(Minghui.org) The deaths of 69 Falun Gong practitioners as a result of being persecuted for practicing their faith were reported in the first half of 2024.

The newly confirmed deaths included one each in 2003, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020; three in 2021; two in 2022; twenty-three in 2023; and thirty-three in 2024. Due to the communist regime’s strict information censorship, the persecution can’t always be reported in a timely manner and the real death toll is likely much higher.

The 69 deceased practitioners, 49 of them women, hailed from 21 provinces and municipalities. Liaoning Province registered eleven deaths, followed by ten in Hebei, seven in Heilongjiang, and six each in Shandong and Jilin. The remaining sixteen regions had between one and three cases.

Among the 63 practitioners whose ages at the time of their deaths were known, they were between 50 and 91, with 12 practitioners in their 80s and one in her 90s. The practitioners came from all walks of life, including a former real estate manager, an architect, a chief physician, a ceramic shop owner and a teacher.

Fifty of the deceased practitioners served time in prisons and forced labor camps for their faith. They were subjected to various types of torture, including electric shocks, beating, forced drug administration, sleep deprivation and being subjected to freezing temperatures. 

Six of the practitioners died in custody, including an 86-year-old man who was serving an 11.5-year term and a 56-year-old woman who passed away days after her prison admission. 

Still many others died from damaged health months or years following their prison releases. A Gansu woman was already cancer-stricken when she was admitted to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison on February 27, 2023, to serve a term of one year and eight months. Her cancer metastasized in the prison and she died weeks after being released in December 2023.

A man in Heilongjiang Province had become emaciated, was unable to speak coherently, and was paralyzed in both legs after serving 14 years in prison. He also had poor memory and suffered from a prostate condition. In his final years, he required a nasal feeding tube. The 66-year-old man died at a senior center on January 27, 2024, two weeks before the Chinese New Year. His death came six years after the passing of his wife, who also suffered severe medical conditions as a result of the persecution.

There were also cases where the practitioners’ health suddenly declined due to recent police harassment and they passed away shortly after. An elderly mother in Tianjin died on April 10, 2024, not long after the local police harassed her at home and demanded to know whether she still practiced Falun Gong and whether she intended to keep seeking justice for her late son, who died in 2018 after being driven to mental illness during his five-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong.

Below are select death cases in the first half of 2024. The full list of the 69 deceased practitioners can be downloaded here (PDF).

Deaths in Custody

86-Year-Old Man Dies While Serving 11.5 Years for His Faith in Falun Gong

Mr. Liu Dianyuan, a Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, resident, was sentenced to 11.5 years in 2016 at the age of 78 for practicing Falun Gong. Despite his extremely poor physical condition, the prison still accepted him. His condition continued to decline over the years. He passed away on February 10, 2024, Chinese New Year’s Day. He was 86.

Mr. Liu Dianyuan

Mr. Liu was arrested at his sister’s home on November 9, 2015, after spending five years in displacement to hide from the police. In order to frame him, the police fabricated evidence alleging that he was seized from a residence full of Falun Gong books and materials, even though they arrested him at his sister’s home.

When Mr. Liu appeared in the Jianping County Court five months later on April 7, 2016, the once healthy and mentally sharp man was emaciated and struggled with poor memory. Presiding judge Li Yan handed down a heavy term of 11.5 years. Mr. Liu would have been 90 years old by the time he finished serving time.

Even though Mr. Liu wasn’t qualified for prison admission given his poor health, the Shenyang City First Prison still accepted him when the bailiff took him there on June 14, 2016.

It’s not clear whether Mr. Liu’s family was allowed to visit him after his prison admission. In September 2022, the guards called his family and told them to buy him diapers. His family later found out that Mr. Liu, then 84, was already incapacitated. But the prison refused to release him for medical treatment.

Mr. Liu’s family received a call from the prison on February 11, 2024, the second day of the 2024 Chinese New Year, and were told that he had passed away the day before.

56-Year-Old Shandong Woman Dies Only Days after Transfer to Prison to Serve Time

Ms. Xu Haihong, a Qingdao City, Shandong Province, resident, died on December 9, 2023, about three days after she was transferred to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison (located in the capital city of Jinan) to serve a one-year-and-four-month prison term. She was 56.

