--- description: The sisters of Zhang Liumao say they are being intimidated by police for asking questions about his death in custody. title: Chinese Police 'Harassing' Family of Dead Activist image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chinese Police Accused of Harassing Family of Dead Rights Activist by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2015 8:32 AM CUT by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2015 8:32 AM CUT The sisters of a Chinese rights activist who died in detention in the southern city of Guangzhou earlier this month were [summoned](http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/police-summon-family-of-activist-who-died-in-detention-in-china-11242015105652.html "undefined") on Tuesday by local authorities after they responded angrily to news of his death, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. The family said the summons — for “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” — was designed to intimidate them. “I think they are afraid that we will expose the truth, and that’s why they want to detain us,” Zhang Wuzhou told RFA. When authorities reported that her brother Zhang Liumao died in police custody early on Nov. 4, his family suspected that he had been tortured and beaten by police. The dead activist’s lawyer viewed his body, RFA reports, and said it showed “multiple signs of severe physical assault.” Zhang Wuzhou and her sister Zhang Weichu went to a police station in Guangzhou to demand answers. “We lost our cool, and I think my sister vented her frustration on the trash can, and a police officer came over to grab her, and I rushed and stood in between them,” Zhang Wuzhou said. “They said I hit him; I am not sure if I did or not.” According to RFA, one of the sisters has since lost her job. Recent state-driven reforms within China’s judicial system have failed to halt the practice of [torturing and mistreating suspects](http://time.com/4109591/china-torture-amnesty-international/ "undefined") as a means of forcing confessions, according to a report issued by Amnesty International. \[[RFA](http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/police-summon-family-of-activist-who-died-in-detention-in-china-11242015105652.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4126840/china-activist-torture-zhang-liumao/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4126840/china-activist-torture-zhang-liumao/"},"headline":"Chinese Police Accused of Harassing Family of Dead Rights Activist","datePublished":"2015-11-25T08:32:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:54:03.386Z","description":"Zhang Liumao died in police custody in early November","url":"https://time.com/4126840/china-activist-torture-zhang-liumao/","keywords":["China","Human Rights"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4126840/china-activist-torture-zhang-liumao/","name":"Chinese Police Accused of Harassing Family of Dead Rights Activist"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"China's Drift Towards a More Fragmented World","description":"Editor-at-large Ian Bremmer discusses China's financial growth and the challenges it faces in becoming the world's largest economy.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jZ1U3aiv/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-02T18:26:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jZ1U3aiv.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4126840/china-activist-torture-zhang-liumao/","duration":"PT2M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4126840/china-activist-torture-zhang-liumao/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```