By Christine Khamis

 

BEIJING, China –

29-year-old environmentalist Lei Yang died while in police custody last week. Police say that he was detained outside of a foot parlor near Beijing. The official cause of his death is unclear at this time.

Mr. Lei worked for the China Association of Circular Economy, an environmental organization with ties to the government. His family says that he was on the way to pick up friends from the airport when he was detained. Mr. Lei apparently left his home around 9 p.m., about an hour before he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Many among the public believe that Mr. Lei was tortured or beaten to death. There has been great speculation about what Mr. Lei was doing at the foot parlor, which is a common cover for a brothel in the region.

The prosecutor’s office in Changping, the county where the foot parlor was located, says that it is investigating Mr. Lei’s death. There have been no other official government comments on Mr. Lei’s death, nor are there any surveillance videos available from Mr. Lei’s arrest and detainment.

However, People’s Daily, a newspaper closely allied with the Communist government, published an interview with an officer in charge of an anti-prostitution raid, during which Mr. Lei was reportedly picked up outside the massage parlor. The officer told People’s Daily that they had not used excessive force with Mr. Lei and that he was detained for paying for paying for sexual services. The officer also stated that Mr. Lei had bitten officers and tried to escape police custody twice.

The police also say that Mr. Lei had a heart attack while in police custody and then was declared dead at the hospital. Xinhua, a state run news source, reported that family members said they had seen bruises on Mr. Lei’s head and arms. Police responded that Mr. Lei had hit his head while trying to escape.

Mr. Lei’s family has requested an independent autopsy. Results of the autopsy are set to be released next month.

Former alumni of Renmin University, where Mr. Lei obtained his master’s degree in environmental science, circulated four petitions online following the news of his death. One of the petitions stated that Mr. Lei should not have been executed without a trial and said that his death was not an accident. It called for authorities to conduct an independent inquiry into Mr. Lei’s death.

Prostitution is illegal in China, but such an offense for solicitors is usually punishable by some form of administrative discipline.

  

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Chinese Man’s Death in Custody Prompts Suspicion of Police Brutality – 12 May 2016

South China Morning Post – Former Students Call for Full Inquiry Into ‘Suspicious’ Death of Beijing University Alumnus in Police Custody – 12 May 2016

Hindustan Times – Mysterious Death in China Raises Suspicions of Police Brutality – 12 May 2016

Radio Free Asia – Death of Man in Police Custody Sparks Anger, Raises Doubts in Beijing – 11 May 2016