Key Pattern #5: Deaths due to denial of right to health while in detention

Twenty-one deaths in 2009 appear to have resulted from either a recurrence of old diseases or contraction of new ones when the individual was forbidden to practice the Falun Gong exercises and was denied proper medical attention in custody.

A significant majority of Falun Gong adherents report that the practice has brought relief from health problems. Denied the right to practice Falun Gong exercises in custody, some experience a recurrence of old illnesses. As such, 8 adherents died of tuberculosis contracted in prison, 6 of liver disease, 5 of cancer, and others of heart, stomach, or bladder diseases.

Ms. Zhu Quandi, 65, Beijing

Ms. Zhu had suffered from late stage cirrhosis of the liver prior to practicing Falun Gong, but her symptoms disappeared when she began to practice in 1993. On February 19, 2008, she was abducted from home by officers from Wenquan Police Station and subsequently sentenced to two years of RTL.

While at Beijing Women’s “Re-education Through Labor” Camp, where she was prevented from practicing the Falun Gong exercises, her liver disease returned. She was released on medical parole in early 2009, but never recovered and died on April 1, 2009 at the hospital.

Mr. Jin Youfeng, 40, Heilongjiang

Mr. Jin, a physical education teacher, had previously been detained in a labor camp for three years. Shortly after his release, he and his wife (Ms. Jiang Chunmei) were abducted on Oct. 22. 2003. Mr. Jin was subsequently sent to over 11 years in a prison camp.

During his time at Mudanjiang Prison, Mr. Jin was repeatedly subjected to heavy forced labor, torture, and efforts to “transform” him, including beatings, being tied to a “tiger bench,” being force-fed, and being shackled in an uncomfortable physical position for long periods of time.

Over time, Jin developed symptoms of severe tuberculosis, but the authorities refused to release him without his first renouncing Falun Gong. When his situation deteriorated severely, his left lung was dysfunctional, and he was near death, they released him on June 6, 2008.

Mr. Jin never recovered and died on January 21, 2009 at Mudanjiang City Contagious Diseases Hospital. 

Next Section: Key Pattern #6: Authorities’ efforts to cover-up Falun Gong deaths