(Minghui.org) It was recently confirmed that Mr. Liu Zhaojian, a Falun Gong practitioner from Jilin Province, passed away after suffering from a severe lung condition and coughing up blood. He died in his temporary living quarters and was discovered a few days later by other Falun Gong practitioners who went to visit him.

The exact cause and time of Mr. Liu’s death have not been determined. It is only known that he died several years after his February 25, 2009, release from Tiebei Prison. He was sentenced to six years in prison for putting up banners to expose the persecution of Falun Gong.

Mr. Liu was found to have a hole in his lung when he was released. He recalled being injected with unknown drugs while he was there. He later learned that the prison guards were injecting an unknown drug into Falun Gong practitioners who refused to give up their belief. The drug would cause one's lungs to rot away in five to seven years but would be unnoticeable in the early stages.

Another Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Xu Huijian, who was detained in the same prison with Mr. Liu, was also injected with drugs. He suffered from a deteriorating lung condition and constantly coughed up blood after he was released in April 2011. He died on December 24, 2014, after a large discharge of blood. He was 41.

In addition to the suspicious injections, Mr. Liu suffered horrific torture during his imprisonment—forced feedings, beatings, shocks with electric batons, and being hung in the air by the wrists. He weighed less than 40 kg (about 88 lbs) after a year of torture in the prison.

His lung condition and liver problems began to surface in 2005. He was on the brink of death when the prison released him on medical parole.

The prison authorities then had guards harass him at home, forcing him to leave his home and constantly move and stay in temporary lodgings.

He was arrested again when he returned home to take care of a school issue for his daughter on July 16, 2008. Authorities returned him to the prison to finish serving his remaining six months in prison. He was released on February 25, 2009.

Prior to the prison sentence, Mr. Liu was detained in a forced labor camp in 2000 for practicing Falun Gong. He was once locked in a dog crate for doing the Falun Gong exercises.

Previous reports:Practitioner Liu Zhaojian Tortured to the Brink of Death Then Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

Changchun Tiebei Prison Staff Brutally Torture Practitioner to the Edge of DeathMr. Liu Zhaojian Illegally Arrested Again After Long-Term Imprisonment