Six Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted to Death by Jidong Prison in Hebei Province Since 2022

(Minghui.org) More than 320 Falun Gong practitioners have been imprisoned in Jidong Prison in Hebei Province at one point or another since the Chinese communist regime launched the brutal persecution against Falun Gong in 1999. Among them, at least 20 practitioners have been tortured to death in the prison, or died after being released, including six new death cases between January 2022 and April 2023.

Jidong Prison, which has nine branches, is under the administration of the Hebei Provincial Prison Administration Bureau. Most of the male Falun Gong practitioners sentenced in Hebei Province are detained in Jidong Prison. Under the temptation of power and profit, prison guards use all sorts of cruel methods to try to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their faith.

Falun Gong practitioners are currently imprisoned in all nine branches, where they are ordered to renounce their faith and perform unpaid labor. They are also forced to sit on a small bench for long periods, and have restrictions for eating, bathing, and washing. They are also barred from buying daily necessities, making phone calls to, or being visited by their families. Many Falun Gong practitioners have been maimed and injured as a result of the torture.

Mr. Lai Zhiqiang Dies Two Months Before Release from Serving Seven Years

Mr. Lai Zhiqiang, a Tangshan City, Hebei Province, resident in his 50s, was sentenced to seven years. The prison officials notified his wife of his death on January 3, 2023, two months before his scheduled release. When his family members rushed to the prison, they were ordered to pay 1,000 yuan before they could see his body.

They finally saw his body in a coffin the next day. His body was curled up and his face had been injured. Four prison guards held Mr. Lai’s wife to prevent her from getting close to his body. The prison officials refused to return his body to his family and deceived his daughter into signing a consent form to have the body cremated.

Mr. Wang Jian Suddenly Dies Two Weeks After Family’s Visit

Mr. Wang Jian (graphic photos in the linked article), a resident of Zunhua City, Hebei Province, was arrested at home on July 6, 2019 and later sentenced to seven years in prison with a 5,000-yuan fine. He was still in good health when he had a physical exam on March 2, 2023. He also appeared to be fine and in good spirits when his family visited him on March 19. However, the family received a sudden phone call from the prison on April 3 with the news of his death. He was 72 years old.

Mr. Wang had large areas of deep bruises around his ears and on his back, as well as some bruises on the back of his right hand. There was a circular mark on his chest and some scratches on his back. When the coroner turned his body over, fluid came out of his left ear.

The prison claimed that Mr. Wang died suddenly of a disease, but without specifying what disease it was. They asked the family to provide proof of low income, as they intended to offer them a financial subsidy of between 8,000 and 10,000 yuan.

To the family, the bruises on Mr. Wang’s head and back seemed unusual and not caused by a normal disease. They asked if they were caused by torture or other mistreatment that the prison was trying to hide.

Mr. Yang Zhixiong Dies After Over a Year in Prison, With No Family Visitation Allowed

Mr. Yang Zhixiong, a former journalist and real estate sales manager in Xiong County, Hebei Province, was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison on December 1, 2020. He was taken to the Jidong No. 5 Prison around April 2021. The prison never allowed him to call his family because he refused to renounce Falun Gong. His family went to the prison once but were turned away by the guards, citing the pandemic as an excuse.

The prison called Mr. Yang’s family in July and said that he had been admitted to the intensive care unit at Tangshan Union (Xiehe) Hospital. As the prison finally allowed the family to visit him at the hospital, they were devastated to see their loved one, though emaciated, still handcuffed and shackled. The doctor told them that he was found to have myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells).

Mr. Yang died on the night of August 10, 2022. He was still handcuffed and shackled in his final moments and his eyes remained wide open. He was 58 years old.

Mr. Han Junde Dies After Repeated Denials of Medical Parole

The Jidong No. 5 Prison in Hebei Province notified Mr. Han Junde’s family on April 14, 2022 that the Baoding City, Hebei Province resident had passed away at 10:35 a.m. that day.

Mr. Han, 77, was sentenced to eight years in prison with a 10,000 yuan fine in February 2020. His death happened less than three years after he was admitted to the prison, where the guards repeatedly ordered him to plead guilty and renounce Falun Gong. As he refused to comply, they stripped his rights of meeting, calling, or writing to his family.

His family later learned that he had developed severe anemia due to abuse in the prison. He became blind in one eye and had to be wheeled around in a wheelchair in the prison. They had been urging the prison since March 2021 to get him medical treatment, but were denied because he refused to renounce Falun Gong. The prison guards said that they had received instructions from their superiors stipulating that even if Mr. Han had a medical emergency, as long as he didn’t renounce Falun Gong, the prison wouldn’t be held responsible—it would be his own fault for not renouncing Falun Gong.

Mr. Han’s wife, Ms. Fu Gui, appealed to the Hebei Province Prison Administration Bureau on August 30, 2021, and she applied for his medical parole again in early 2022 and early April 2022, but to no avail.

Mr. Bai Xingguo Passes Away Three Weeks After Release

Mr. Bai Xingguo, a native of Fengning Manchu Autonomous County, Hebei Province, was arrested on January 4, 2018. He was sentenced to three years in prison on April 18, 2018. He served his term in Jidong Prison where he was injected with harmful drugs six months before his release.

Mr. Bai’s health subsequently deteriorated, and his mind often became unclear. A prison official called his family to pick him up in January 2022. By then, he could not take care of himself and was on the verge of death.

He passed away three weeks later at home, at age 83.

Mr. Song Naiwen Passes Away from Deteriorating Health

Mr. Song Naiwen, a Qian’an City, Hebei Province resident, had suffered multiple arrests and detentions during the past years for his faith, including serving a seven-year term in Jidong Prison. He was subjected to brutal torture, including beatings, cigarette burns, and electric shocks.

He was forced to live away from home to avoid constant harassment from the authorities after his release from prison. The non-stop persecution took a toll on his health, which kept deteriorating over the years. He passed away on July 8, 2022, at age 58.