(Minghui.org)
Name: Yu YouChinese Name: 于有Gender: MaleAge: 64City: QitaiheProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: employee of Beixing FarmDate of Death: August 28, 2026Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 23, 2023Most Recent Place of Detention: Tailai Prison
A 64-year-old man from Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province suddenly fell into a coma on August 21, 2026, two days before his three-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong was set to end. His family was notified to pick him up that day. They rushed him to a hospital, but he was denied admission because he had no ID, which had been confiscated by the police. He died seven days later, on August 28.
When Mr. Yu You’s younger brother visited him at the Tailai Prison on July 21, 2026, one month before his prison release, he was still very healthy and in a good mental state. While the prison authorities claimed that he suffered a stroke, his family suspected that he had been brutally tortured into a coma. The 4,000 yuan that his brother deposited for him to buy daily necessities also vanished from his commissary account.
Latest Arrest and Prison Sentence
Mr. You was last arrested on August 23, 2023, in Jixi City of the same province and extradited to Qitaihe City. Prior to that, he had been moving from place to place for years to avoid being arrested.
Officer Zheng Yi of the Taonan Police Station in Qitaihe City later submitted his case to a local Procuratorate. He was then sentenced to three years. Details about his indictment, trial, and sentencing are unclear. He was transferred from the Qitaihe City Detention Center to the Tailai Prison in Qiqihar City at an unknown time.
Dead One Week After Prison Release
On August 21, 2026, two days before Mr. Yu’s scheduled release, the prison suddenly informed his family to pick him up. When the family rushed to the prison, the guards claimed that he had a stroke and was in a coma. No medical record or any supporting documents were provided. The family was forced to sign a responsibility waiver, before they were allowed to take Mr. Yu home.
Mr. Yu remained in a coma upon returning home. He was unable to eat or drink anything. When the family took him to the hospital, the doctors refused to treat him because he didn’t have any ID. He died on August 28.
Meanwhile, the family contacted the prison several times for the 4,000 yuan that Mr. Yu’s brother deposited for him during the visit on July 21. The prison denied having ever received the money.
The Tailai Prison is notorious for torturing Falun Gong practitioners who are detained for their faith. Since 2021, at least four practitioners have died in the prison as a result of the torture.
Mr. Lyu Guanru, 69, died on April 4, 2021, while serving a 7-year term.
Mr. Zhong Guoquan, 72, died on February 6, 2022, while serving a 3.5-year term.
Mr. Yang Licheng, 81, died in August 2025, one month before he was to finish a 4.5-year prison term.
Mr. Gao Ke, a 72-year-old former elementary school teacher, suffered a mental breakdown due to torture. He often talked to himself, and laughed and cried uncontrollably. He passed away on April 20, 2026.
Past Persecution of Mr. Yu
Mr. Yu, a former employee of the Beixing Farm, took up Falun Gong in 1996. Shortly after, all of his decades-long ailments disappeared.
After the Chinese Communist Party began the persecution in July 1999, Mr. Yu upheld his faith and was repeatedly targeted. Prior to his latest three-year prison sentence, he also served another six-year term between 2008 and 2013, and was subjected to brutal torture while serving time at the Jiamusi Prison.
Unable to cope with the pressure from the persecution, his wife divorced him. His father’s health also deteriorated due to fear and mental distress. He passed away in 2017 when Mr. Yu was forced to live away from home to hide from the police.
First Prison Sentence of Six Years
Mr. Yu was arrested at home by five officers on May 30, 2008. They handcuffed him behind his back and took him to the Hongxinglong Detention Center. The guards there kept his hands cuffed behind his back, and also forced him to wear a pair of 30-kg (66-pound) shackles for 35 days. His ankles were severely injured. He also needed help eating and using the restroom.
While interrogating Mr. Yu one day, officer Zhao Yingguang held a gun against his temple and threatened to kill him. Zhao also placed a plastic bucket over Mr. Yu’s head and then hit the bucket with a metal rod for the entire night.
Zhang Chunhua, the political secretary, also beat Mr. Yu, knocking out several of his teeth.
Mr. Yu was later sentenced to six years and he was admitted to the Jiamusi Prison in January 2009.
Tortured in Jiamusi Prison
While serving time at the Jiamusi Prison, Mr. Yu was forced to work without pay, mostly packaging chopsticks. He was often given a quota to package 7,000 pairs of chopsticks a day, and he wasn’t be allowed to rest until he was finished.
Given the enormous work load, he and other inmates were often given two to three minutes for each meal or restroom break. They had to also squat while eating.
Because Mr. Yu refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was frequently beaten by the guards and inmates. The guards also force-fed him unknown drugs in the middle of the night.
After a beating session in June 2009, Mr. Yu sustained injuries to his spine and right pinky finger. He had a long cut on his right cheek after guard Lin Jinfeng whipped him with a leather belt. He was covered in bruises, shivering in pain.
Since then, he has struggled with long-term back pain, which has made it difficult for him to move around.
Father’s Passing
After being released on September 29, 2013, Mr. Yu started a small appliance repair business to make a living. In April 2016, with financial support from his mother, he rented a small shop, and his business quickly took off.
However, just one month later, on May 8, 2016 (Mother’s Day), Mr. Yu was arrested again by officers from the Shuqi and Beixing police stations. The police shut down his shop, confiscated all his appliances and tools, and searched his parents’ home.
Mr. Yu’s father, who was still struggling with speech and mobility impairments from a stroke, was terrified by the raid and police interrogation.
While detained at the Qitaihe City Detention Center, Mr. Yu’s health quickly deteriorated. He often felt dizzy and weak in his legs and had difficulty breathing. His blood pressure was extremely high. Fearing he would die there, the detention center released him after over 40 days.
Due to the stress, his wife divorced him and moved to another city.
Once he had recovered, Mr. Yu went to look for his ex-wife in an attempt to repair their relationship. When the police couldn’t find him, they put him on the wanted list. He was forced to live away from home to avoid arrest.
Meanwhile, the police often harassed his family and neighbors, asking where he was. Police cars were frequently seen outside his home.
This persecution caused Mr. Yu’s father’s health to decline further. He was hospitalized twice. He fell into critical condition on June 26, 2017, and passed away on July 10 that year.
Related Reports:
Heilongjiang’s Tailai Prison Actively Persecutes Falun Gong Practitioners
Mr. Yu You of Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province Brutally Tortured
Yu You Tortured and Forced to Do Hard Labor in Jiamusi Prison
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