In 2005, there were large scale arrests locally, and more than a dozen practitioners were arrested, and sentenced to prison for up to five years. In order to avoid being arrested, Ms. Chai Shuzhi, 37, fled her home. For the past four years, due to living under harsh conditions, Ms. Chai appeared very ill. In May 2009, Ms. Chai had to return to her mother's home for treatment. The local police kept harassing her. She died on September 10th, 2009, with her eyes wide open, unable to find peace amidst the relentless persecution.

Mr. Huang Lizhong was arrested on February 25th, 2008 at home. He was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Lianshan District Court. In April 2009, guards brutally beat and shock Mr. Huang with electric batons for doing the Falun Gong exercises. They shocked Huang Lizhong every day and his internal organs were damaged. On October 25th Mr. Huang died in custody.

By order of Jiahe County court in Hunan Province, a group of policemen arrested Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Guo Huisheng and his wife Li Jumei, a school teacher in Zhuquanwan, on the night of August 6th, 2009. Mr. Guo was brutally beaten. Upon arrival at the local police station, Mr. Guo's face was covered in blood. According to eyewitnesses, at least four people dragged him out of the interrogation room, and he had blood stains all over his clothes. Mr. Guo died two months later, on October 12th. His wife remains detained in prison.

After Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Jianguo of Jilin City, Jilin Province died while detained at Jilin City Detention Centre, the local police continued to harass his family members. At that time, Mr. Wang's wife, Ms. Zhao Qiumei, was imprisoned at a forced labour camp. After she was released, she was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution and arrest. The police then went to harass her mother who is in her late sixties. Mr. Wang's family members still don't know the real cause of his death. The guards at Jilin City Detention Centre refuse to provide a clear explanation.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Guangbao has been homeless for several years due to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution. On September 23rd, due to illness, his wife passed away, and they held the funeral on September 24th. Unexpectedly, a group of people from the 610 Office and police came to the funeral and harassed the attendees. This caused anger among the neighbours and relatives, who were upset with the inappropriate actions of the police.

On July 6th, 2007, police arrested Ms. Tang and other practitioners, detained them in the Aohan Prefecture Detention Centre, and did not allow their families to visit. At the beginning of January 2008, Ms. Tang was sentenced to three years in prison and taken to the Hohhot City Women's Prison in March 2008. There is no information on when or why Ms. Tang was taken back to the detention centre. On October 9th, 2009, her family received a notice saying that she was dying. They rushed to the Aohan Prefecture Detention Centre. Upon entering the women's cell, they saw Ms. Tang's body, which was frozen hard in the freezer. Although they could not examine her closely, they still saw that her head, back, and chest were covered with purple bruises.

Ms. Zhao Qiumei was detained and sentenced to a forced labour camp twice. She recounts her experience in the labour camp: "Five of (the guards) beat me using handcuffs, two high-voltage electric batons, and three leather belts. They cuffed my hands behind my back and tied my feet using the belts. Wang Limei and Xiao Aiqiu slapped me with their hands and bamboo chips, shocked the sensitive places on my body including my neck, wrist and eyes." Her husband Wang Jianguo was persecuted to death in the detention centre in Jilin City on April 10th, 2006. His body is still kept in the funeral home.

Ms. Li Xiuzhen was arrested 19 times for practising Falun Gong, sent to forced labour, imprisoned for 7 years, and brutally force-fed 616 times. She endured more than a dozen tortures, but she still refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong. The guards used electric batons to shock her. Ms. Li went on hunger strikes to protest the cruel beatings which occurred 5 or 6 times every day. The guards inserted a thick rubber tube into her nose to force-feed her. By the end of 2002, she was released when she was close to dying. In June 2009, police arrested her again. Ms. Li was held in a brainwashing session especially set up for her, where she endured cruel torture. Ms. Li died in October.

Practitioner Mr. Cao Dong's wife, Ms. Yang Xiaojing, died as a result of persecution on October 1st, 2009. Her family requested many times to allow Mr. Cao to visit his wife before her death, but all their requests were refused. After her death, Ms. Yang's parents carried her ashes to the prison authorities and begged them to let Mr. Cao see her ashes, but they were also refused. Mr. Cao has been locked in solitary confinement with his cell windows sealed, and no one is allowed to contact him or to even come close to his cell.

On June 24th, 2003, practitioner Mr. Liu Laibin was arrested and detained in the Yingkou City Detention Centre, where he was brutally beaten by other prisoners. Guard Yi Zhaoyun forced Mr. Liu to do more than 10 hours of labour, and he often had to work overtime and into the night. He had very little sleep. The authorities put Mr. Liu on trial on December 5th, 2003, and sentenced him to five years in prison. Mr. Liu's life was in danger twice due to torture, but the prison refused to release him. He died on October 10th, 2009.

