(Minghui.org)

Name: Sun SuyunChinese Name: 孙素云Gender: FemaleAge: 67City: HaichengProvince: LiaoningOccupation: HairdresserDate of Death: September 26, 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 2010Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women’s Prison

A Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, resident died on September 26, 2023, after remaining bedridden and incapacitated for a decade. Ms. Sun Suyun’s tragedy stemmed from her arrest on August 4, 2010 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. She was sentenced to three years and subjected to various forms of abuse at the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison, located in the capital city of Shenyang.

Ms. Sun became severely ill and incapacitated as a result of the abuse and was released ahead of time on March 11, 2013. She fell into critical condition multiple times in the next decade. Her husband, who was also a hairdresser, was traumatized by her imprisonment and suffered declining health as well. As both of them lost the ability to work, they relied on their son’s meager income to get by. The financial struggle further aggravated their health conditions. Ms. Sun eventually succumbed to her illnesses at the age of 67.

Ms. Sun Suyun

Arrest and Sentencing

Ms. Sun used to suffer from emphysema (a lung disease that causes shortness of breath), migraines, and other chronic diseases. All her symptoms disappeared after she took up Falun Gong in 1997. She also became a more tolerant and kinder person.

Ms. Sun and three other local practitioners were arrested on the night of August 4, 2010, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. Li Fushen, chief of the Haicheng City Police Department, instructed the arresting officers from the Jiewen Police Station to take Ms. Sun to the Anshan City Women’s Detention Center that night.

Captain Yang Dianli and his subordinates Wu Kaisheng and Yang Song raided Ms. Sun’s home on the night of her arrest. Her husband was so terrified that he had a relapse of his heart disease.

Judge Cai Hongling of the Haicheng City Court sentenced Ms. Sun to three years at an unknown date.

Taken Back to Detention Center Right After Surgery

The Anshan City Women’s Detention Center guards took Ms. Sun to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on March 15, 2011, which declined to admit her after she failed the required physical examination. She asked to be released, but the detention center guards said it was impossible to release Falun Gong practitioners. They took her back to the detention center before transferring her to the Shuangshan Hospital in Anshan City the next day. They demanded 1,500 yuan from her family to cover her examination fee, and her loved ones refused to comply.

Ms. Sun was diagnosed with uterine polyps and had an operation to remove them right away. The guards took her back to the detention center immediately after the surgery. She had vaginal bleeding afterwards but was not given any treatment.

The detention center guards got the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison to admit Ms. Sun on March 29, 2011.

Abused in Prison

The prison guards kept Ms. Sun in a cold and damp wash room and only allowed her to wear a very thin layer of clothes. She was forced to sit on a small stool motionless for long hours during the day. She shivered in the cold and lost feeling in her feet. The guards forced her to watch anti-Falun Gong videos, causing more mental trauma to her. At night, they forced her to sleep on the cold cement floor.

Ms. Sun was forced to do hard labor as well and threatened with no food if she failed to finish the quota.

The relentless abuse ruined Ms. Sun’s health. She became severely ill and incapacitated. She was checked into the prison hospital and released ahead of time, on March 11, 2013. She was wheeled out of the prison when her family went to pick her up.

A Decade of Struggle Before Her Passing

Ms. Sun fell into critical condition multiple times after she returned home. She was diagnosed with cerebral infarction, myocardial ischemia, diabetes, heart disease, and heart failure. She felt such sharp pain in one side of her body that she dared not move a bit.