Father Dies Weeks Before Release from Shizuishan Prison in Ningxia

Mr. You Haijun (尤海军), a 55-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Zhongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, died on April 13, 2026, while serving a five-year prison sentence at Shizuishan Prison for his faith. His death occurred just weeks before his expected release.

The case was first reported by Minghui.org on April 23, followed by Weiquanwang on April 24.

Imprisonment and suspicious death

Prison authorities attributed his death to coronary heart disease and two other unspecified illnesses.

However, his daughter has questioned this explanation, citing both irregularities observed in prison surveillance footage and the facility’s record of mistreatment of detained Falun Gong practitioners.

According to the surveillance video, Mr. You was eating lunch with other inmates at around noon on the day of his death. During the meal, another inmate removed his food bowl and exited the camera’s view. Approximately seven to eight minutes later, the same inmate returned the bowl to Mr. You, who then resumed eating. No similar incident involving other inmates was observed. Mr. You died at approximately 3:00 p.m. that afternoon.

Following his death, his daughter demanded clarification regarding the cause. Prison authorities instead pressured her to sign a consent form for immediate cremation, reportedly threatening to withhold the body if she refused. Having given birth only four months earlier, she ultimately complied under pressure. Mr. You’s body was cremated on April 19, and his ashes were subsequently buried in Yinchuan City rather than his hometown of Zhongning County.

Mr. You’s death has compounded the vulnerability of his surviving family. His mother, nearly 80 years old, has not yet been informed. His daughter was concerned that her grandmother, who has lived for years under the strain of her son’s repeated persecution, may not be able to bear the news.

Previous ordeals

Mr. You worked as a crane operator and was the sole caregiver to his daughter after his wife left when the child was still an infant. At the age of three, his daughter developed severe epilepsy, marked by frequent seizures, loss of consciousness, and foaming at the mouth. Despite extensive efforts to seek medical treatment, her condition did not improve.

In 2004, when his daughter was four, Mr. You introduced her to Falun Gong exercises after learning about their health benefits. Within days, her seizures reportedly ceased. Mr. You also began practicing Falun Gong and experienced the disappearance of his long-standing asthma.

For maintaining his belief, Mr. You became a repeated target of the Chinese security forces. He was first sentenced in 2014 to three and a half years in prison and was released on November 5, 2016. On May 16, 2021, he was arrested again and later prosecuted. In April 2023, he was sentenced to five years by the Shapotou District Court and fined 10,000 yuan. His appeal was rejected shortly thereafter.

He was transferred to Shizuishan Prison on September 2, 2023. During his incarceration, his family’s requests to visit him were consistently denied. And he was expected to leave the prison on May 15, 2026.

Record of abuse at Shizuishan Prison

Shizuishan Prison has been repeatedly cited in reports for its treatment of detained Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. You was reportedly held in Division 16, a “high-security” unit associated with heightened surveillance and coercive management practices. The division is described as being directly administered to facilitate intensive control measures.

Since 2019, when the prison assumed a larger role in detaining Falun Gong practitioners transferred from other facilities, Division 16 has reportedly been expanded and outfitted with infrastructure designed for constant monitoring, restriction, and coercion. Accounts describe the use of systematic psychological pressure and physical abuse aimed at forcing detainees to renounce their beliefs.

Several prior cases raise further concerns. Practitioners such as Song Laiping and Ma Xiongde were reportedly subjected to severe mistreatment during their detention at the prison and died not long after their release. In both cases, accounts describe drastic physical and mental deterioration following incarceration.

Mr. You’s death is the latest reported case highlighting the lethal consequences of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.