Urumqi City and a retired teacher from a Ceramics Factory. She went to Beijing on December 28, 2000 to appeal against the persecution of Falun Dafa, and was detained in the Yanqing Detention Center. She was released two days later. She was held again in the No. 8 Branch of Beijing City's Police Station. They poured cold water over her after she was forced to take off all her clothes. She went on a hunger strike to resist the illegal detention. On January 4, 2001 Ms. Zhao was barbarically force-fed, interrogated by the authorities, and brutally tortured. Her face was disfigured with 3 big bumps on her head. Her body was covered with dirt, she could not speak, and her lips were tightly shut. She was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment on January 5, 2001. The doctors found that she was suffering from internal injuries that consisted of bleeding in her liver, spleen, and stomach. She was also diagnosed as having a swollen heart from the trauma she received, and she also was diagnosed with kidney failure. As a result of these massive injuries, Ms. Zhao passed away on January 7, 2001.

Dafa practitioner Mr. Zheng Fuxiang, 35, lived in Qingshan Township, Yushu City, Jilin Province. After Zheng Fuxiang went to Beijing to appeal for the first time, officers from Yushu City's Police Department detained him for over two months. After his second appeal, he was illegally sentenced to one year of forced labor. He was detained at the Weizigou Forced Labor Camp, the Fenjin Forced Labor Camp, and the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp in Changchun, where he suffered all kinds of physical and mental torture. His sentence was extended by five months because he persisted in his belief. His body was covered with scabies and he was very emaciated.

In March 2002, Dafa practitioners in Changchun tapped into the cable TV network and broadcasted programs clarifying the truth about Dafa. Jiang was extremely frightened, and secretly gave orders to "Kill without pardon." Immediately afterwards, the police started a frenzied wave of arrests. Zhang Dezhi, head of the Qingshan Township Police Station, led a group of police officers to Zheng Fuxiang's home and broke in without a warrant. They broke the windows and entered his home, and viciously beat him and his wife. They then took him to the Qingshan Township Police Station, where they shocked Zheng Fuxiang with electric batons, and beat his chest and stomach. They detained him for "disturbing the social order." Mr. Zheng Fuxiang held a hunger strike during detention to protest the persecution, and the guards force-fed him. Later he was sentenced to three years of forced labor and detained in the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp in Changchun. Many inmates and police surrounded Zheng Fuxiang and beat and tortured him with electric batons. Not long after that, Zheng Fuxiang sustained severe internal injuries from the torture. He coughed constantly and was extremely weak. Despite his condition, he was forced to do hard labor, which caused his condition to deteriorate, and he developed a high fever. In June 2003, Zheng Fuxiang was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was quarantined. The labor camp authorities ordered his family to pay for his medical treatment. His family pleaded for medical parole for Zheng Fuxiang, but the labor camp authorities denied their request. Due to the long-term persecution, Zheng Fuxiang became critically ill and vomited thick blood. The labor camp officials were afraid of being held responsible for their abuse, so on April 6, 2004 they told Zheng Fuxiang's family to take him home. Mr. Zheng Fuxiang passed away at 4:00 a.m. on April 7, 2004, at the age of 35.

Zhang Baicheng, 66, lived in Hongmei Town, Meihekou City in Jilin Province. He was sentenced to one year of forced labor for posting Falun Gong truth-clarification material. When he was released in December 2001, his body was full of scabies, he could not straighten his back while walking, the flesh on his leg was rotten, and the bones were exposed. During my father's stay at home, he constantly remained in bed. Even so, the staff from the labor camp and the police station still came to harass him, and extorted 400 Yuan (2) as a "visiting fee." Under the persecution and harassment of the public security officers, Zhang Baicheng died on February 19, 2002. After he passed away, the family had no income. The daughter, Zhang Lixin, had to work away from home. Zhang Lixin is also a Falun Gong practitioner. The policemen could not find her, so they frequently interrogated Zhang Baicheng's wife. One time they tried to force the elderly lady to sign a "Guarantee Statement." (3) She refused, so they forcibly took her fingerprints. They even shouted at her, "If we can't find your daughter, we'll take you away and interrogate you every day." At the same time, they intended to beat her. As a result, the 63 year-old elderly lady suffered a heart attack.

On the morning of May 27, the first oral arguments in the appeal of Falun Gong practitioners suing former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin for genocide were heard in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Dr. Terri Marsh, the plaintiffs' attorney, stated that Jiang cannot be exempt from prosecution for individual acts because of his former official position.

On the morning of May 27, 2004, Dr. Terri Marsh, the plaintiffs' attorney, stated that there were mistakes with the original court's dismissal of the lawsuit based on head-of-state immunity because Jiang is no longer a head of state, having left office as the president of China, and he therefore no longer enjoys immunity. Additionally, a head of state cannot be exempt from prosecution for individual and non-governmental acts.

A representative from the Department of Justice admitted China's human rights persecution against Falun Gong, and emphasized the United States' condemnation of such human rights violations.

In response to the diplomatic and political considerations, Dr. Marsh quoted former President Bush who, when signing the Torture Victim Protection Act into law, was aware that he was also supporting the rule of law. Dr. Marsh said that protecting human rights through strict legal processes is critically important.

After the oral arguments ended, the judges said they would make a decision based on discussion of the lawyers' statements. According to sources inside Mainland China, Jiang was extremely nervous about the court arguments.

Prior to the oral arguments between May 24 and 26, Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition called "Persecution vs. Principle" in the city of Chicago. They used posters and live models to illustrate the horrific and inconceivable torture against Falun Gong practitioners by the Jiang regime. It shocked people from all walks of life.

(1) 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.

(2) Yuan is the Chinese currency. The monthly income of an average urban worker is 500 Yuan.

(3) "Guarantee Statement" - A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.