After July 20th, 1999, when the persecution began, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) media produced an endless stream of propaganda to slander Falun Gong. Facing pressure from every direction, Mr. Wang Guanghui, 62, did not waver or diminish his belief. He persisted in practising Falun Gong. As a result, he was detained four times and his home was searched many times. He was severely injured physically and mentally. As a result, Mr. Wang fell ill and was hospitalized, and he passed away on the night of September 22nd, 2009.

Mr. Guo Huisheng and his wife Ms. Li Jumei wrote a letter to Xi Xiaogang, Director of the Lanshan County Police Department, to request the release of fellow practitioner Ms. Xiao Silan. As a result, they suffered brutal persecution from the local 610 Office. On August 6th, 2009, they were arrested by a group of police officers. Their home was searched when no one was home. Mr. Guo's hands were handcuffed behind his back, and he was held to the ground and beaten by four police officers. When he was brought to the police station, there was blood all over his head and face.

Ms. Gao Rongrong, whose face was disfigured by the guards in a forced labour camp by being shocked with electric batons continuously for about 6 hours, died four years ago as a result of the persecution. Even after her death, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continued to persecute her parents. After Ms. Gao's death, her parents went to the Liaoning Provincial Procuratorate Office to request a copy of her medical report. Their request was denied.

In September 2009, several children who had just lost their father went to see the heads of Xishui County Police Department 610 Office in Hubei Province, to demand the release of their mother, Zhang Guixiang, so that she could go home to attend their father's funeral. However, the police simply ignored their request. Being a Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Zhang follows the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She loves her children. Since the persecution began on July 20th, 1999, Ms. Zhang has been arrested many times because she wanted to tell people the truth of Falun Gong. To her children, it seems that they do not have a mother anymore since she was constantly imprisoned by Xishui Police Department.

In April 2009, police stormed into Ms. Jin Yingdan's work place. They took her Falun Gong books and notes with words exposing the persecution on them. They arrested Ms. Jin and tortured her when she was in custody at the police compound. They deprived her of food and sleep. Later, they took her to the Longjing City Detention Centre. On the fifth day, Ms. Jin's condition was critical. The doctors said she could die at any time and persuaded the police to release her. She suffered from tremendous mental pressure and died on October 5th, 2009.

Ms. Zheng Yuling was arrested on August 6th, 2009 while she was putting up a Falun Gong banner at the Chibi City Police Department. She was sentenced to one year of forced labour and taken to the Hubei Province Women's Forced Labour Camp in Wuhan City on August 25th. She died just one month later on September 28th. Her nose was deformed and there were many needle holes on her hand.

Mr. Zhang Liyun, 85, had been a Falun Gong practitioner for more than ten years. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong, he overcame the inconvenience of old age and often distributed Falun Gong fliers and explained the facts about Falun Gong. In June 2009 while he was explaining about the persecution of Falun Gong to others in public he was arrested. Police seized Falun Gong books from his home. Later police issued a sentence of "one year of forced labour to be served outside the labour camp under surveillance." Due to persecution by the CCP, this 85-year-old man's health became worse and worse. He passed away on September 26th, 2009.

Ms. Yan Guangbi was a practitioner in Chongqing. Her husband is also a practitioner. They both firmly kept their faith after the persecution began on July 20th, 1999, and were consequently arrested and detained many times. Ms. Yan was detained several times and was forced to go through brainwashing three times. She had to leave home for more than a year to avoid being arrested. Due to being brutally mistreated in brainwashing sessions in the Chongqing City Women's Forced Labour Camp, she lost sight in both eyes. Her husband, Mr. Chen Changjun, was sentenced to forced labour two different times. As a result of torture, he had to use crutches after he was released. Ms. Yan died on October 3rd, 2009.

On October 8th, 2009, Ms. Yang Xiaojing's elderly parents drove several hours again to Gansu Province Prison in Tianshui City to once again beg for Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Cao Dong to be allowed to bid farewell to his newly deceased practitioner wife. There were many plain-clothes police waiting outside the prison, and a large number of guards were arranged inside the prison. Dong Shoutang, the Prison Education Office Chair and Warden Liu Jiangtao refused the old couple's reasonable request, saying such a thing had never been done before. On October 10th, Ms. Yang's family held a very simple farewell ceremony.

