SHAOYANG, Hunan — June 6, 2012. Veteran labor activist Li Wangyang, 62, who spent roughly two decades imprisoned following the 1989 pro-democracy movement, was found dead in a hospital ward in Shaoyang on Wednesday under circumstances his family immediately questioned.
Li had advocated independent trade unions in Hunan and was arrested in the crackdown that followed the 1989 Tiananmen protests. He was released in May 2011 after a second long prison term and remained in extremely poor health, including blindness and severe hearing loss.
Li’s brother-in-law, Zhao Baozhu, said the family did not accept the initial explanation that Li had killed himself by hanging. Zhao said Li had appeared normal over dinner the previous evening and had never indicated that he intended to take his own life. When relatives saw the body, they said Li’s feet appeared to be touching the ground, adding to questions about the circumstances of his death.
Li was being treated for serious illnesses and was physically frail. His death came only days after he gave an interview to overseas media describing mistreatment he had suffered in prison and reaffirming his commitment to democratic change.
The circumstances surrounding Li’s death require transparent preservation of evidence, an independent post-mortem examination, and protection of his relatives and witnesses from pressure or retaliation.
Background
Li was detained in June 1989 after helping organize an independent workers’ group in Shaoyang. He received an 11-year prison sentence for “counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement.” After his release, he sought compensation for mistreatment and medical problems, was detained again in 2001, and received a further 10-year sentence for “inciting subversion.”
Sources available as of June 6, 2012
Associated Press/The Guardian, June 6, 2012.
Historical archive note: this report is intentionally limited to information available on June 6, 2012. Later developments are documented in separately dated follow-up reports.