Mr. Yan Li, his wife, and their child

Mr. Yan Li, about 36 years old, worked in Niuerhe Textile Mill in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. He started practicing Falun Gong in December 1995.

On November 22, 2005, Mr. Yan was arrested from his home near Hada Street Bank in the Hongshan District, Chifeng City, in Inner Mongolia by officers from the Chifeng City Police Department National Security Division and the Hongshan District Police Department. He was then detained at the Hongshan District Detention Center.

According to the staff at the Hongshan Detention Center clinic, Mr. Yan was wearing only a sweatshirt and sweat pants when he was sent to the detention center. It was -21ºC (-6ºF) in Chifeng City, and the detention center authorities didn't allow Mr. Yan to put on any additional clothing.

On November 24, officials from Chifeng City Police Department phoned Mr. Yan's family and told them to wait for a package.

On December 5 at 10:00 a.m. Mr. Yan's wife, Ms. Yuan Yingping, phoned the Hongshan District National Security because the package had not arrived. A woman told Ms. Yuan that Mr. Yan was at the brink of death. She urged the family to hurry to Chifeng City as soon as possible, saying, "Or you will not see him for the last time."

That same day on December 5, Ms. Yuan took a long-distance bus and rushed to the Hongshan District Detention Center in Chifeng City, arriving at 7:00 p.m.. He Liang, the guard who received her, said, "Yan Li is doing fine. He is being treated at the best hospital in Chifeng City." Then, He Liang phoned Bu Ren and Liu at the Hongshan District Police Department National Security Division. The two police officers confirmed Ms. Yuan's identity, but refused to let her see her husband at the hospital and said, "It's too late". They sent her to a hotel near the No. 1 Technical School in Chifeng City and told her to wait for information.

By 10:30 a.m. the next day, Ms. Yuan had still heard nothing from the authorities. She anxiously went to the Hongshan District Police Department and talked to Bu Ren, who is in charge of the Hongshan District National Security Division, and to the officer Liu Dui. Bu Ren said, "Yan Li passed away. Yan Li was dead the first time I called you."

Ms. Yuan was shocked and didn't know what to say. She finally said, "I don't know who called me. I was waiting for the package you said you were going to send me." Bu Ren said, "I was kidding with you. Yan Li is at the hospital right now." Seeing Ms. Yuan holding a large package, he made a joke to her "Is that the shroud you bought for him?"

The authorities told her that she could not see Mr. Yan because he was still being treated in the emergency room. They told her to go back to the hotel and wait.

In the morning of December 7, Ms. Yuan again went to the Hongshan Police Department. Bu Ren and Liu Dui told her in a firm tone, "Yan Li died." The police took her to the Intensive Care Unit on the fifth floor of the No. 2 Hospital in Chifeng City. Ms. Yuan saw Mr. Yan's body covered with a piece of white cloth. She removed the cloth and saw her husband stark naked, lying on his back. His body was cold and rigid, but his eyes were wide open. She lost control and cried out loud.

After her husband’s death was confirmed, Ms. Yuan phoned other family members who went to Chifeng City. The plainclothes police officers strictly monitored Mr. Yan's family. They even followed them when they made phone calls and went to the bathroom, which imposed tremendous pressure on the family.

On December 8 at 9:30 a.m., personnel from the Hongshan District Detention Center and the Hongshan Police Department, including the head prosecutor at the Procuratorate and the medical examiner, hastily announced the cause of death and plans for cremation of Mr. Yan's body. The police department wrote a so-called agreement and coerced Mr. Yan's family into signing it. The "agreement," reproduced below, read as follows:

After negotiation efforts between the Chifeng City Procuratorate and the Chifeng City Police Department, the Hongshan District Police Department, and Yan Li's family, they have reached the following agreement:

1. Yan Li died from multiple organ failure. His family does not object to the official cause of death or the result of investigation by the Hongshan District Procuratorate.

2. Yan Li's family does not object to the autopsy report or the results of an investigation by the Procuratorate.

3. The body will be cremated before December 9, 2005, and the issue of cremation will be taken care of by Yan Li's family under the supervision of officials from the Hongshan District Police Department. No videotaping or photographs are allowed.

4. For humanitarian reasons, the Hongshan Police Department will assist with the funeral and the after-affairs by offering the family 5,000 yuan.

5. The costs associated with body storage and cremation will be the responsibility of the Hongshan District Police Department.

The above photo shows the agreement Ms. Yuan signed under coercion from the local judicial officials and police. This "agreement" fully demonstrates how adept the Chinese Communist Party is at villainous methods to cover up its crimes and deceive people.

Ms. Yuan was mentally traumatized by the sudden death of her husband. The local judicial official and police officers took advantage of her mental state and coerced her into signing the agreement.

After she returned to the hotel, Ms. Yuan calmed down and left the hotel while the police who watched her were eating. She told other Falun Gong practitioners, "Yan Li died such a horrible and suspicious death. I won't take it if they offer me 500,000 yuan, not to mention 5,000 yuan." She is trying to find a lawyer and prosecute the criminals.

After Ms. Yuan left, the officials at the Chifeng National Security Bureau were very nervous and combed the city looking for her, including large hotels, hostels, the railroad, and the highway. They detained the rest of Mr. Yan's family at the hotel. Before 8:00 a.m. on December 9, the authorities forced six of Mr. Yan's family members into seven cars with the judicial, legal, and justice systems' insignias on them. Without Ms. Yuan's presence, the police forced Mr. Yan's oldest brother to sign an agreement to allow the speedy cremation of Mr. Yan's body.