Ms. Zheng Yuling was arrested on the night of August 6th, 2009 while she was putting up a banner at the Chibi City Police Department housing. She was sentenced to one year of forced labour and taken to the Hubei Province Women's Forced Labour Camp on August 25th. Ms. Zheng's husband rushed to the labour camp on September 29th. Her body had been dressed and her face made up, but he could still tell that her nose was deformed and there were many needle holes on her hand. The camp administrator told him that Ms. Zheng began a hunger strike on September 9th and died at noon on September 28th. He condemned the guards, saying, "She was on a hunger strike for 19 days before she died. Why didn't you tell me earlier?" The guards had no answer.

Mr. Ge Lijun was a college student, but he was dismissed from school due to his practice of Falun Gong. He had to move around to avoid being arrested. In the past ten years of persecution, Mr. Ge was sent to the Changji City Forced Labour Camp three times for a total of six years, where he was tortured with electric baton shocks and forced to labour for up to 20 hours per day. In March 2009, Mr. Ge was finally released, but due to long time brutal mistreatment, his four limbs were so stiff that he could not stretch out his arms or open his hands. Mr. Ge died in June.

On October 1st, 2009, after being long term harassed, threatened, and cruelly persecuted, Ms. Yang Xiaojing died while her husband Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Cao Dong remains in Gansu Province Prison. Ms. Yang Xiaojing and her husband were married for nine years, but were only together for several weeks. Ms. Yang was sent to forced labour twice for a total of four years; Mr. Cao was sentenced to prison twice: once for four years, another for five years.

Ms. Zhang Yulin was arrested for practising Falun Gong on January 15th, 2001, along with more than one hundred other Falun Gong practitioners. She was taken to a rehabilitation centre for brainwashing, and she was later sentenced to 18 months of forced labour for not giving up her practice of Falun Gong. She was taken to the Banqiao Women's Forced Labour Camp in April, 2001. Her husband was also pressured by the guards to convince her to give up her practice of Falun Gong. Out of stress and anger, Ms. Zhang's husband slapped her before going back home and getting himself drunk. When he got up the next morning, on May 11th, 2009, he was notified by his workplace that Ms. Zhang had died.

Mr. Yu Yong was arrested in 2005 for handing out informational materials on Falun Gong. On August 3rd, 2008, 610 Office agents detained Mr. Yu Yong in Changsha County Detention Centre, using the excuse of "Olympic safety." After that, Mr. Yu felt sick and depressed. He died during his sleep on the night of February 15th, 2009, at home. His face, ears, and feet were purple, causing his family to suspect that one of the unknown drugs he was injected with had killed him. But they dared not take any action to investigate.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20th, 1999, Mr. Wang Delian told people about the benefits of Falun Gong, and he exposed the facts about the persecution. Police frequently harassed and threatened him. In 2001, police stepped on his head, beat, spit-on, shocked him with a electric baton. Mr. Wang endured 386 days of inhumane torture while in detention, and was sentenced to three years in prison. In August 2008, police arrested Mr. Wang Deliang and detained him for more than two months. The guards were very vicious. Often the food provided was found to contain mouse faeces, and he often starved. Mr. Wang became sick with stomach cancer, and died.

After Ms. Jiang Ruihong attended Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong's second lecture series in Dalian City in July 1994, the more than a dozen diseases that she had disappeared, among them high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney infection, and arthritis. She did not take any medication for the 15 years after she started cultivation. She changed from a sick woman to an optimistic, healthy person; however, during the persecution, she was arrested three times. She died as a result of the persecution on September 16th, 2009.

In April 2006, officials from the Chibi City Police Department, Hubei Province arrested Ms. Liu Xiaolian, 69, and sent her to the Psychiatric Department of the Pufang Hospital. At the hospital, Ms. Liu was brutally beaten, injected with toxic drugs, fed with mentally debilitating drugs, and shocked with high-voltage electric batons. For 24 hours, they continuously injected her with the mental drug. She lost consciousness for two consecutive days and her whole body became dark and swollen. After she woke up, she temporarily lost the ability to speak. She died on the afternoon of October 26th, 2008.

Ms. Li Fengmei, 60, benefited from the Falun Gong practice both mentally and physically. In 2005, she was arrested while she was talking to people about Falun Gong and sentenced to 18 months of forced labour. In 2007, police arrested her again and detained her in the Tanggu District Detention Centre. Ms. Li Fengmei passed away on August 30th, 2009.

