【新唐人2015年02月09日讯】连日来，大陆各地监狱乱象连续遭到媒体曝光，其中黑幕令人震惊，诸多丑闻、怪闻让舆论哗然。近日，大陆媒体再度披露，江西赣州一个监狱中，6年内有8名囚犯死亡，引发社会关注。为此，来自全国多个地区的十多名律师日前聚集江西，针对大陆频发的监狱、看守所等羁押场所中，犯人非正常死亡等现象进行研讨，但却遭到地方当局百般阻挠。
2月7号，来自江苏、山东、湖南、北京、广州及江西等地的十多名律师和受害者家属，在江西南昌一家酒店召开了主题为“透视高墙”——监狱看守所非正常死亡关注研讨会，没想到，会议险些因地方当局的破坏而无法召开。
山东律师张维玉：“6号就有一些开会人员就已经到了现场，到了宾馆之后，就遇到了警察来查身份证。第二天早上突然接到（酒店）通知，说是会议室已经停电了，没有电，线路故障。然后我们要了会议室的钥匙去开门的时候，这个锁扣，就被用火柴棍给堵上了。”
据参加会议的山东济南律师张维玉说，除了阻止律师进入会场之外，就连应邀参加会议的受害者家属，也因地方当局的百般阻挠而无法赶往会场。
张维玉：“在开会之前，我们就得到了信息，没有到现场的五、六位家属，他们家里都来了监控人员，就住在他们的房间，盯着他们，不让他们出门了。就来了两个当事人的家属，他们所在地的可能是镇政府的，反正是官方的，非要劝他们回去，还不让我们跟他们接见，就拽着他们走。”
地方当局为什么如此“害怕”研讨会召开？律师指出，会议的主题过于“敏感”，触及到了当局神经。据了解，这次会议除了针对全国各地“高墙”内被关押人员人身权利受到侵犯，甚至非正常死亡的现象进行探讨外，同时启动“透视高墙计划”，成立律师观察组，希望借此帮助受害人家属并引起当局关注。
张维玉：“我们在刑事案件办理当中，遇到的大量的、比较普遍的情况是，全国各地的看守所里，人身权利受到侵犯、受到虐待、受到酷刑的情况比较普遍。所以我们希望通过律师的参与能够帮助家属找到真相。”
今年1月30号，大陆媒体一则“江西赣州一监狱6年8名囚犯死亡，狱方拒公开完整监控”的新闻，引发了社会关注。报导称，2008年到2014年，赣州市监狱8名服刑人员死亡，仅2014年下半年就死亡3人。8人中，5人为“突发疾病死亡”，1人被“其他服刑人员杀害”，1人“坠楼身亡”，另有1人死因不明。
在这次研讨会上，律师们也邀请了赣州市监狱的几名受害者家属前往参加。
张维玉：“我们律师也关注这样一个事情，就觉得这件事情，本来通过一个非常简单的公布现场视频的情况下，就可以明明白白的说明问题，但是监狱方面就是拒绝给家属提供，就说什么‘恢复不了’这样一些理由去搪塞，这样的情况的话，就让我们觉得非常不可理解，更让我们怀疑他的死亡应该是另有原因的。”
近年来，大陆各地劳教所、监狱、看守所等羁押场所，犯人非正常死亡现象日益严重，而监狱方面为了推卸责任，通常会编出各种犯人死亡的理由推卸责任，包括“躲猫猫死”、“上吊死”、“睡觉死”、“喝水死”、“自然死”、“摔跤死”等多种离奇死法。但这些所谓死因，到了监狱犯人和知情人口中，就变成了“酷刑死”、“过劳死”、“殴打死”甚至“活摘死”等。
张维玉：“它不会说是非正常死亡的，它说是‘突发疾病’啊、还有今天刚刚还有一个电话，说是有‘自杀’的，说他自杀什么之类的这样的情况。我们受理的案件里边，还没有监狱主动说它们会承担这个责任，没有这种情况。”
面对舆论不断谴责，当局曾在2010年对全国下达整治“严令”，声称监所出现非正常死亡，将严惩主管领导。但几年过去，非正常死亡事件不但没有减少，反而更加普遍，甚至连一个关注非正常死亡现象的研讨会，都无法顺利进行。
采访写稿/张天宇
Eight Deaths in Jiangxi Prisons in Six Years.
