One Month after Ms. Xu Chensheng Dies in Police Custody Her Relatives Seek Impartial Autopsy

Name: Xu Chensheng (许郴生)
Gender: Female
Age: 47
Address: Residential Area of the Chenzhou Cigarette Factory
Occupation: Chenzhou Cigarette Factory employee
Date of Death: May 16, 2012
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 16, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Renmin West Street Police Station (郴州市人民西路派出所)
City: Chenzhou
Province: Hunan

(Minghui.org) Forty-seven-year-old Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xu Chensheng from Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, was arrested on May 16, 2012. Officers from the Renmin West Street Police Station took her to the station, where her arms were tightly handcuffed behind her back and she forced to sit on an “interrogation chair.” Ms. Xu was interrogated for over 12 hours. She was deprived of water, food, and restroom use. Afterward, three officers put her a police vehicle to take her to a detention center. Ms. Xu died in the vehicle on the way there. It wasn't until two days later that the police department notified Ms. Xu's family of her death, claiming that she had died of “sudden illness.” However, when her relatives demanded an impartial, third party autopsy, officials in the legal system managed to obstruct them at every turn.

 
Ms. Xu Chensheng

Family and Relatives Stunned by Ms. Xu's Sudden Death

Ms. Xu's family and relatives cannot believe that Ms. Xu, who was young and healthy, could have died so suddenly. Her body is being stored in a mortuary freezer, and her appearance is not at all the way it was before her death.

More than one month has passed since Ms. Xu's death in police custody, and there has been no progress in her case. None of the local media reported on her death. But after local citizens in Chenzhou heard about it, they were furious. Posters reading “The Murderers Should Be Punished!” continue to appear on the main street and along neighborhood roads in Chenzhou. Many people have also gotten flyers and cell phone messages about her tragic death.

The posters drew a great deal of attention. As the local people understood the situation and became outraged, more and more wanted to know the facts. Many have said, “China has become so terrible.” Several cursed the police officers and accused them of being mobsters. One very angry woman said, “She just wanted to do the [Falun Gong] exercises. Why did you kill her? It is her right to believe in whatever she wants to believe in. You CCP kill people. This is clear evidence that you are evil.”

Although Ms. Xu's family and relatives are overcome with grief and anger, they were hoping to find find justice through the legal system. Instead, they have been met with many obstacles. Their first demand for an impartial autopsy was denied.

Political and Legal Committee and 610 Office Forbid Relatives from Hiring an Impartial Pathologist

Ms. Xu Chensheng's family and relatives are determined to find the real cause of Ms. Xu's death.

Professionals suggested that the family look nationwide for a lawyer and a pathologist and that the pathologist be a third party doctor who doesn't work in the CCP system. Because Ms. Xu's death took place in Chenzhou, the pathologists in Chenzhou and Hunan Province would be intimidated, and the reported results of their forensic examination would be unduly influenced. Such influence would be comparatively less for a pathologist from another province.

Ms. Xu's relatives signed an agreement with Mr. Tang, a lawyer from Guangzhou City. The search for a third party pathologist from another province was not successful. But one relative's former acquaintance used to be a pathologist in the Chenzhou Police Department. He agreed to help supervise when the government-designated pathologist did the autopsy.

When the relative contacted the police department, the 610 Office, and the Political and Legal Committee in the Beihu District, they refused to approve of the family's choice of a pathologist. They said that the doctor was also a Falun Gong practitioner and that he had been fired from his job as a pathologist after he was arrested and detained for practicing Falun Gong. Falun Gong practitioners are absolutely not allowed to get involved in this case.

The CCP officials in Chenzhou told Ms. Xu's family that they should hire pathologist from within Hunan Province and not one from another province. The family replied that they would not consent to an autopsy unless a good pathologist from another province was found.

Attorney Questions the Handling of the Case by So Many Different Departments

The injured party filed a complaint against the police department, which the court accepted and placed on file, so the court should receive the lawyer representing the injured party. However, when Attorney Tang arrived in Chenzhou from Guangzhou to handle Ms. Xu's case, a large number of officials from the Political and Legal Committee, the 610 Office, the police department, the procuratorate, and the court showed up. Mr. Tang pointed out, “For the police department, the Procuratorate, and the court to all be involved in handling this case is not legal.” He had to return to Guangzhou right away.

CCP Officials Threaten Relatives with the Loss of Their Jobs

Ms. Xu is survived by her 87-year-old mother, Ms. Cao Huaying; her 20-year-old son who is in college; and her older brother, Mr. Xu Nansheng, who works in the Lanshan County Education Bureau in Yongzhou, Hunan Province.

Ms. Xu's older brother works in the government, so he has been subjected to the greatest pressure and all kinds of threats. The Communist Party head of the Yongzhou City Education Bureau had a “talk” with him, and the Party head of the Lanshan County Education Bureau repeatedly told him to make the situation blow over, otherwise he and his wife's jobs would be in jeopardy. Ms. Xu's sister-in-law said, “We both are in our 50s. If we are fired, how could we make a living?”

We call on everyone, especially honest pathologists, to help uphold the dignity of life and punish the bad people so that good people can live in peace.

Related article: “Ms. Xu Chensheng Dies the Day She Is Arrested”
(http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2012/5/29/133689.html )

Contact information for the parties involved in persecuting Ms. Xu:

Tang Guodong, Chenzhou City Police Department head: [phone]
 
Tang Guodong

Wang Xunjue, Chenzhou City Procuratorate attorney general

Wang Biyuan, Chenzhou City Political and Legal Committee head
 
Wang Biyuan

Zhang Heping, Chenzhou City Political and Legal Committee deputy head, the 610 Office head: [phone], [phone]

Hu Huayong, Renmin West Street Police Station head: [phone]

Please refer to the original Chinese article for more people involved in the persecution.