National Post: Falun Gong disputes suicide claim [Excerpt]

The Associated Press

BEIJING - Fourteen female followers of the banned Falun Gong [group] have died as a result of mass suicide in a Chinese labour camp, a provincial government official said yesterday.

The statement was disputed by a spokesman for the [group] who said the prisoners were tortured to death.

[...]

For its part, Falun Gong blamed the camp authorities, saying at least 15 women followers were tortured to death on or around June 20.

The [group] said the women could not have committed suicide because they were watched around the clock.

"There's no way they could be allowed to have the opportunity to even find anything to hang themselves," said Sharon Xu, a Falun Gong spokeswoman in Hong Kong.

[...]

Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the Chinese embassy in Ottawa and consulates across Canada on Tuesday to protest the deaths.

"People don't know exactly what happened," said Grace Wollensak, an Ottawa-based practitioner of Falun Gong who came to Canada from China 11 years ago.

"But at least one body was seen by her family, and they saw the wounds and bruises all over her body. In other cases, the families only received the ashes. They didn't let them see the bodies."

[...]