Beijing (AsiaNews/AFP)- A 34-year-old woman has allegedly been beaten to death in jail on the day she was arrested for handing out Bibles in Guizhou province , state media reported yesterday.
Police in Guizhou's Tongzi county arrested farmer Jiang Zongxiu on June 18 on suspicion of "spreading rumours and inciting to disturb social order", the Legal Daily said.
They had planned to detain her for 15 days, the report said, alleging Jiang died in police custody on the afternoon she was arrested.
Her mother-in-law, Tan Dewei, who was arrested with Jiang but later released, said police kicked Jiang repeatedly during interrogation.
Police later informed Jiang's family she had died of a sudden illness and turned over her body to the family, but relatives saw the body was covered with bruises and bloodstains, the report said.
Bibles are banned from bookstores and are not easy to obtain.