Ms. Xing Yue's Family Members Arrested after Inquiring About Her Death at Shijiazhuang Women's Prison in Hebei Province

We recently learned that practitioner Ms. Xing Yue from Leting County was beaten to death in a solitary confinement cell at the Shijiazhuang Women's Prison in Hebei Province. She was killed between January 8th and 10th, 2011. Her family went to the local detention centre to verify the details, but the detention centre officials lied, and claimed that Ms. Xing was still alive. Three relatives went to the county 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) to request Ms. Xing's release, but they were arrested. Two of them are still in custody.

The details of Ms. Xing's persecution and death are still under investigation.

Ms. Xing Yue, 29, lived in Hongguang Building, Jinrong Street, Leting County, Tangshan City. She previously taught Chinese at an elementary school affiliated with Aixincheng Private School, and later opened a training centre on her own to teach writing. She is kind, gentle, and talented, and she is well-liked by everyone who knows her.

Ms. Xing and practitioner Ms. Li Yanping were driving around Jianggezhuang Town to explain the facts about Falun Gong on April 2nd, 2010, when agents from the Jianggezhuang Police Station arrested them around noon. After ransacking their homes, the police sent them to Leting County Detention Centre, where the guards directed criminal inmates to beat them. Ms. Li became crippled as a result of the beatings.

Leting County Court officials covertly put Ms. Xing and Ms. Li on trial on August 15th, 2010. It has been learned that in late 2010 the two practitioners were sent to Shijiazhuang Prison, but according to recent news from the prison, Ms. Xing may have been beaten to death in a solitary confinement cell on January 8th or 9th, 2011.

Whenever Ms. Xing's husband was asked about Ms. Xing's situation, he always dodged the question and refused to talk about it. When Ms. Xing's uncles asked him, he said that he went to the Leting Detention Centre two days prior to Chinese New Year's eve to visit his wife, but the gate guards turned him away, and told him that Ms. Xing and two other practitioners, Ms. Li Yanping and Ms. Li Yanling, are in the detention centre, and had not been transferred to a forced labour camp. According to normal legal procedure, if someone who is detained in prison or other locations suffers a serious illness or dies, their family must be informed. Ms. Xing's husband has not received such a notification.

Ms. Xing's uncle and aunt went to the detention center to visit Ms. Xing on February 21st, but they were forbidden from seeing her. Her aunt and uncle, along with another relative, went to the Leting County 610 Office on the morning of February 22nd to meet with head Wang Jizhong, intending to obtain permission to visit Ms. Xing. At around 10:00 a.m., a group of police officers arrived and took away Ms. Xing's uncle and the relative. They are now being held at the police department. Ms. Xing's aunt is still being held in the reception room at the gate of the county government.

Ms. Xing's uncle, Mr. Xing Xiujun, lives in Qianluo Village, Leting County. He was previously detained at the Shijiazhuang Forced Labour Camp for remaining steadfast in Falun Gong. Her aunt, Ms. He Wenmei, was also previously incarcerated at the Tangshan Forced Labour Camp for her belief in Falun Gong. The persecution caused her to suffer a stroke. Her right hand and leg are now paralyzed and she needs help to take care of her daily needs. Their parents are in their eighties, and need their relatives to take care of them, but Leting Police Department officials refuse to release Ms. Xing Yue's remains or her family members.

Wang Jizhong, Leting County 610 Office head: 86-13903374621 (Mobile)
Li Jinxiang, Leting County Detention Centre head: 86-13832989456 (Mobile)
Leting County Detention Centre: 86-315-4612243

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/2/27/236901.html