(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Mr Wang Wenzhang from Xifeng County, Liaoning Province, was persecuted repeatedly for upholding his practice of Falun Gong. Most recently he was illegally arrested and sentenced to four years in prison in March 2009. He was brutally tortured in Dongling Prison and suffered a stroke. He was released on bail for medical treatment in early 2013. It was too late however, and within the next six months Mr Wang became paralysed. On March 28th, 2014, at the age of 65, he lost his life.
Events leading up to his death
When handing out materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong on March 2nd, 2009, at an open market in Pinggang Town, Xifeng County, Mr. Wang was reported to the police. The police covered his head with a black cloth, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and forced him into a police vehicle. They also took all the money he had on him as well as his ID card and business licence.
Early that afternoon, police vehicles with over 20 officers from the Pinggang Town Police Station surrounded Mr Wang's home for two hours. Then they brought him home, forced the door open, and proceeded to ransack it. The police took a laptop, printer, TV, DVD player, Falun Dafa books, and materials exposing the persecution, 400 Yuan (GBP £40). The convenience store Mr Wang had been running for over 30 years was forced to close.
The police took Mr Wang to the Xifeng County Detention Centre and did not allow any of his family to visit him. His family had to send over 300 Yuan (GBP £30) worth of cigarettes to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel involved before they finally were allowed to see him. By then it was March and it was still very cold. The detention centre made Mr Wang sleep on a hard wooden bed with no bedding, and he was handcuffed and shackled.
The Xifeng County Court held a secret trial against Mr Wang on July 9th, 2009, without notifying his family. The court sentenced him to four years in prison and placed him in Dongling Prison in Shenyang City.
In prison, Mr. Wang was tortured, and his health deteriorated quickly. He had an appendicitis attack in June 2010 and had to have surgery. The surgery cost 2,300 Yuan (GBP £240), which the prison personnel forced his family to pay.
Mr Wang had a stroke in December 2012. The prison totally ignored his symptoms. When his family came to visit, Mr Wang was in a wheelchair. Although the prison eventually agreed to release him on bail for medical treatment, they delayed his release for two months. During the delay, the prison extorted 8,000 Yuan (GBP £830), from his family. The final release date ended up being just one month earlier than when his prison term was to end.
After returning home from prison, Mr Wang's health did not improve. He was too weak to take care of himself. Within the next six months he became completely paralysed and died on March 28th, 2014.
