Belated News: Liaoning Woman Dies One Year After Serving Three Years for Her Faith

(Minghui.org)

Name: Liu YukunChinese Name: 刘玉坤Gender: FemaleAge: UnknownCity: ShenyangProvince: LiaoningOccupation: UnknownDate of Death: December 29, 2017Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 19, 2013Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women’s Prison

With already damaged health after serving three years for practicing Falun Gong, a Shenyang City, Liaoning Province resident suffered a stroke one year after her prison release and passed away shortly after.

Ms. Liu Yukun took up Falun Gong in early 1999, months before the Chinese communist regime ordered the nationwide persecution of the spiritual discipline. Having had her many ailments cured through the practice, she never hesitated to raise awareness about the persecution and debunk the government’s demonizing propaganda against Falun Gong. 

After being reported for giving out calendars with information about Falun Gong, Ms. Liu was arrested on November 19, 2013. The police ransacked her home without a search warrant. Officer Zhang Qibo claimed that they didn’t need any paperwork when dealing with Falun Gong cases. 

Ms. Liu suffered frequent diarrhea at the Shenyang City No.1 Detention Center. She lost three teeth and had trouble swallowing food. Many of her ailments that were cured by practicing Falun Gong also relapsed. 

Although her family hired two lawyers to enter a not guilty plea for her, the presiding judge, Jiao Yuling of the Shenhe District Court, threatened to report the lawyers to the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee if they dared to represent her. One of the lawyers, who was based in Shenyang, was forced to drop her case on June 16, after the 610 Office threatened to suspend his license to practice law.

While the other lawyer stayed to represent Ms. Liu, judge Jiao blocked him from entering the courtroom by unlawfully requesting that he go through the security check during her first hearing on June 17, 2014 (lawyers are exempted from security checks according to Chinese law).

During the rescheduled hearing on June 23, Ms. Liu fainted and the hearing was further postponed. When the court held the third hearing on July 25, the judge allowed Ms. Liu’s lawyer to enter the courtroom without going through a security check after his strong protest. 

Due to Ms. Liu’s physical condition, the judge adjourned the hearing in the early afternoon. She announced the three-year sentence against Ms. Liu three days later. 

The guards at the Shenyang City Detention Center made several attempts to take Ms. Liu to the pre-admission center of the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison, which refused to take her due to her physical condition and advanced age. Determined to imprison Ms. Liu, the authorities at the detention center bypassed the pre-admission center and directly took her to the prison, without informing her family.

After her husband found out about Ms. Liu’s imprisonment and went to visit her, the guards refused him entry with the excuse that she refused to renounce Falun Gong. Only with his repeated requests, did the guards allow him to see his wife. He was devastated to find that her health had quickly deteriorated.

During the three-year term, Ms. Liu was subjected to constant intimidation and verbal abuse by the inmates. The guards added unknown drugs to her food, which caused her to suffer severe diabetes. Before she was released, she broke two of her toes. 

After Ms. Liu returned home, the local Social Security Bureau demanded that she return the pension received during the three-year term, citing a new policy that prisoners weren’t entitled to any retirement benefits during their terms – although no Chinese labor law has such a stipulation. 

One week after she suffered a stroke in early December 2017, the police went to Ms. Liu's home to harass her and attempted to photograph her. The harassment dealt her another heavy blow. She passed away soon after on December 29. 

Related reports:

Shenyang Court Denies Fair Defense for Ms. Liu Yukun

Officers Fabricate Evidence When Procuratorate Returns Ms. Liu Yukun's Case