Husband of Christian Woman Beaten to Death Appeals for International Intervention
The China Aid Association released an urgent letter of appeal on Nov. 13, asking for international intervention on behalf of a Chinese Christian woman who was beaten to death while being interrogated on June 18, 2004
The China Aid Association released an urgent letter of appeal on Nov. 13, asking for international intervention on behalf of a Chinese Christian woman who was beaten to death while being interrogated on June 18, 2004. The appeal, introduced by Mr. Zhang Zhenghua, husband of Ms. Jiang Zongxiu, urged the international community to press Chinese government agencies to take full responsibility for the death of Jiang and to hold those police officers involved accountable.
Sources say Jiang, 34, was arrested on June 17 while she and her mother-in-law were distributing Christian tracts and Bibles in the market place at Tongzi conuty, Guizhou province. After their arrest, the two women were sentenced to 15 days’ administrative detention for “spreading rumors and disturbing social order.”
According to the China Legal Daily, Jiang’s mother-in-law, Tan Dewei, who was later released, said police kicked Jiang repeatedly during interrogation. Police later informed Jiang's family she had died of a sudden illness, although Jiang's husband and other villagers in the neighboring Chongqing municipality, where Jiang lived, said she was in good health before the arrests and was responsible for doing most of the family's farm work.
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After police turned over Jiang's body to the family, relatives say the body was noticeably covered with bruises and blood stains.
In a report by AFP, the agency wrote that an operator manning the phones at the Guizhou police station said she was not aware of the incident. Other police officials could not be reached for comment.
The incident generated a strong public reaction in Jiang's hometown in Chongqing's Jijiang County, the Legal Daily said, with local residents demanding an investigation into the cause of death.
However, despite of numerous times of formal appeals to higher authorities including both the provincial and central governments by then relatives, CAA reports that no one so far has taken the responsibility of addressing the request from the relatives of the victim. Surprisingly, CAA reports, the first local government-managed autopsy result claimed Jiang died of “fat heart failure,” failing to mention the obvious wounds and scars caused by beatings during her interrogation.
“This is another grave case of religious persecution costing an innocent 34-year-old lady’s life simply because of distributing Bibles and Gospel tracts,” said CAA President Bob Fu. ”We strongly urge the Chinese government to fully investigate this case and address the requests of Ms. Jiang’s relatives.”
CAA encourages those concerned to send letters of protest to the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC at the following address:
Ambassador Yang Jiechi
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20008
Tel:(202) 328-2500 Fax:(202) 588-0032
Director of Religious Affairs: (202) 328-2512
Jiang is survived by her four-year-old son, Zhang Jun, and her husband.
