Since the death of their loved one, Xu Dawei, only 13 days after his release from prison, the Xu family has been appealing for justice from local authorities. Subsequently, 365 residents from five nearby villages in Liaoning Province, China, signed a petition in support of the family’s legal action. They say that Xu Dawei was a good person who died from torture in police custody because of his spiritual beliefs.
Xu was born in 1973 in a rural village near the city of Fushun. In January 2001, he was sentenced to eight years imprisonment because he practiced Falun Gong, a spiritual practice which has been persecuted in China since July of 1999. During his incarceration in four different prisons, Xu was beaten, shackled, stabbed with needles, force-fed, and shocked with electric prods.
Xu’s prison term ended on Feb. 3, 2009, but when his family went to pick him up, they were shaken by what they saw: their son, in his 30s, was emaciated with gray hair. They said his eyes were lifeless, and he could not recognize them.
Xu was born in 1973 in a rural village near the city of Fushun. In January 2001, he was sentenced to eight years imprisonment because he practiced Falun Gong, a spiritual practice which has been persecuted in China since July of 1999. During his incarceration in four different prisons, Xu was beaten, shackled, stabbed with needles, force-fed, and shocked with electric prods.
Xu’s prison term ended on Feb. 3, 2009, but when his family went to pick him up, they were shaken by what they saw: their son, in his 30s, was emaciated with gray hair. They said his eyes were lifeless, and he could not recognize them.
