(Minghui.org) Mr. Peng Yaxin from Jingmen City was released on the afternoon of January 23, 2018 after being detained for nearly two years.

He was left in critical condition due to being mistreated while detained. He fainted and was sent to a hospital a few days ahead of his release, which prompted detention center officials to release him.

Mr. Peng Yaxin, around 40, along with three other Falun Gong practitioners, were arrested on March 13, 2016, for their efforts in raising awareness of the Chinese communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Mr. Peng was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan, more than a year later, around November 2017.

He submitted an appeal to the Jingmen Intermediate Court. Judge Shui Shuang ruled around December 19 to uphold the original verdict.

Mr. Peng’s family was finally allowed to see him for the first time since his arrest, on December 27. They were shocked to see a gaunt figure walking towards them with a wobble. Once a healthy man, Mr. Peng, who stands at 5’7’’, now weighed only 90 pounds. He told his family that he could only keep down some liquid food.

Mr. Peng’s lawyer and family had filed multiple requests to have him released on medical parole, but Judge Shui denied their requests each time, saying that [Mr. Peng] looked pretty good to him.

Mr. Peng shared his frustration with his family and worried that even if his parole request was eventually approved, his term would have expired by that time.

Mr. Peng's family was helpless and had nowhere to appeal, as no government department was willing to take responsibility.

Mr. Peng fainted in the detention center on January 21, 2018, as the officials told Mr. Peng's family when they visited him on January 22. The officials said that Mr. Peng would be released in a few days, after they obtained more than 20 approvals from various departments.

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