Press Statement: The Death of Mrs. Yulian Chi in a Chinese Detention Center

DALIAN CITY, China, June 14 (Falun Dafa Information Center) - Mrs. Yulian Chi, a mother and Falun Gong practitioner from Dalian City in the Northwest of China, was forcibly taken from her home by police at the end of May. She was reported dead in a detention center one week later.

Mrs. Yulian Chi was a healthy mother of a ten-year old boy from Wang Jia village, Lingshuei village, GanJingzi district, Dalian City, Liang Ning province. According to her husband and eyewitnesses, she was taken from her home by police on May 29th. One week later, she died in the detention center. Yulian Chi's husband said he wanted to file a lawsuit but was told by a lawyer that the court does not accept any Falun Gong related cases.

According to Yulian Chi's husband, Yulian Chi was cooking in their kitchen when a man with the last name of Ji from Lingshui police sub division led police from the ZhoShuezi sub division to break into their home, handcuffed both of Yulian Chi's hands and threw her onto the bed. They searched the house and found some books and information related to Falun Gong (Falun Dafa), a peaceful meditation practice currently banned by the PRC. Then they dragged her into the police vehicle. Yulian Chi's husband said he had stood in front of the police vehicle in an attempt to stop it, but was dragged away. At that time, there were many on-lookers watching the scene. Yulian Chi's husband said she was taken away barefoot because the police did not even allow her to wear shoes.

The police later confirmed they had sent Yulian Chi to the "YiaoJia" detention center the day after her arrest.

Yulian Chi's husband indicated that at 4:00 PM on June 5th, he received a phone call from the detention center, announcing that Yulian Chi lost consciousness due to a sudden heart attack and was sent to a hospital for emergency treatment. When he went to the detention center the next day, he was told by the head of the detention center that Yulian Chi died at about 6:00 PM on June 5th on the way to the XinShiJi hospital.

Based on the information received, when Yulian Chi's family requested to see the body, the detention center said that they must have their signature agreeing to have an autopsy; otherwise, they would not be allowed to see the body. The family was also prevented from allowing the body to be treated before the preset cremation time. The dissected and autopsied body of Yulian Chi remains at the detention center.

From the time she was taken away, to the time of her death, to the time of the autopsy, her family stated that they have not seen any legal documents. The only reason given was that Yulian Chi is a Falun Gong practitioner.

The Yulian Chi's incident was followed-up twice by a reporter, who called to the Lingshui town government to check the case. A female secretary with the last name Liang said "you can't directly ask us low level people, we can't say anything," and insisted the reporter ask the superior level security department of the city

The death of Yulian Chi marked the 219th Falun Gong practitioner died at the hands of the Chinese government. The currently known death toll of Falun Gong practitioners has reached 222.

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