(Minghui.org)
Name: Yu ZhanqinChinese Name: 于占芹Gender: FemaleAge: 68City: BeijingProvince: N/AOccupation: retired teacherDate of Death: March 17, 2026Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 4, 2025Most Recent Place of Detention: Shunyi District Detention Center
A 68-year-old retired teacher in Huairou District, Beijing, died on March 17, 2026, while serving time for her faith in Falun Gong. Her family wasn’t allowed to visit her in her final hours, despite the fact that they were waiting in the lobby of the hospital where she died.
Ms. Yu Zhanqin was arrested on July 4, 2025, after a married couple reported her for talking to them about Falun Gong. The police raided her home that night and held her at the Shunyi District Detention Center. (As the Huairou District Detention Center was undergoing renovation, the detainees were all held at the Shunyi District Detention Center and still managed by guards from the Huairou District Detention Center.)
In late September 2025, two officers (one surnamed Wu) from the Longshan Police Station went to Ms. Yu’s home and deposed her husband. They said they planned to submit the case to the Huairou District Procuratorate after October 1.
Ms. Yu’s husband was not given any further updates of her case status. He confirmed in early February 2026 that his wife had been sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Huairou District Court. But he didn’t know any details regarding Ms. Yu’s indictment, trial, or sentencing.
Around 4 p.m. on March 15, 2026, Ms. Yu’s second daughter received a call from guards of Huairou District Detention Center and was told to go to the Huairou District First Hospital to see her mother there.
Ms. Yu’s daughter and husband rushed to the hospital and saw her in an intensive care unit (ICU) with IV drips. Her husband called her name. Her eyes remained shut, and she was unable to talk. Three detention center guards, two male and one female, were standing nearby, monitoring the visit.
A doctor said they performed a CT scan on Ms. Yu and found she had aortic dissection, a life-threatening condition where a tear in the inner layer of the aorta causes blood to rush between the layers of the wall, separating them. He added that they couldn’t treat her and suggested that she be examined at a different hospital. The guards thus transferred her to the Anzhen Hospital.
Ms. Yu’s two daughters, husband, and brother went along. They stayed in the hospital lobby for two days, but the guards wouldn’t allow them to see Ms. Yu, despite their repeated requests.
Ms. Yu died at 2:15 p.m. on March 17 at the hospital. Her family wasn’t allowed to spend even one second with her in her final hours.
Ms. Yu’s body is now held at the Huairou District Funeral Home. Her family suspected foul play in her death and demanded to see surveillance footage from the detention center showing her collapse. The footage showed her sitting in a chair before suddenly falling to the ground and losing consciousness. Her cellmates reported the incident to the guards, who called the detention center doctor. However, it took 20 minutes before she was taken to the Huairou District First Hospital.
Prior to her latest prison sentence, Ms. Yu, a retired elementary school teacher, was previously jailed twice for a total of one year and nine months for her faith. Her pension was suspended after she completed her second prison term in October 2023. The Huairou District Board of Education refused to give her a legal basis for the pension suspension or issue a written notice despite her repeated efforts to have her pension reinstated. They even threatened to put her in jail if she dared to “bother” them again.
Retired Beijing Teacher Given Third Prison Sentence for Practicing Falun Gong
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