Falun Gong Practitioner Killed within Days of Arrest

A middle-aged man in northeast China has died just sixteen days after being detained by security agents while speaking to passers-by at a shopping mall about the persecution against Falun Gong, the Falun Dafa Information Center recently learned. Mr. Yang Guiquan (???) was reportedly brought to a local hospital on July 5, 2009 in critical condition with bruises and scars from electric batons visible on his body. Doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. He was 45-years-old.

“The speed with which this innocent man was picked up off the street, tortured, and killed highlights the mortal danger that hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience in China face at this very moment,” says Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Gail Rachlin. “A year after Beijing hosted the Olympics, clearly the surrounding ‘strike hard campaign’ hasn’t let up if you’re a Falun Gong practitioner. Yang’s tragic death is a startling reminder of that reality.”

Mr. Yang was an employee of Rongxing Plastics Limited City  (????????) in Fuxin, a major coal-mining city of 782,000 people in Liaoning province. According to sources inside China, at approximately 6:00 p.m. on June 20, 2009, he was speaking to passers-by about the persecution against Falun Gong at a local shopping mall when he was detained by Wu Zhongqi (???) and other officers from the public security bureau branch of the Haizhou District Police Department. They interrogated Mr. Yang overnight at the police department compound, then transferred him to Xindi Detention Center (?????).

Upon hearing of his arrest, Mr. Yang’s family members and employer went to the public security bureau on multiple occasions to request his release, but were repeatedly turned away and refused access to him.

During his detention, Mr. Yang reportedly embarked on a hunger strike to protest the illegality and injustice of his arrest. Rather than release him or grant him his legally enshrined rights, the guards tortured and brutally force-fed him. Such forced-feedings are routinely conducted by guards with no medical training and as a form of torture rather than nourishment. They are a leading cause of verified deaths among Falun Gong practitioners who have been killed in custody.

As a result of the abuse he was subjected to in custody, on July 5, 2009, Mr. Yang was in critical condition. He was first taken to the Public Security Hospital for treatment, then returned to the detention center. Several hours later, he was taken to the Fuxin City Mining Corporation General Hospital (???????). Doctors at the general hospital said that Mr. Yang was not breathing and had no heartbeat when he arrived. They determined that he had died before arriving at the hospital.

Mr. Yang died at approximately 3:00 p.m. on July 5, 2009. The police notified his family members at approximately 8:00 p.m. that day. According to sources inside China who were able to view his body, Mr. Yang’s back and head showed bruises, and there were marks of beatings on his legs. Mr. Yang’s inner thighs also showed marks from shocks from an electric baton.

There are 3,292 known cases of Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of persecution in China. Liaoning province is one of the deadliest provinces for Falun Gong practitioners – at least 396 adherents are documented to have died there from abuse since 1999.

The Falun Dafa Information Center urges international media to visit Liaoning province and investigate first hand the circumstances surrounding Yang’s death.

Additional details:
Mr. Yang Guiquan’s home address: Room 604, No. 1 Building, Meihai Neighborhood, Beixin Village, Xihe District, Fuxin City, Liaoning Province (???????????????604?)