Ms. Xu was arrested in 2022 after being reported for talking to people about the persecution of Falun Gong. She went on a hunger strike to protest the arbitrary arrest and was released on bail in critical condition 15 days later. Her family was forced to pay a fine of 13,000 yuan and were warned that her case was not over.

The police pounded on Ms. Xu’s door around September 10, 2023. When she refused to let them in, they broke the door and the lock. They took Ms. Xu to a detention center and barred her family from visiting her.

Neither the police nor the detention center updated Ms. Xu’s family on her situation. They found out in October 2023 that she had been sentenced to one year and four months. They were never notified of her indictment, trial, or sentencing.

Ms. Xu was transferred to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison around December 6, 2023 and was admitted to the in-house hospital because she was extremely weak due to her long-term hunger strike. She died in the prison hospital on December 9, 2023.

Ms. Xu’s family viewed the surveillance videos taken in the prison hospital and did not see any footage of the guards torturing her. While the prison is known for abusing jailed Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Xu’s family members believe that the Qingdao authorities “passed the buck” to the Jinan authorities, possibly to shift responsibility for her death and also make it harder for the family to get to Jinan (about 200 miles away) to seek justice for her.

63-Year-Old Heilongjiang Woman Tortured to Death While Serving 7.5 Years

The Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison notified Ms. Guan Hongyan’s family on November 6, 2023 that she had died of “an illness” that day. According to insiders, however, she succumbed to injuries sustained after being repeatedly tortured by the guards and inmates.

The torture death of Ms. Guan, a 63-year-old resident of Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province, occurred about 16 months into her 7.5-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Guan was arrested on July 11, 2022 and sentenced to 7.5 years by the Qiezihe District Court in late December 2022. After she was admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison, the guards there ordered her to renounce Falun Gong. She held firm to her faith and was subjected to various forms of torture, which eventually claimed her life in November 2023.

While the details of Ms. Guan’s torture are still being investigated, upon prison admission, she was likely first held in the Strict Management Team, which was designated for newly-admitted Falun Gong practitioners.

According to practitioners who were once placed in this team, they were each made to sit on a small stool from 3:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, all the while being forced to watch anti-Falun Gong videos on loop. They were not allowed to talk to each other. Those who still refused to renounce Falun Gong were verbally abused and brutally beaten. They were also not allowed to use the restroom and some soiled their pants as a result. The guards also restricted or totally barred them from purchasing daily necessities, while limiting their meals to two per day on the weekends.

Many practitioners imprisoned here were injured and at least 32 (including Ms. Guan) died as a result of torture over the years. Days after Ms. Guan’s passing, Ms. Li Yuzhen, a resident of Harbin (the capital city of the province), died in early January 2024 while serving a four-year term.

Deaths Shortly After Prison Release

69-Year-Old Gansu Woman Dies Weeks After Being Released from Prison on Verge of Death

Ms. Li Fenglan, a Baiyin City, Gansu Province resident, was repeatedly denied medical parole despite her metastatic breast cancer, while serving time for her faith in Falun Gong. By the time she was finally released in December 2023, it was too late to treat her condition. She died weeks later, on January 10, 2024, at the age of 69.

Ms. Li was already cancer-stricken when she was admitted to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison on February 27, 2023, to serve a term of one year and eight months. The prison guards took her to a hospital for chemotherapy, but her cancer still metastasized.

Ms. Li’s husband and the prison both requested that she be released on medical parole, but the police in charge of her case rejected them on the grounds that she had already been granted parole once back in 2019. They insisted that no more paroles would be allowed for her.

In December 2023, ten months after Ms. Li’s prison admission, her family hired a lawyer to fight her parole denial. The lawyer managed to get the local chapter of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to pressure the police to approve the parole request. The CPPCC representative picked Ms. Li up from the prison but had to take her straight to a hospital, as she was on the verge of death and could no longer eat or drink. The hospital said it was too late to treat her and could only give her IV drips to sustain her life. Her husband then decided to take her home. She died shortly after, on the morning of January 10, 2024.

Ms. Li’s sentencing stemmed from an earlier arrest on August 7, 2016. She was released on bail the next day after she was found to have high blood pressure and denied admission to the local detention center. In the next few years, the local police and the court made numerous failed attempts to have her detained, as her blood pressure remained high. She stood trial in April 2018, but there was no report on what prison term she was given. While she was released on bail again after the court hearing, she was taken back into custody on February 19, 2019 after being deceived into going to the local court. She was admitted to Jiuzhou Women’s Prison on April 15, 2019.