Mr. Liu Erzeng, a Falun Gong practitioner from Hebei Province, was arrested, detained, and tortured on multiple occasions. When Shijiazhuang Forced Labour Camp officials refused to admit Mr. Liu, Xiao Suilong, an officer from the Pingshan County Police Station forced the camp to take him. Mr. Liu was released from the labour camp after he became extremely weak, and he died four months later on September 10th, 2002. He was only 40 years old.

Mr. Liu Zhirong was a teacher at Tuanjie Elementary School in Qingyang City, Gansu Province. At the end of October 2002, he was sentenced 15 years in prison by the Chengguan District Court in Lanzhou City for practising Falun Gong. On December 14th, 2005, he was transferred from Dingxi Prison to Tianshui Prison. One day, a few prisoners who were told to watch Mr. Liu carried him to the water supply room after beating him brutally. They removed his clothes and used the toilet cleaning pipe to douse him with water. This was in January, and it was extremely painful to be soaked in freezing water. Mr. Liu also did not eat or sleep well besides being brutally tortured. By January 10th, 2006, less than one month after the transfer, he had been persecuted to death. The guards cremated his body without permission from his family.

On May 2nd, 2008, Mr. Tang Yi was intercepted by police while taking a train. The police searched his bag and found a copy of the Falun Gong book. He was sentenced to two years of forced labour in the Xishanping Forced Labour Camp in Chongqing City. Mr. Tang started a hunger strike on May 2nd, 2008, and refused to wear a name tag, a prison uniform, or undergo force feeding through a tube. He had already been brutally persecuted for a long time before, and became extremely weak and emaciated, with his weight dropping from 175 lbs. to about 110 lbs. In November 2008, the camp administration notified his family to pick him up since they were afraid to take responsibility for his life. Mr. Tang died on the morning of September 22nd, 2009.

On July 4th, 2009 at around noon, Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Feng Gang, his wife Ms. Wang Juan, and twelve others were arrested at the home of practitioner Ms. Shi Guixiang. They were detained at the Dalian Detention Centre. Police officer Li Hongqiao interrogated Mr. Feng repeatedly during his detention. On August 10th, Mr. Feng was in a life-threatening condition. According to the hospital examination, Mr. Feng's gallbladder was swollen to the size of two fists. He could not eat or drink in case the gallbladder might explode. On August 12th, Mr. Feng's family members learned that he was home, so they went to visit him the next day. When they knocked on the door nobody answered. Mr. Feng had disappeared again. On September 16th, Mr. Feng's family reported him missing to the Fuguo Street Police Station. Officers told them Mr. Feng had died on August 14th.

Ms. Chen Chujun was arrested before the Beijing Olympics, detained, and taken to a forced labour camp. It was recently discovered that she died in March 2009 at the Huaihua City Fourth People's Hospital, a mental hospital. In Baimalong Forced Labour Camp, according to witnesses, the staff injected glucose, along with a nerve-damaging drug called Thorazine, into Ms. Chen. After being injected with this drug, a person will gradually suffer memory loss and sleep all the time. The punitive measures resulted in serious afflictions for Ms. Chen, such as severe brain and cognitive dysfunction.

An older couple in Jilin Province, Ms. Sun Yuxiang and her husband Mr. Qu Changxing, were persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because they practised Falun Gong. They each passed away under difficult circumstances brought about by the persecution. Ms. Sun was sent to Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp to serve a two-year term. Guards tortured her with sleep deprivation for 72 hours. Mr. Qu died from a heart attack in 2005 brought about from living in harsh conditions. Ms. Sun could not bear the sudden death of her husband, she became sick and died in February 2006, without any family around her.

Falun Gong practitioner Hou Shaohua died as a result of falling from an apartment building on September 15th, 2009, during an attempted police arrest. The family is very angry, and they insist on finding out the cause of Hou's death. They have refused to allow the police to cremate the body. The local police have tried to cover up the event, saying that Hou Shaohua gambled and that that is why they were trying to arrest Hou. The people who knew Hou Shaohua in the Sixtieth Factory of Dongfeng Company all commented, "Everyone knows that Hou Shaohua never gambled!"

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Naishen went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in 2000, and was arrested by police. He was later sent to a Forced Labour Camp for one and a half years. In 2002, after being tortured mentally and physically, including long-term sleep deprivation, Mr. Wang was on the verge of a mental collapse. According to an informed source, one day Mr. Wang suddenly ran out of the Tianjin Port Police Department with people yelling and chasing after him. He ran to a crane at the port and climbed up while police officers stood below shouting threats. It is probable that Mr. Wang lost his balance and fell from the crane to his death due to his weakened physical condition and severe emotional distress.

