CALL FOR JUSTICE
--- Voice from the family members of the murdered Christian Jiang Zongxiu

Narrator:
Ms. Jiang Zongxiu, a 34-year-old Christian caught distributing Bibles and gospel tracts in a Chinese marketplace in Tongzi County, Guizhou province. On June 17, 2004, Jiang and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Tan Dewei, were handcuffed together and brought to a neighboring police station. They were both interrogated throughout the evening of the 17th. The next morning they were sentenced by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) to 15 days incarceration for “suspected spreading of rumor and disturbing the social order.” On the arrest documents, they were described as having “seriously disturbed the social order by distributing children’s literature to the masses in the market.” But it was not enough for the PSB to arrest and beat these two Christian women for the crime of passing out Christian literature. During the afternoon of June 18th, Mrs. Jiang Zongxiu was pronounced dead by the PSB office of Tongzi County. They claimed she died of “natural causes.”
On the video five of Sister Jiang’s surviving family members are sitting
together: her husband with their 4- year-old son on his lap; Jiang’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Tan Dewei, who was arrested with her; Jiang’s father-in-law; and her sister-in-law.

Husband:
I am holding up my wife’s picture. It is very painful for me. You can see the scars on her neck. You can see she was clearly beaten to death. I ask for justice for me and my 4-year-old son.

Son:
I want my mommy. I want my mommy. I want my mommy.

Father-in-law:
On the morning of the 17th, I spoke with my wife and Jiang. By 2:00 the next afternoon, my precious daughter-in-law was dead. My wife asked to see her but was not allowed. She did see her feet as she lay on a table. My wife knew something was wrong. I now look at my grandson, whose mother was perfectly healthy and died after just a few hours in the custody of the police.
I spoke with the arresting police and told them that even if they arrested a murderer, they would be allowed to defend themselves. But they killed my daughter-in-law the day after her arrest.

Mother-in-law:
We went to the Puodu Town marketplace and were caught.
I was handcuffed to my daughter-in-law and brought to the police station in Tongzi County. I was kicked repeatedly during my interrogation. I noticed Jiang had been treated worse than me. They took off her shoes and beat her again. They told me they would beat me too if I didn’t obey.

Mother-in-law:
It was the morning of June 18th, when we were taken to the detention center. It was very early in the morning. They took our fingerprints and brought us to our cells. I protested that this was illegal, but it did not matter. A few days later, I remember seeing a person’s feet lying on a bed across from my cell. Officers came in to take pictures. At the time I did not know what it was about. I asked an officer what had happened, but he told me it was not my concern. I had asked to see my daughter-in-law, but they told me she was resting. When I inquired again, I was told she was very sick, in serious condition.
I kept asking to see her, but they just cursed me. Then they released me, forcing me on the train back to my village. I only learned of Jiang’s death after I arrived home. Now I know what they were taking pictures of at the detention center and why they wanted me to leave before the end of my 15-day sentence.

Sister-in-law:
We received the autopsy report on June 29th. It only stated that my sister died of natural causes, of heart failure. There was no mention of the wounds from the beatings. We asked for a second autopsy but were refused. We went to our local court, but they refused to take up our case. Now the PSB is pressuring us to cremate Jiang’s body.

Sister-in-law:
We are just ordinary Christians. All of our family is illiterate. We just want justice. They killed my sister just because she was caught sharing her faith. Why did she have to die? Why does her 4-year-old son have to grow up without a mother?
I asked permission to take pictures of my sister-in-law’s body, but they refused. So I went out and rented a camera and sneaked back in. The pictures we have were taken by me personally. It is very easy to see the wounds from her beatings. One of the PSB officers even told me secretly that we do not need another autopsy; it is easy to see that she was beaten to death.