Ms. Li developed breast cancer in prison and was released on medical parole. She was arrested again on March 14, 2022 and soon released on bail due to her health condition. She was taken back into custody on September 6, 2022 after being deceived into going to the court. She was then admitted to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison on February 17, 2023 to serve one year and eight months.

There was no report on any court hearing or prison sentence following Ms. Li’s arrest in 2022. Due to the communist regime’s information censorship, Minghui.org correspondents faced tremendous challenges in gathering accurate information in a timely manner. Based on the available information so far, the most likely scenario was that Ms. Li had only been sentenced once, back in 2019, and that she was ordered to serve the remainder of her prison term – totaling one year and eight months – when she was taken back into custody in 2022.

After 13 Plus Years Behind Bars, Beijing Man Dies 4 Months After Completing Third Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong

Mr. Pang You, a Beijing resident, was unrecognizable when he was released on November 26, 2023, after serving one year and three months for practicing Falun Gong. He suffered loss of serum proteins from his digestive track and excessive sweating. He was extremely weak and struggled to walk.

The late Mr. Pang You with his wife and son

The local authorities kept tabs on Mr. Pang, a former city planning office director and real estate company manager, even after he returned home. The police harassed him from time to time and arranged people to closely monitor him during the week-long “Two Sessions” in March 2024.

The “Two Sessions” are the annual meetings of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC). This year the CPPCC began on March 4, 2024, and the NPC one day later. They both concluded on March 11. The communist regime has been known for intensifying its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners around sensitive dates, such as the “two sessions.”

Mr. Pang’s condition quickly deteriorated and he died on April 9, 2024. He was 61. His passing capped decades of suffering at the hands of the communist regime.

Mr. Pang was first sentenced to eight years following his arrest on September 27, 2000. Less than one year after he was released in 2008, he was arrested again on August 3 of that year and sentenced to four years. His third prison sentence stemmed from his arrest on May 2, 2022. While he was released on bail the next day, he was taken back into custody on July 28, 2022. His health declined during detention and he was sent to the Beijing Police Hospital two months later. He attended a virtual hearing in his hospital room on July 3, 2023 and was sentenced to one year and three months shortly afterwards.

Mr. Pang’s health kept declining during his detention. He had heart and kidney failure, as well as serious edema below the hip bones. At one point his entire body was swollen below the chest. He also suffered from diabetic complications, with two open sores on his feet oozing pus. He had trouble standing. He was wheeled out when his lawyer went to see him. Despite his condition, the authorities refused to release him on parole.

76-Year-Old Woman Dies Eight Months After Serving Three Years

A 76-year-old woman in Shaerhure Town, Holingol City, Inner Mongolia, died on December 3, 2023, eight months after completing a three-year prison sentence for her faith in Falun Gong.

Ms. Chai Cuirong was arrested on April 7, 2020 for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was held at the Hure Banner Detention Center and transferred to the Hohhot City Women’s Prison after she was sentenced to three years. The prison guards tortured her and subjected her to intensive brainwashing aimed at forcing her to renounce Falun Gong. Her health quickly declined and she had frequent vaginal bleeding. She was released in April 2023, only to die on December 3 in the same year.

Ms. Chai’s passing capped her decades-long persecution for practicing Falun Gong. Prior to her latest prison sentence, she had been arrested at least ten other times and twice subjected to forced labor. Following her arrest in 2002, her then 61-year-old husband was so devastated that he had a stroke and died shortly afterwards without seeing his wife of 37 years one last time. The couple’s nephew, who lived with them and also practiced Falun Gong, was twice arrested and also implicated every time Ms. Chai was arrested. His uncle’s passing further traumatized him, and he died in 2003.

Deaths After Harassment

69-Year-Old Woman Dies Four Months after Sustaining Severe Injuries During Police Chase

While trying to avoid arrest during a police chase in late September 2023, Ms. Ma Lianfeng lost control of her tricycle and fell. She sustained severe leg injuries and her arms and back were badly bruised.

The police caught up with her and confiscated Falun Gong materials from her bag. They targeted her because an elementary school pupil reported her for talking to him about Falun Gong. They didn’t arrest her because she had difficulty standing.

Ms. Ma, of Longkou City, Shandong Province, never recovered from her injuries. She died on January 22, 2024, at the age of 69.