I was not even in my 50's and yet I had to retire and stay at home due to illness. In March 1995, my husband started the practice with me. We both experienced tremendous improvements in health and fitness. In December 2000, police deceived me to leave my house. They dragged me into a car and took me to the Shizui Brainwashing Centre to be incarcerated for more than two months. During my incarceration, my husband was under extreme mental pressure and he cried every day. He used to be very healthy but suddenly his health deteriorated. When I was arrested again my husband had a stroke. On September 30th, 2004, my husband passed away due to shock and fear.

On July 9th, 2008, before the Olympics in Beijing, 30-40 police officers broke the windows to Ms. Wang Hongxia's home, entered and arrested her and her husband. On August 8th, 2008, Ms. Wang was taken to the Shandong Province Second Women's Forced Labour Camp. Within six months, the torture she endured in the camp caused Ms. Wang to develop tumours of various sizes in her armpit and on her breasts. On January 15th, 2009, her family took her to the Weifang City People's Hospital to have an examination, and it was found that along with the left side of her body, the tumours had also appeared on her right side. Ms. Wang Hongxia suffered for eight more months and died on September 15th.

Ms. Wang Huiling went to Beijing to appeal against the persecution of Falun Gong in 2000, and was arrested. Ms. Wang was detained in the Harbin City Second Detention Centre. Ms. Wang was tortured at the detention centre, where they forcibly stripped off her clothes, and made her do repetitive sitting squats continuously, and then forced her to sit on the floor in a fixed position where she was not allowed to move. Several days later her family was notified that she had suffered a stroke, and was being sent to the hospital. When her family rushed there, Ms. Wang was unconscious. Over the past nine years Ms. Wang never fully recovered. Despite her condition, the police kept harassing her at home and threatened her and her entire family. Ms. Wang died under this tense environment.

Ms. Ren Zhaoxia was arrested by the local 610 Office and the National Security Brigade. She was sent to Yibin City Detention Centre. This was the fourth time she had been taken away by the authorities for her belief in Falun Gong. Previously, she had been imprisoned for a year in a forced labour camp. Her son, Mr. Chen Xiangru, went to the detention centre to request his mother's release. The Chinese Communist Party officials then tried to arrest him. As a result, he was forced to quit his job and rent a room in Nanxi. On July 20th, 2009, Mr. Chen Xiangru was arrested and detained in the Nanxi Detention Centre. On August 8th, 2009, he died under unknown circumstances. Further details of his death are being investigated.

After Mr. Jiang Xiqing from Jiangjin, Chongqing City, was persecuted to death in Xishanping Forced Labour Camp, his daughter, Jiang Hong, sought justice through legal means. Officials in the Politics and Law Committee and the 610 Office in Jiangjin did not want to be exposed further, so they orchestrated the arrest of Ms. Jiang. The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear. Seven hours after being notified of his death, his family found his body still warm in the freezer. Labour camp officials did not give any reasonable explanation for his death and had his body cremated without his family's consent.

53-year-old Ms. Wang Huilan was arrested on September 1st, 2009 by Zhuozhou City Domestic Security agents. On September 7th, her family went to visit her, but they were not allowed to see her. That afternoon, the guards brutally force-fed her, causing her death. Details of Ms. Wang Huilan's death following her recent arrest are still under investigation.

I have been cultivating Falun Gong and following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance for 13 years, and have never wavered in my faith in all that time. Since the open suppression and persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started on July 20th, 1999, the police have used deceitful methods eight times in order to gain entry to my home, confiscate my property, and arrest me. I was sentenced in Tuanhe Forced Labour Camp, Beijing to a term of one and a half years; then I was sentenced to 3 years in the Chadian Qianjin Prison of Tianjin City. In 2008, before the Olympics, I was arrested again and sentenced to two and a half years in a labour camp. The term was served outside of the labour camp because I was over 75.

Mr. Jiang Xiqing was persecuted to death in Xishanping Forced Labour Camp. The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear. Seven hours after being notified of his death, his family found his body still warm in the freezer. Labour camp officials did not give any reasonable explanation for his death and had his body cremated without his family's consent. His daughter, Jiang Hong, sought justice through legal means. Officials in the Politics and Law Committee and the 610 Office did not want to be exposed further, so they orchestrated the arrest of Ms. Jiang.

Mr. Peng Guangrong, 61, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong after the persecution started in 1999 and was arrested by police and detained. He was taken to a Brainwashing Centre. He was mistreated in the centre, and the local officials withheld his disability-retirement fund. He was detained until his health had deteriorated badly and he had lost a lot of weight. He was released only after his family demanded his release. After his return, Wang Qiujun constantly sent people to his house to harass him. Mr. Peng died in October, 2003.