Shocking and terrible secrets from within the Mainland
prisons have been exposed recently.
Notably, eight prisoners died over the past six years
in a prison in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province.
A number of lawyers and families of the victims met in
Jiangxi to discuss the unnatural deaths of the prisoners.
But, there was interference from the local authorities.
On Feb. 7, the participants from Jiangsu, Shandong, Hunan,
Beijing, Guangzhou and Jiangxi gathered in a hotel in
Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. The theme was ‘Seeing through
the wall’.
It was to examine the unnatural deaths in prisons
and detention centers.
The meeting was almost canceled due to interference
from the authorities.
Shandong lawyer Zhang Weiyu, “There were people arriving
at the hotel on Feb. 6. The police attended to check their ID.
The next day we were told the power was off and
there was a short circuit in the conference room.
We got the key to the conference room, and found the
conference room lock was plugged with a matchstick."
Lawyer Zhang Weiyu said that as well as stopping lawyers
from entering the venue, the participating families of the
victims were also blocked from joining the meeting by
the local authorities.
Zhang Weiyu: “We were told before the meeting that at
least five or six of the invited participants were monitored
by agents who directly live in their houses. They were
prevented from going out.
Only two of them made it to the meeting.
But their local agents insisted that they should go home
and would not let us meet them. They were dragged away."
Why are the local authorities afraid of the meeting? Lawyers
felt that the topic is too sensitive for them.
It is said that the agenda of the meeting included
topics of violation of inmate’s personal rights,
the unnatural death of inmates, and establishing
a lawyer’s observation scheme.
Lawyers hope to support the families of victims
and raise concerns with the authorities.
Zhang Weiyu: “There has been the phenomenon of a
relatively large number of detainees having their personal
rights violated and experiencing torture while in detention
centers throughout China.
We hope the lawyers’ assistance will help the victims’
families to find out the truth."
A news report on eight prisoners who died over 6 years in a
jail in Jiangxi revealed how prison authorities have refused
to disclose the facts or implement a prison monitoring system.
A Jan. 30 report said from 2008 to 2014, eight prisoners died.
Three of the deaths occurred in the second half of 2014.
Five of them apparently died of sudden illnesses;
One was killed by other inmates; one died falling off
the building; and, one died of unknown causes.
Several of these victims’ family members were also invited
to join the meeting.
Zhang Weiyu, “It is our concern. As lawyers, we feel it was
a fairly simple thing to find out the truth.
The video recordings could have explained it clearly.
But the prison refused to provide the information.
They claimed the videos couldn’t be recovered.
We can’t comprehend this type of excuse.
We can only believe that there were other reasons
for the deaths."
In recent years, prisoners dying of unnatural causes in labor
camps, prisons and detention centers has become a
surprisingly severe phenomenon in China.
To shirk the responsibilities, prisons often made out bizarre
excuses.
These range from death caused by “hide and seek",
“hanging", “drinking water", “nature causes", and “falling".
To prisoners and insiders, the causes become “torture",
“exhaustion", “beatings" and even “live organ harvesting".
Zhang Weiyu, “They won’t admit the unnatural causes.
They would say it’s a sudden death caused by illnesses.
I have just received one call saying that it’s ‘suicide’.
In all the cases we’ve handled so far, no prison has ever
voluntarily assumed responsibility. None of them!"
After public condemnation, authorities issued a law in 2010
to punish prison leaders when unnatural deaths occur.
A few years have passed but unnatural deaths have not
lessened but actually have become more wide spread.
Even a simple conference focusing on the unnatural deaths
is faced with the authorities causing a lot of difficulties.
Interview & Edit/Zhang Tianyu
