Mr. Wang Baojin, 45, Liaoning

Name: Wang Baojin (???)
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Occupation: Electrical Engineer at the Yingkou City Huaxin Electronic Limited Company
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 2001
Date of Most Recent Release: Died in custody
Date of Death: December 9, 2009
Province:  Liaoning
City: Dalian
Address:  Yingkou City, Liaoning Province
Most Recent Place of Detention: Nanguanling Prison, Dalian City (???????)

Case Details 

Mr. Wang was forced to flee his home in early 2001 to avoid arrest. He was subsequently arrested by police in September 2001 when purchasing a printer.

While being held at Yingkou Detention Center, officers force-fed Wang in a brutal manner when he went on hunger strike to protest his arbitrary detention, causing him to cough up blood. He was then nailed to a board and beaten to the point that he needed to be rushed to the hospital four times in two weeks.

Domestic Security agents accused Mr. Wang of running an underground print shop, put him through a sham trial, denied him legal representation, and “sentenced” him to ten years in a prison camp. He was initially held at Wafangdian City Prison, then transferred to Huazi Prison and finally, in 2004, to Nanguanling Prison. In all the facilities, Mr. Wang was forced to perform labor and subject to torture, includng being force-fed highly-concentrated salt water.

On the evening of Dec 7, 2009, Wang was unconscious and on the verge of death. He was rushed to the hospital – while in the ambulance, the doctors requested that his shackles be opened, but the officers in charge refused, so he was still restrained upon arriving at the hospital.

The next day, the prison authorities notified his family that he was very ill; they rushed to the hospital, but the next day, December 9, Mr. Wang died. They were only granted a brief glance at his body and were pressured to approve cremation. They refused and sought to file a court case to prevent the cremation. The court refused to accept the case and as of mid-December, Wang’s body remained in the authorities’ custody, with his family fearful he would be cremated without their consent.