Mr. Jiang Bingzhi was persecuted to death in the Suihua Forced Labour Camp because of his refusal to give up Falun Gong. One day, a prison guard opened the door of Mr. Jiang's confinement cell and threw two handbags into the cell. His personal monitors covered Mr. Jiang's head with the bags, strangled him with a rope and started to beat him cruelly. Due to the suffocation and the cruel beating, Mr. Jiang went into a vegetative state during the torture. The labour camp kept Mr. Jiang in the labour camp for several days before he was sent to the Bei'an City Hospital. Mr. Jiang died in the hospital on August 26th, 2009, and his body was cremated.

On November 3rd, 2005, Ms. Li Xiumei and her husband Mr. Wang Xinjia were helping entertain guests at their nephew's wedding. Police intruded and arrested Ms. Li. Ms. Li was taken to the Qingzhou City Brainwashing Camp. After Ms. Li Was released from a brainwashing camp, agents from the Qingzhou 610 Office used money, lies, and threats to incite local people to pressure Ms. Li to give up her belief in Falun Gong. They deceived Ms. Li into going to the house of Li Xinyi, where they kept her awake for days and nights, pinching her neck and holding her down while they rolled a rolling pin over her body. Ms. Li died in the house of Li Xinyi on the night of November 24th, 2005.

Mr. Jiang Bingzhi, a previously healthy farmer, entered the Suihua City Labour Camp on October 30th, 2008. The Camp Administration recently notified his family that he had fallen into a coma. When Mr. Jiang's family heard that he was bedridden and could not take care of himself due to being tortured in the camp, they requested to visit him, but they were turned away. Later, his family saw him in the Bei'an City Hospital with both legs covered with bruises and at the brink of death. Only a few days later, he died on August 26th, 2009.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Xinnian was brutally shocked with an a 20,000 volts electric baton in Baoding Forced Labour Camp. When one practitioner first saw Mr. Liu at the camp, he thought that he was looking at a detainee from a WW2 concentration camp as he was painfully thin. Even after being released home, the community administration frequently harassed and threatened him. Mr. Liu died on April 20th, 2009.

Mr. Sun Xi was arrested in October 2000. He received a heavy sentence and was sent to the Tiebei Prison in Changchun City in the spring of 2002. Mr. Sun endured brutal beatings and other forms of torture while he was imprisoned and suffered muscle atrophy as a result, which caused him great difficulties in walking. After he was released, Mr. Sun was bedridden, coughed up blood and was incontinent. He died on August 5th, 2009.

After the Chinese regime began its persecution of Falun Gong in 1999 Mr. Li Wanyu and his wife, Ms. Sun Wanmei were sent to forced labour camps twice. Mr. Li was severely mistreated in the Chaoyanggou Labour Camp of Changchun City and ended up in a critical condition. The labour camp released him temporarily for medical treatment, although the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials continued to harass him and tried to extort money from him. He died on August 3rd, 2006 in an emaciated state.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Guo Chuanshu was sent to the Chongqing Women's Prison at the end of November 2008. She died in prison on August 9th, 2009. The sixty-two-year-old Ms. Guo had been detained and persecuted six times; she was twice sentenced to forced labour camps, and twice was sentenced to prison. While she was detained at the Chongqing Women's Prison for the first time, Ms. Guo became paralysed as a result of torture. The prison claimed that Guo Chuanshu's physical condition was normal when she got up on August 9th. At 12:15 p.m., she took some medicine. Only 80 minutes elapsed from the time she first vomited until she died.

On March 10th, 2005, several police arrested Mr. Li Min, 51, while he was at work. He was later sent to Daqing Prison. Because Mr. Li refused to cooperate with the persecutors and often told the police that Falun Gong is good, he was frequently subjected to beating by prison guards, which caused severe internal injuries. He became extremely weak, showing stroke symptoms and was bedridden for a long time. The prison refused to release him. Instead, they starved Mr. Li under the pretence that he "needed to be punished for violating prison rules by refusing to wear a prison uniform." In mid May 2009, Mr. Li was transferred to Daqing Hospital, still wearing heavy shackles even though he had no energy to move on his own. He died on May 23rd, 2009.

Because Mr. Peng Guangrong never gave up his faith in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, he was arrested and detained either in a detention centre or drug rehabilitation centre from 1999 to 2003 three times. He was forced to sort through pig hair as a part of his punishment. The guards assaulted him with spiked clubs, shocked him with electric batons, and handcuffed and shackled him. The guards also ordered the prisoners to strike him repeatedly in the chest and spine. Mr. Peng passed away in November, 2003, as a result of the persecution that he had suffered.

