Elderly Falun Gong Practitioner Dies Eight Days After Release from Jinzhou Prison Following Years of Persecution

Mr. Liu Wansheng, a 71-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, died on April 29, 2026, only eight days after being released from a six-year prison sentence imposed for his faith. His case was reported by Minghui.org based on family accounts. Relatives said Mr. Liu remained largely unconscious throughout the eight days following his release from Jinzhou Prison on April 22, and passed away shortly before midnight at his home in Jinzhou’s Linghe District.

Family members said Mr. Liu was unable to speak or move during those final days, though he occasionally appeared briefly aware of voices around him. Visible, unhealed wounds reportedly remained on both wrists and ankles, with one wound above his right wrist described as raw and severe.

A family transformed, then targeted

Mr. Liu’s death came less than two years after the passing of his wife, Ms. Zhou Hua, who was also a Falun Gong practitioner. Ms. Zhou had been repeatedly detained and once sentenced to forced labor for her faith. After Mr. Liu’s final imprisonment in 2020, relatives said she suffered immense psychological and financial pressure, particularly after authorities suspended Mr. Liu’s pension payments.

The family had once enjoyed stable health and financial security after taking up Falun Gong in the mid-1990s. Ms. Zhou reportedly recovered from severe stomach disease and stomach cancer symptoms after beginning the practice in 1995, while Mr. Liu’s serious heart arrhythmia disappeared after he began practicing in 1996.

Their son, although not a practitioner himself, later wrote appeals to prosecutors and judges following his father’s arrest in 2020, describing the dramatic changes he had witnessed in his parents’ health and character. He wrote that his father had become honest, compassionate, and unwilling to take advantage of others after practicing Falun Gong.

Arrest and six-year sentence

Mr. Liu was arrested on April 23, 2020, near the Jinzhou long-distance bus station after speaking with passersby about Falun Gong and discussing the disputed “Tiananmen self-immolation” incident, an event practitioners and independent observers have long argued was staged propaganda used to justify the persecution of Falun Gong.

Police from the Jintie Police Station subsequently searched his rented residence without presenting legal documents or identification, according to reports. Officers allegedly confiscated personal belongings, including a music player, incense, and a small incense burner, which authorities reportedly listed as evidence in the case.

He was then detained at the Jinzhou Detention Center, and prosecutors formally approved his arrest days later. In September 2020, the Linghai City Court reportedly held a virtual hearing before sentencing Mr. Liu to six years in prison and imposing a 10,000 yuan fine. His appeal was rejected by the Jinzhou Intermediate Court. He was transferred to Panjin Prison in March 2021 and later moved to Jinzhou Prison, where he remained incarcerated until shortly before his death.

Previous detentions and torture allegations

Mr. Liu had been detained multiple times during the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) campaign against Falun Gong practitioners. He was twice detained for 15 days in 1999 and detained again in 2010.

In 2001, he was allegedly subjected to a torture method known as “carrying a sword on the back,” in which one arm is forced upward behind the shoulder while the other is pulled upward from behind the waist before the hands are cuffed together. Reports state he was later beaten repeatedly by inmates during 43 days of detention.

In 2004, authorities sentenced Mr. Liu to three years of forced labor. During that period, he was allegedly subjected to prolonged shackling, sleep deprivation, forced sitting on a small stool for extended hours, physical assaults, and force-feeding after he launched a hunger strike. One account stated that guards ordered inmates to bind his legs into a full-lotus position for hours while blasting defamatory audio recordings through headphones attached beneath a steel helmet. Prisoners allegedly struck the helmet and punched his legs during the abuse.

Concerns over Jinzhou Prison

The Falun Dafa Information Center and other institutions has repeatedly raised concerns about conditions inside Jinzhou Prison.

The Center reported in 2025 that another Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Zhao Jiyuan, died while serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence at the facility. According to reports, Mr. Zhao suffered severe health deterioration after years of abuse, including heart attacks and signs of force-feeding. Family members reportedly observed shackle scars and other injuries on his body before his cremation.

The center has also publicized the case of Mr. Ren Haifei, whose wife, Sunny Wang, has campaigned publicly in the United States for his release. Mr. Ren was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2021 and allegedly suffered heart and kidney failure following beatings in custody before being transferred to Jinzhou Prison. His case was later referenced in the United States Department of State’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices as an example of arbitrary detention involving Falun Gong practitioners.

Minghui.org has also reported additional deaths of practitioners allegedly linked to abuse in Jinzhou Prison, including those of Zhang Litian, Cui Zhilin, and Xin Minduo.

Deadly custody in China

Mr. Liu’s death is the latest reported case highlighting the lethal consequences of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners — consequences documented by human rights organizations and government bodies.

As of May 2026, Minghui.org has verified 5,350 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners attributable to the ongoing persecution in China, with at least 124 recorded in 2025. The pattern of practitioners dying shortly after release from custody — often bearing unexplained injuries and in severely deteriorated health — has been widely cited as evidence of mistreatment within China’s detention facilities.