Mr. Xu Dawei was holding up fairly well after seven years in prison, but in February, 2009 when he was released after the eighth year, he was in terrible condition and died within two weeks.

A recent incident showing police conduct toward Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Xu Dawei Dies after Suffering Eight Years of Abuse in Four Prisons

On February 3, 2009, Mr. Xu Dawei's eight-year imprisonment term was due to end. The authorities of Dongling Prison in Shenyang City arranged for the local police station to pick him up for further mistreatment. His family members arrived at the prison and argued with the authorities. Finally, they were allowed to pick up Mr. Xu. However, they found out that due to the years of abuse, he was extremely thin and suffering from a mental disorder. Compared to what they saw last year, he was a completely different person.

His family members asked, "What is wrong with him? Why is he so thin?" The guards did not respond.

At home, his family members found that he could not eat, kept coughing, and was too weak to even spit. There were many marks on his body left by electric batons. His hands and feet suffered from edema. There were injuries on his right knee and ankle. The skin on his buttocks was necrotic and dark purple.

His family members took him to a hospital. The doctors said, "He suffers from heart failure; we cannot draw blood for a blood test because his skin is too brittle. This condition has not been brought about in the past couple of days; the treatment opportunity passed long ago."

Mr. Xu suffered eight years of abuse in four prisons. Within two weeks of being released from Dongling Prison, he passed away on February 16, 2009.

Eight Year Of Persecution in Four Prisons

Mr. Xu Dawei was born on October 31, 1975. His hometown was Yingemen Town, Qingyuan County, Fushun City, Liaoning Province. Before the persecution, he was a chef in a hotel in Shenyang City. He began to cultivate in Falun Gong in 1996. He behaved according to the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." He was dutiful, honest, and sincere, and well respected by those that knew him.

When the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999, to save people from the CCP's poisonous rumors, Mr. Xu printed truth-clarifying materials with his own money. In January 2001, he was arrested, and the police officers from Shengli Police Station extorted a confession by torture. The responsible people include Director Liang Zhu and officer Zhao Chunwei, who moved to the Heping District 610 Office. Later, Mr. Xu was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment by the Heping District Court. He was detained in four prisons: Dabei Prison in Sheyang City, the 1st Prison of Lingyuan City, Fushun City Second Prison, and Dongling Prison in Shenyang City. In the prisons, he was tortured and brainwashed. He was handcuffed and shackled for long periods of time, beaten brutally, hung up, force-fed, stabbed with a needle, and shocked with an electric baton.

In late January 2003, in Dabei Prison in Shenyang City, Mr. Xu declared that it was not a crime to act according to the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." He refused to study the prison rules. Consequently, guards such as Li Jianguo and the ward director incited the inmates to pinch his neck, scratch his mouth and put handcuffs and shackles on him. He held a hunger strike to protest. As a result, he was force-fed and locked in a small cell, which was less than four square meters and and did not let in any light. He was provided with two spoons of half-cooked cornmeal mush each day, which made it difficult for him to urinate or defecate.

In the 1st Prison of Lingyuan City on October 29, 2003, Mr. Xu was taken to the "strictly controlled" team, where the guards incited inmates to hit him on the head, hang him up with four handcuffs, gag him with a towel, beat him with a rubber hose, and stab him with a needle. He fainted several times as a result. Wang, the section chief of the prison, witnessed the mistreatment, but did not stop it.

In the Eighth Ward of the 1st Prison of Lingyuan City, Mr. Xu insisted that his belief was not a crime and refused to do slave labor, submit to brainwashing exams, or submit to the subsequent photographing and signing of documents renouncing Falun Gong. Consequently, he was locked in a small cell twice, handcuffed and shackled for several months, and not given food every day. He was also shocked with an electric baton several times. His hands were handcuffed in front of his body for ten days, and then handcuffed behind his back for another ten days. Wang Limin, director of the Eighth Ward, is responsible for this mistreatment.

Due to the brutal mistreatment, Mr. Xu, who used to be young and healthy, developed pleurisy. For a time, he was critically ill.

In the Fushun City Second Prison, Mr. Xu and other practitioners were handcuffed and shackled and locked in a small cell from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for several months without enough food.

About two years ago, he was transferred to the 3rd Ward of Dongling Prison in Shenyang City, where the mistreatment of practitioners was covert and brutal. On October 22, 2007, 67-year-old Mr. Zhang Youjin, from Qingyuan County, Fushun City, was persecuted to death in the prison. On August 19, 2008, Mr. Zheng Shoujun from Shenyang City was also persecuted to death.