Ms. Ma Lianfeng

In the past 25 years of persecution, Ms. Ma was repeatedly arrested for her faith. Her husband divorced her and she served seven years in prison, suffering all kinds of physical torture and involuntary drug administration. After she reached retirement age in 2010, her employer, the Longkou Supply and Marketing Cooperative, refused to issue her retirement benefits because they claimed she had become “ineligible” during her imprisonment. They demanded a one-time contribution of 50,000 yuan in order for her to qualify for a monthly pension of a little over 700 yuan. She had no money and gave up trying to get retirement benefits.

54-Year-Old Shandong Woman Dies 12 Days After Police Attempt to Arrest Her

Ms. Chen Guohua, a Dongying City, Shandong Province, resident, suffered from quickly declining health since October 2023. She was unable to eat and could only sleep one or two hours each night with the help of painkillers. The police attempted to arrest her on November 29, 2023, but relented after she was diagnosed with late-stage metastatic liver cancer. Her condition dramatically worsened and she died on December 11, 2023, at the age of 54.

Ms. Chen Guohua

Ms. Chen was a retired worker from Shengli Oilfield. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in late 2015, and began to practice Falun Gong in 2016. She soon gained back the weight she had lost due to the cancer, and had a rosy complexion again. She seized every opportunity to share her story with people and remind them that Falun Gong was nothing like what was depicted in the communist regime’s hate propaganda.

Ms. Chen was seized during a mass arrest on April 23, 2021, after the police tricked her into opening the door by claiming to be from the property management office. She was interrogated for 24 hours straight and ordered to reveal the identities of other practitioners. Because of lack of evidence against her, she was released on a one-year bail after a day of detention. Her ID and passport were withheld by the police, who threatened to get her indicted at any time.

As a relatively new Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Chen felt tremendous pressure, and did not dare to step out of her door much for fear of being arrested again. Even when she did go out, she felt she was being followed by people. In October 2023, she suddenly started feeling pain and discomfort in her body. The police, however, still attempted to arrest her on November 29, 2023, resulting in her death 12 days later.

Son Dies in 2018 After Suffering Mental Illness in Prison, Mother Passes Away in 2024 After Police Harass Her for Seeking Justice for Him

An elderly woman in Jinghai District, Tianjin, died on April 10, 2024, not long after the local police harassed her at home and demanded to know whether she still practiced Falun Gong and whether she intended to keep seeking justice for her late son, who died in 2018 after being driven to mental illness during his five-year prison term.

Mr. Ren Dongsheng and his wife Zhang Liqin

Mr. Ren after he became psychotic in detention

Ms. Liu Xiufen’s son, Mr. Ren Dongsheng, was arrested on March 8, 2006 and sentenced to five years in the Binhai Prison. He was brutally tortured and also given unknown drugs. The prison revoked his family visits during the last eight months of his prison term. Upon Ms. Liu’s protest, the prison showed her a video clip of her son. He was seen to be agitated and behaved abnormally. He was set to be released on March 7, 2011 but taken straight to a brainwashing center that day and held for one more week. When Ms. Liu went to pick him up, she was shocked and heartbroken to see a psychotic man. 

Ms. Liu’s world collapsed. At the time, her daughter-in-law Ms. Zhang was still serving a seven-year term for practicing Falun Gong. 

Mr. Ren remained psychotic in his final years. He suffered from hallucinations most of the time. Whenever there was a thunderstorm, he’d stand in in the rain screaming. He also ran away numerous times in the middle of the night and would not return for a few days. When he did come back, he was filthy and agitated. 

When someone mentioned the police in passing, he appeared terrified and murmured to himself, “I’ve got to run; otherwise they’d catch me.” He would then flee his home and stayed outside for a few days. He also often woke up from nightmares and yelled, “I am not afraid of you!”

In the rare moments when he was mentally alert, Mr. Ren said, “The prison guards and inmates threatened to beat me to death if I did not renounce my faith.”

After Ms. Zhang was released on February 11, 2016, she and Ms. Liu worked together and managed to pinpoint the eight prison guards who were primarily responsible for torturing and drugging Mr. Ren, resulting in his mental collapse. 

They filed complaints against the perpetrators with various government agencies, but to no avail. Ms. Zhang was even detained for 35 days for her efforts. In 2017 Ms. Liu submitted her complaints to the Tianjin First Intermediate Court and the Tianjin Superior Court, but her case was dismissed on the grounds that the two-year statute of limitation had passed.