Mr. Pang previously traded grain, and mixed sand in with his grain to increase his profits. He was thus sentenced to more than a dozen years of imprisonment. During his term in Gongzhuling Prison, he learned Falun Gong and enlightened to how a person should live and became determined to become a good person. However, guards inhumanly tortured him in order to force him give up the practice. He was transferred to the Siping Prison, locked in a small cell with no sunlight or bedding, for 13 months. He had endured unthinkable torture. On June 11th, 2009, guards called his family, said he was dying, and was being bailed out on medical parole. On June 13th, Mr. Pang died in the prison hospital.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Guo Zhengpei was subjected to torture on many occasions after the persecution began in July 1999. Mr. Guo was sentenced to three-years in prison and was fired from his public position. There, guards forced him to move bricks from a hot brick kiln without protection. His hands were burned and covered with blood blisters. A guard once took Mr. Guo to an empty room and then ordered five or six prisoners to beat him. In 2004, Mr. Guo was sentenced to one-year of forced labour. Guards deprived him of sleep, beat him, kicked him as soon as he closed his eyes, and forced him to stand motionless under the hot sun for many hours. He finally died on April 25th, 2009.

Ms. Xu began cultivating Falun Gong in 2003, and her severe heart disease was gone soon after. Because she persisted in distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong, the police arrested her in September 2006 from her home and sent her to forced labour for one year. Her heart disease recurred during detention, and Ms. Xu died on the early morning of July 25th, 2009.

In August 2004, more than one dozen officers arrested Mr. He at his home and confiscated his two computers along with CDs exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. His wife was working the night shift, and their ten year old daughter was left alone at home. The police detained Mr. He in the Youjiang District Detention Centre. At the beginning of 2005, the Youjinag District Court sentenced him to eight years in prison. At the beginning of April 2009, Mr. He died in Litang Prison. A source said his death was very tragic. His wife went to his funeral at the prison and was severely threatened. When she returned home, she did not dare to live in her home or speak about her husband's death. She keeps silent, and Mr. He's parents still do not know about his death.

On December 1st, 2004, police arrested Mr. Ou Ziwen, 66, took his Falun Gong books and materials, and detained him. He was sentenced to three years in the Zhongba Forced Labour Camp where he was regularly tortured with sleep deprivation and heavy labour. Mr. Ou was finally released in 2007, but due to being brutally tortured in the labour camp, he suffered from a hernia, became very emaciated, experienced liver, kidney and lung failure, and finally died on April 4th, 2009.

Wang Jianhua was often harassed and threatened at home by police on days the Communist Party designated as a sensitive date. It brought about tremendous pressure and harm to Ms. Wang and her family, and severely disrupted their normal family life. Under this kind of harassment and serious emotional stress, Ms. Wang's health, which was severely weakened during her detention in a forced labour camp, took an unexpected turn for the worse in June 2009. She went into a coma and the hospital was unable to help her. She died in the hospital on June 27th, 2009 at the age of 50.

Mr. Li He, 59, was tortured to near death at the Jidong Prison in Tangshan City. After Mr. Li He returned home in critical condition, the authorities continued to harass him. The local 610 Office ordered people to monitor and pressure him, which caused him a great amount of mental anguish. He passed away on June 27th, 2009. Since the persecution began in July 1999, Mr. Li He was arrested and his home ransacked, sentenced to detention and tortured numerous times.

On May 25th, 2003, the State Security Bureau in Fuyang City arrested Ms. Fan Wenfang and took her to the Linquan Detention Centre, where she was detained for more than six months. The police force-fed her with water mixed with hot peppers and unknown drugs. After Ms. Fan was sentenced to a seven-year term in prison she was taken to the Suzhou Women's Prison in Anhui Province, where she suffered persecution for more than one year. Every day they would gag her mouth with a cloth, pull her hair, and grab her legs and push her back and forth on the ground as if pulling a wheelbarrow. She lost all her teeth due to the brutal forced-feedings. In 2005, the prison officials declared that Ms. Fan Wenfang had died.

Mr. Zheng Fangjun served two sentences in the Xinhua Forced Labour Camp. Throughout his confinement, he persisted in his beliefs and refused to write a repentance statement, or letter denouncing Falun Gong. As a result, he was held in the Xinhua Forced Labour Camp for an additional term. After his release in 2005, he was taken to the Guananju Police Station. The officials intended to transfer Mr Zheng to a brainwashing centre for further persecution, but Mr. Zheng escaped by jumping into a river at night, and forced to leave home in order to avoid further persecution. During this period, he could not eat properly and developed asthma as a result of the persecution. He died on July 21st, 2009, at only 44 years of age.