Dongling Prison Prohibited Mr. Xu's Family from Seeing Him

For two years after Mr. Xu was taken to Dongling Prison, the authorities of the prison blocked the news of his persecution. They never called his family with information about him and prohibited his family from seeing him for a long time. His family brought him money and clothes, but the authorities refused to accept them.

According to other practitioners detained in the same prison, Mr. Xu claimed that he was not a criminal and boycotted the inmate haircut and count off, so he was beaten. Fellow practitioners who came forward to stop the beating were shocked with electric batons by the guards. People involved in the persecution include warden Li Zhong, guard Huo Xizhong, and Qi Jinlong.

The prison authorities forced visiting family members to slander Falun Gong before they were allowed to see the detainees. For two years, Mr. Xu's family members went to the prison almost every month to see him, but each time, either because they refused to slander Falun Gong or they were told that Mr. Xu was subjected to "strict control," they failed to see Mr. Xu.

On January 8, 2008 (lunar calendar), Mr. Xu's family members finally saw him by chance in the prison. This was the only time that Mr. Xu saw his family members in Dongling Prison. At that time, he was quite thin, but he was in good spirits, and his speech and mental state were normal.

On February 3, 2009, his eight-year term was supposed to end. When his family members came to pick him up, they could not believe their eyes. In one year, his hair had become gray, he was extremely emaciated, his eyes were dull, and he could not recognize his family members.

After he was brought home, he squatted in the corner of the room and dared not move. His family members told him, "We are home now. Do not be afraid." They urged him for a long time before he sat on the bed. With the family members' attendance, he became clear-minded at times. Once, when he was lucid, he said, "I was injected with mind-altering drugs in the prison. They beat me with their fists and kicked me. "

On his chest, abdomen and back, there were many brown marks left by being shocked with electric batons. His hands and feet suffered from edema. There were injuries on his right knee and ankle. The skin on his buttocks was undergoing necrosis and dark purple.

Within two weeks after he returned home, Mr. Xu passed away on February 16, 2009 in the hospital.

Mr. Xu's Family Doesn't Have Anywhere to Redress the Injustice

Mr. Xu's daughter is eight years old now. When she was born, Mr. Xu was being subjected to persecution in prison. After she saw her father for a short time, she had to part with him forever.

For eight years, Mr. Xu's wife went through huge hardships to take care of the whole family by herself. She never thought that her husband would die of persecution.

Mr. Xu was the first son of the family. His 90-year-old grandmother and elderly parents waited painstakingly for eight years only to have their waiting conclude with his death.

His family members are all simple villagers. With regards to the prison cruelly killing Mr Xu, there is nowhere they can go to seek justice.

Persecution Ongoing

Presently, several male practitioners are still detained in Dongling Prison and subjected to mistreatment. For those whose terms are due to end and still persist in their belief, the authorities notify the local political and judiciary committee and police station to take them to brainwashing centers.

Mr. He Fuxing Arrested and Beaten While Walking Along a Road

At 9:00 p.m. on February 11, 2009, Mr. He Fuxing, a resident of Nongfeng Town, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province, was walking along a road with his motorcycle when a police vehicle suddenly stopped within a few yards of him. Officers Wang Chong, Wang Yan, Qu Haifeng, Gao Yanbin, and two others jumped out of the vehicle; ran towards Mr. He, and immediately started beating him without any explanation. After punching and kicking him for a while, they accused him of stealing the motorcycle he had in his possession.

After the police handcuffed Mr. He, they searched his saddlebag and found some Falun Gong fliers. An officer from Nongfeng Town Police Station said, "He is a Falun Gong practitioner. If he is beaten to death, no one will be punished. Beat him!" Gao shocked Mr. He's face with an electric baton.

When the officers took Mr. He to the local police station, Wang Chong and Wang Yan started punching Mr. He in the face and then handcuffed him to an iron bed. All of the officers left the station after their shift was over, except Qu and Gao and a guard who stayed behind drinking and playing cards. While this was taking place, Mr. He managed to loosen his handcuff and escape.

When the police discovered that Mr. He had escaped, they went to his home and ransacked it, taking away various personal items. They also told his family that Mr. He would be released if the family paid a 5,000 yuan fine.

Mr. He was forced to leave home and become homeless in order to avoid further persecution and possible arrest.