Mr. Ren died at 2 a.m. on September 12, 2018. Even after his passing, the local authorities kept harassing Ms. Zhang and Ms. Liu. 

The repeated harassment took a toll on Ms. Liu’s health and she became bedridden. But the police still would not spare her. They broke into her home one day and demanded to have a talk with her. She died not long afterwards, on April 10, 2024.

Guangdong Architect Dies at 60 After Repeated Police Harassment

Ms. Chen Yanping, a 60-year-old resident of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, died on May 23, 2024, after years of being harassed by police for her faith in Falun Gong.

Ms. Chen Yanping

Ms. Chen, owner of an architecture firm, credited Falun Gong for keeping her congenital hepatic cyst (fluid-filled sacs on her liver) well under control. She, however, had a relapse of her condition and developed other symptoms after repeated police harassment for her faith. She never recovered and passed away recently.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, the police barred Ms. Chen from traveling abroad, not even allowing her to visit nearby Hong Kong. They maintained close surveillance of Ms. Chen. Several times she was about to board a plane for domestic travels, when the police called her, demanding to know where she was going. In order to avoid further harassment, she often drove long distances (instead of flying) when she had to travel.

The harassment of Ms. Chen intensified in 2023, after the local police discovered that she had posted an article written by the founder of Falun Gong on WeChat (a social media platform). The police showed up at her home and checked her cell phone and WeChat posting against her will. They interrogated her at her home and confiscated a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder and artworks bearing Falun Gong messages.

One day in late November 2023, the police knocked on Ms. Chen’s door. When no one answered, they knocked on her neighbor’s door and asked if she was home and who she lived with. A bit past 8 p.m. that night, Ms. Chen went outside her apartment building to fetch something from her car. She ran into four police officers on her way to the garage. They didn’t realize that she was Ms. Chen right away, but she knew they were coming for her. Instead of returning to her apartment, she drove away immediately. She did not have her phone with her nor did she have any money. She managed to find a temporary place to settle down and lived away from home for a while to avoid being arrested.

Starting in February 2024, Ms. Chen began to experience difficulty walking, with swelling in her feet. The swelling gradually spread to her legs. Her weight shot up and her waist got bigger. The increased abdominal weight compressed the veins in her lower legs and obstructed the flow of venous blood, which worsened her leg edema. In the meantime, her belly pushed up against her diaphragm and then her heart, which began to beat violently. Her stomach was also squeezed, and she lost her appetite. 

Despite eating very little, Ms. Chen gained almost 70 pounds in three months. She felt uncomfortable no matter what position she was in, be it standing, sitting, or lying down. 

While she was suffering from a relapse of her liver cyst, the Wushan Police Station kept monitoring Ms. Chen. She Facetimed someone and two officers soon showed up on April 4, 2024. They ordered her to stop using Facetime and forcibly deleted the app from her phone.

Ms. Chen was later hospitalized. She said to her family and medical workers many times that had she not been forced to live away from home in November 2023, her health would not have declined so quickly. Despite her suffering, she remained calm and cheerful. She even gave her nurses a flower basket and a fruit basket on May 12, Nurses Day. It was unclear whether she died in the hospital or at home on May 23.

Tortured in Custody, Died Years Later

Liaoning Woman Driven Insane after Year-long Detention, Dies Seven Years Later

Ms. Xing Anmei, of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, had a mental breakdown due to torture and involuntary drug administration while serving time for her faith, Falun Gong. She struggled with failing health for the next seven years and passed away on February 22, 2024. She was 67.

Ms. Xing Anmei and her family

Ms. Xing’s last arrest was on April 14, 2016, when she was having breakfast with her husband and their two children at a local diner. The police revealed that the family was targeted because they filed a criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in their past arrests.

The couple’s son was released a month later. His sister was granted bail and put under house arrest the same day. The young woman said her brother was limping and appeared dazed after they both returned home. He told her that the police beat him. For a period of time, he didn’t dare to leave home.

Ms. Xing was sentenced to one year and fined 5,000 yuan on February 23, 2017. Four days later, her daughter was given one year probation and fined 2,000 yuan. Her husband was sentenced to two and a half years and fined 10,000 yuan.

