(Minghui.org)
Name: Chen YanChinese Name: 陈妍Gender: FemaleAge: 45City: BenxiProvince: LiaoningOccupation: Former employee of a state-owned enterpriseDate of Death: November 8, 2025Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 14, 2024Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women’s Prison
A 45-year-old woman in Benxi City, Liaoning Province, died on November 8, 2025, three days after she was admitted to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison to serve a five-year term for her faith in Falun Gong. Black viscous fluid flowed out of her mouth when the coroner turned her over.
Ms. Chen Yan’s parents noted that her eyes were open, her was mouth agape, and her hair was matted. They were not given the autopsy report and refused to sign a consent to have her body cremated. Several prison guards insisted that the elderly couple send in an “appreciation flag” to “thank” the prison for taking their daughter to the hospital to have her treated for “heart failure.” But a hospital doctor revealed that she showed no signs of life when she was brought in.
Ms. Chen was arrested on July 14, 2024, and was tried in the Xihu District Court on May 15, 2025. She was sentenced to five years with a 5,000-yuan fine on June 26. See the related reports for details of her arrest, indictment, and trial.
Ms. Chen’s appeal was denied by the Benxi City Intermediate Court on September 19, 2025, and she was admitted to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on November 5. She had previously served a three-year term in the same prison (2015 to 2018) and was forced to take unknown drugs that damaged her central nervous system. She was in a very poor mental state when she was released, and it took her years to recover.
Brutally Tortured in Detention Center
Ms. Chen was brutally tortured while being held in the Benxi City Detention Center following her latest arrest. Minghui.org previously reported on some of the abuse. This section provides additional information.
After four inmates beat Ms. Chen three times on August 5, 2024, she had chest pain, headaches, and nausea and was vomiting. Guard Wang Naihan took her to the in-house clinic, where the doctor sprayed medicine on her head. When Ms. Chen asked Wang to investigate the beatings, Wang yelled for her to go away. He even forced her to do night duty (walking around to inspect other inmates).
On January 1, 2025, Ma Hong, who was incarcerated for dealing drugs, hit Ms. Chen on the back of her head from behind. The next day, Li Donghong, a convicted murder, punched her in her right eye, knocking off her glasses. She suffered declining vision in that eye, and her face swelled up. She started having memory issues and worsening migraines and dizziness. She fainted many times and became drowsy. She also drooled. Guard Wang never disciplined Ma, Li, or any other inmates that beat her. He also made her sleep on a bare bed.
Ms. Chen’s health kept declining due to the repeated torture. She had heart palpitations, felt weak, lost her appetite, and became emaciated. She could not put her right heel on the ground, and two people had to help her get around. On July 24, 2025, she was taken to the Benxi City Railway Hospital (which is under the administration of the detention center). She wrote a bail release request, only to be taken back to the detention center on August 8 when the guard received it.
Appeal Rejected
After Ms. Chen was wrongly convicted, her father filed an appeal as her non-lawyer family defender. He went to the Benxi City Intermediate Court on August 20, 2025, to review the case file, but judge Liu Liang said only a lawyer could do that. Her father hired a lawyer, who was allowed to review the case file on August 22 but was barred from photographing or copying it.
Judge Sun Qing notified Ms. Chen’s father to report to the intermediate court on September 12. She said that she was now in charge of the appeals case because judge Liu had fallen ill. She added that she had deposed Ms. Chen twice and that Ms. Chen refused to sign the power of attorney document because she thought her father’s request to represent her was forged by the court.
The lawyer went to the detention center on September 15 but was unable to see Ms. Chen as she had been taken to the same hospital again. Her father talked to team lead Cui the next day, requesting to have her moved back to the detention center to meet with the lawyer.
The lawyer returned to the detention center on September 18 and saw that Ms. Chen had to be wheeled out to the meeting room. Her legs shook, and she said she could barely walk and was often starved. She told the lawyer that she did not agree for her father to represent her as a family defender. She also expressed her opposition to having an evaluation to see if she had the capacity to understand her appeals case.
The intermediate court ruled on September 19 to uphold Ms. Chen’s original verdict.
Last Two Times Parents See Daughter Alive
Ms. Chen’s parents visited her in the detention center on October 10, 2025. She was again wheeled out as she was still unable to walk. She was in low spirits, her hair was matted. She fidgeted uncontrollably. A guard said they gave her a physical exam and she wasn't ill.
Ms. Chen had one last visit with her parents on October 24. Two female guards moved her from the wheelchair to a chair. Her hair was still matted because it had not been shampooed in a long time. She was unable to take care of herself and no one helped her. She said that she was very weak and had to lean against the wall to use the restroom. She had to crawl to get around. She doubted if she’d return home alive.
When asked why she refused to have an evaluation, Ms. Chen explained to her parents that she suspected the evaluation questions might require her to defame Falun Gong.
At the end of the meeting, Ms. Chen shouted, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”
Li Tingting, deputy director of the detention center, notified Ms. Chen’s parents that there would be no more visits allowed because she was scheduled for a prison transfer the following month.
Dies Three Days After Admission to Prison
At around 3:30 p.m. on November 5, 2025, Ms. Chen’s father received a phone call from Li Tingting, saying that his daughter had been admitted to the prison earlier that day and assigned to Division 12. He asked why the prison would admit her when she was already wheelchair-bound. Li said the detention center assured them that Ms. Chen was faking illness and that she was fit for imprisonment.
Early on November 8, Ms. Chen’s father received a call from guard Wang at Division 12 and was told to hurry to Yongsen Hospital because his daughter was in critical condition.
By the time Ms. Chen’s parents got the hospital, she was already dead. There were many prison guards and plainclothes officers, who asked the elderly couple to walk in front of them to the morgue. As soon as they all got there, the guards pushed Ms. Chen’s parents aside.
But Ms. Chen’s mother managed to get close enough to touch her daughter’s body. It was ice cold.
A doctor said that Ms. Chen showed no signs of life when she arrived at the hospital. The prison guards did not reveal the exact time of her death. Guard Wang, who called Ms. Chen’s father, initially said that they found out she’d died on the morning of November 8 when she did not get up. He soon changed his story to say that she died after she’d gotten up and dressed.
No one responded when Ms. Chen’s mother asked why her daughter died in just three days.
A coroner did an autopsy, but Ms. Chen’s parents were not given a copy of the report. A prosecutor who was present directed them to talk to the prison authorities. No one present gave their contact information. The prosecutor later gave the couple a phone number, which turned out to be invalid.
The prison demanded that Ms. Chen’s parents sign a consent form to have her body cremated. They refused and the body is now in a funeral home.
Related Reports:
Liaoning Woman Sentenced to Five Years for Practicing Falun Gong
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