Ms. Guo Chuanshu, 62 and retired, was transferred to the Chongqing City Women's Prison on November 14th, 2008, and died there on August 9th, 2009. She was arrested 6 times, twice sent to a forced labour camp, and twice sentenced to prison. She was once paralysed due to the torture she suffered in the Chongqing City Women's Prison.

Because he refused to give up his belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance at the Daqing Forced Labour Camp, Mr. Wang Bin, 47, was brutally tortured on September 27th, 2000. He sustained a ruptured carotid artery, ruptured blood vessels, and fractures. His tonsils and lymph nodes were ruptured as well. The backs of his hands showed infected cigarette burns. Cigarette butts were inserted into his nose and burned him. He was completely bruised. After he was beaten to death, his organs were removed.

The total number of reported cases of persecution collected by the Minghui Data Centre were 48,085 (from June 1st, 2002 to July 15th, 2009). As of July 15th, 2009, a total of 3,294 Falun Gong practitioners are confirmed to have died as a direct result of the persecution. These death cases are spread out over 31 provinces and autonomous regions in China. Of these deaths, 53.46 per cent or 1,716 of the victims were women, and 43.05 per cent or 1,418 of the victims were men. In 115 death cases or 3.49 per cent the gender of the victim is unknown. On average, 27 practitioners have died each month.

Ms. Li Yuhua went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in December 2000, and was arrested and sentenced to 18 months of forced labour in the Nanmusi Labour Camp. She was tortured by being forced to stand for long periods of times, and not allowed to use the toilet. She was sentenced to another two years of forced labour in July 2003. In March 2006 she was arrested again and sent to the Yangmahe Labour Camp for three years of forced labour. Ms. Li endured numerous tortures, and was on the verge of death. The camp administration feared she would die in custody and notified her family to pick her up on June 16th, 2009. Only five days after Ms. Li returned home, she died on June 21st.

Ms. Song Bing, 37, was cruelly tortured in a detention centre in 2003 because she refused to give up Falun Gong. Police poured mustard oil into her nose during interrogation. The mustard oil got into her windpipe, which made her lungs feel an explosion of pain. The officers took turns pouring more bottles of mustard oil into her mouth and nose, choking her many times until she nearly passed out. Ms. Song was sentenced to 14 years in prison because police made up a statement that they found 30,000 pieces of Falun Gong literature at her home. Ms. Song Bing developed tuberculosis in prison nd she died on July 30th, 2009.

Mr. Yang Wenqiang was arrested when he was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in 2006 and sent to Anshan Forced Labour Camp where he was subjected to inhumane torture. He wasn't allowed to sleep, an object with sharp spikes was pulled across his skin, and he was beaten with wooden boards, leather belts, and a triangular belt with a lump on top. When Mr. Yang's family members saw him, they noticed that from his hips to his ankles he was bruised to a black-purple colour. He couldn't straighten up. He was hunchbacked and could barely walk. Mr. Yang had pains throughout his body every day and his mental state was unstable. On December 11th, 2006, a mentally disordered Mr. Yang hanged himself.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Baoying, was arrested and taken to the County Detention Centre on the evening of July 22nd, 2009. Earlier, in March, Ms. Wang's older sister, Ms. Wang Meiying was arrested while she was distributing informational materials about the persecution of Falun Gong and taken to a labour camp. While at the camp, she was force-fed, which caused the failure of her right lung. Ms. Wang Meiying died as a result of persecution in the Forced Labour Camp in Jinan City, Shandong Province on March 23rd, 2009.

On July 19th, 2009, Falun Gong practitioner Yang Guiquan's body was cremated. There were approximately a hundred policemen present. When Mr. Yang's friends went to the home to request to see Mr. Yang's body one last time, the security guards replied, "You can take a look at anyone else, but not Yang Guiquan." When Mr. Yang Guiquan, 45, was imprisoned at the Xindi Detention Centre in Fuxin City, he was tortured and died on July 5th, 2009. Major wounds appeared on his back as well as on the back of his skull. Signs of electric shocks were also observed on his legs. Mr. Yang's friends had tried to hire a lawyer to investigate the crimes committed by the authorities. However, none of the local lawyers dared to work on Mr. Yang's case. They were told, "Liaoning's People's Courts has recently released a document prohibiting lawyers from defending Falun Gong practitioners."