In the Shenyang City Detention Center, Ms. Xing was held in solitary confinement, tortured, and force-fed toxic drugs on a regular basis. Her teeth were knocked out while she was beaten. As a result, she had trouble swallowing and experienced dizziness, fatigue, heart palpitations, and nausea. Despite her condition, the guards still shackled her and chained her left hand to a ring in the floor. They wouldn’t unchain her even when she needed to use the restroom. Another time, two inmates sat on her legs while two others twisted her arms behind her back, severely injuring her left shoulder and left arm.

By the time Ms. Xing was released on April 14, 2017, she was not herself. She was extremely fearful and couldn’t recognize her family, not even her own children. She ran around day and night, shouted, hit people, and threw things out of an upper window. Occasionally, she would utter, “Falun Gong practitioners were force-fed drugs every day.” After struggling with poor health for seven years, she died on February 22, 2024.

Persecution of Falun Gong Claims Married Couple’s Lives Six Years Apart, Husband Once Shot by Police and Jailed for 14 Years

A 66-year-old man in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province, died at a senior center on January 27, 2024, two weeks before the Chinese New Year. Mr. Jiang Honglu’s death came six years after his wife, Ms. Yuan Shuzhi, passed away on April 4, 2018, at the age of 60.

Mr. Jiang, who used to work at the Mishan City Highway Administration, was given one year and three months of forced labor in December 1999. When he talked to people about Falun Gong in 2002, an officer chased him, shot him in the leg, and kicked his head. He was later sentenced to 14 years and became paralyzed in both legs as a result of being tortured in prison. He was unable to speak coherently, had poor memory, and suffered from a prostate condition. In his final years, he required a nasal feeding tube.

His wife Ms. Yuan was also repeatedly arrested and tortured for practicing Falun Gong. The mental pressure from the persecution took a toll on her health. She developed diabetes and had severe swelling in her legs, which eventually resulted in both legs being amputated. Her condition continued to deteriorate after the operation, and she passed away on April 4, 2018, shortly after she turned 60.

The couple’s son, around 39, was traumatized by the persecution of his parents over the years. He became withdrawn and refused to socialize. He stayed in his room most of the time.

Hebei Woman Suffers Declining Health and Mental Disorder after Serving Second Prison Term, Dies at 78 Less Than Four Years Later

A 78-year-old woman in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, died on April 10, 2024, less than four years after she completed her second prison term for her faith in Falun Gong.

Ms. Zhang Yueqin and her husband in their younger years

Ms. Zhang Yueqin and her husband Mr. He Yixing, also a Falun Gong practitioner, were both arrested on April 19, 2017, and sentenced to 3.5 years on November 21 that year. After their appeals were denied, Ms. Zhang was admitted to the Hebei Province Women’s Prison in the capital city of Shijiazhuang in early April 2018; Mr. He was admitted to Jidong Prison in Tangshan City days later. The authorities suspended over 100,000 yuan of Ms. Zhang’s pension during her prison term.

While serving time, Ms. Zhang was so abused that she developed a mental disorder and her health declined. She was released in October 2020. When she recounted what she had endured to her family, her legs shook uncontrollably and she had a hard time organizing her speech. She told her family that the guards put unknown drugs into her food. In the next few years, she struggled with declining mental health. She also had difficulty eating and often vomited, as well as having loose bowels, resulting in significant weight loss. She died on April 10, 2024.

Prior to her last prison sentence, Ms. Zhang, a retiree from the Tangshan City Meat Factory, was repeatedly arrested and detained. She was previously sentenced to five years in January 2009 and brutally tortured in prison.

Belated News: Liaoning Woman Dies at 67 After Remaining Bedridden for 10 Years Following a Prison Term

Ms. Sun Suyun, a hairdresser in Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, died on September 26, 2023, after remaining bedridden and incapacitated for a decade. 

Ms. Sun Suyun

Ms. Sun was arrested on August 4, 2010 and later sentenced to three years. She was subjected to various forms of abuse at the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison and became severely ill and incapacitated. She was released ahead of time on March 11, 2013, but fell into critical condition multiple times in the next decade. 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.

Ms. Sun’s husband, 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.

Related Reports:

Reported in April and May 2024: 24 Falun Gong Practitioners Die as a Result of Persecution

Reported in March 2024: 13 Falun Gong Practitioners Die as a Result of Persecution

Reported in February 2024: 10 Falun Gong Practitioners Die as a Result of Persecution

Reported in January 2024: 13 Falun Gong Practitioners Die in the Persecution