(Minghui.org) A Lingyuan City, Liaoning Province resident imprisoned for practicing Falun Gong has been experiencing heart and kidney failure since last year. One of his eyes has become blind and another eye has blurred vision. The prison delayed his treatment and rejected his family’s request to release him on medical parole, with the excuse that he didn’t renounce Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Currently, Mr. Zhao Changfu can only see things within three feet with one eye. His legs are severely swollen. His calves are oozing fluids. The prison only allowed him to receive treatment at the Shenyang City No.4 Hospital, but the hospital was overcrowded and hasn’t had a bed available to him since March 2022.
As Mr. Zhao’s health kept deteriorating, his family made several requests of medical parole for him, but the prison director Ma said that there would be no way for them to release him on medical parole should he refuse to renounce Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhao, 50, and his wife, Ms. Sun Guangli, were preparing to take their son to school on August 22, 2018, when they were arrested by the police. Ms. Sun was later released while Mr. Zhao was admitted to Lingyuan City Detention Center.
Mr. Zhao went on a hunger strike on the morning of October 26, 2018, to protest the persecution. He was force-fed and tied up in a spread-eagle position on a 5 by 6-foot wooden board. During his hunger strike, the detention center also deprived other detainees of sleep, in order to pressure him and incite hatred against him.
Torture illustration: Tied up in a spread-eagle position
After over 10 months of detention, Mr. Zhao’s feet started festering and discharging pus. He also developed high blood pressure. Despite his condition, the secretary of Chaoyang City Political and Legal Affairs Committee said that they wouldn’t release him, even if he died there.
When his family went to visit him, he was too weak and had to be carried out by four people. He was later taken to Chaoyang City Chinese Medicine Hospital for treatment.
Mr. Zhao was tried by the Lingyuan City Court on June 5, 2019. He was taken back to the detention center on June 17, before being sentenced to 4.5 years.
The authorities transferred Mr. Zhao to the Jinzhou Supervising Prison on September 3, 2019, and then took him to the Kangjiashan Prison about one month later.
As Mr. Zhao suffered kidney and heart failure, he was taken to the Shenyang City No.4 Hospital for treatment. When his condition improved, the authorities transferred him to the Xinkang Prison Hospital, where communication with his family was completely cut off.
Previous Arrests and Detentions
This is not the first time that Mr. Zhao has been persecuted for his faith in Falun Gong.
On October 11, 2000, he was arrested for traveling to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was subsequently given two years in Xidayingzi Forced Labor Camp.
Mr. Zhao took a friend to Beijing to see a doctor on January 17, 2010 and was arrested when checking into a hotel. The hotel staff had reported him upon noticing that his information was in the police database of Falun Gong practitioners. He was once again sent to a labor camp to serve two and a half years, during which time he was often beaten and deprived of sleep.
Perpetrators’ information:
Lin Zhimin (林志敏), Director of the Liaoning Provincial Department of Justice: +86-24-86892116, +86-24-31966030Wang Peijun (王佩军), Director of the Shenyang Provincial Department of JusticeGao Changsheng (高长生), Director of Liaoning Provincial Prison Administration
(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)
Related reports:
Family Loses Contact with Imprisoned Man in Serious Condition
Liaoning Man Hospitalized After Being in Detention for More Than 10 Months for His Faith
Couple Arrested for Their Faith Before Taking Son Back to School
Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Zhao Changfu of Lingyuan City Tortured
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