(Minghui.org)
Name: Fei ShuqinChinese Name: 费淑芹Gender: FemaleAge: 77City: HarbinProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: Food industryDate of Death: February 16, 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 29, 2013Most Recent Place of Detention: Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison
Ms. Fei Shuqin from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, died in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on February 16, 2023, while serving a 13-year term for practicing Falun Gong. She was 77.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Fei Shuqin
According to Ms. Fei’s family, she developed uterine fibroids, high blood pressure, and a heart condition shortly after her imprisonment, yet the prison repeatedly denied their application to release her on medical parole. The family hadn’t been allowed to see her since 2019.
When Ms. Fei lost her appetite and was plagued with constant drowsiness, she was taken to the prison hospital on January 13, 2023. The doctor found she had multiple lacunar infarctions, brain atrophy, and a severe lung condition. Despite her condition, the prison still denied her family’s requests to visit her and also refused to release her.
At 1 p.m. on February 16, the prison informed Ms. Fei’s family that they were transferring her to another hospital. But one hour later, the prison called again and said she had just passed away. Her family suspected that she might have already died when the prison called earlier.
The prison initially barred Ms. Fei’s family from seeing her body. But given their insistence, the guards relented after getting approval from their supervisor. Ms. Fei’s family said she appeared to be extremely thin and her head was shaved.
Arrested for Hanging Up a Falun Gong Banner
Ms. Fei retired from the food industry. Her husband died due to an accident at work decades ago when their youngest child was only three. Ms. Fei managed to raise all four children by herself. By the time her children were grown and had their own families, she was plagued with many health problems, especially a heart condition. On September 8, 1996, she began to practice Falun Gong and regained her health three months later.
During the 2013 Chinese New Year’s holiday, banners reading “Falun Dafa Is Good” appeared along a major highway in Harbin City. The local authorities dispatched most of their police force to arrest Falun Gong practitioners on March 29, 2013. At least 61 practitioners, including Ms. Fei, were taken into custody.
Ms. Fei was put on administrative detention the next day. Her arrest was approved on April 27, 2013, by the Yilan County Procuratorate.
While detained at the Yilan County Detention Center, Ms. Fei developed high blood pressure and a heart condition from the abuse. She was treated twice at the Yilan County Hospital. After she was transferred to the Harbin City No.2 Detention Center, she contracted hepatitis and also developed uterine fibroids. The authorities ordered her family to pay 8,000 yuan upfront before allowing the doctor to treat her.
Sentenced to 13 Years
When Ms. Fei appeared in the Yilan County Court on August 21, 2013, she fainted in the courtroom. The judge continued the hearing after she was revived. The 610 Office agents intimidated her family when they tried to get the session adjourned. The bailiff threatened to beat her lawyer.
Ms. Fei was sentenced to 13 years in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. Thirteen other practitioners arrested that same day were sentenced to 3 to 12 years.
Denied Medical Parole
The prison used the 1,000 yuan Ms. Fei’s family had deposited for her to buy daily necessities to pay for a physical exam in April 2015. The doctors discovered that her uterine fibroid tumor had grown to 4.8 by 3.9 inches. The prison demanded that she pay for her own surgery to have the mass removed, but her family couldn’t afford it. She also had a heart condition and high blood pressure. Despite her condition, the prison refused to release her on medical parole.
When Ms. Fei’s family visited her in September 2016, the guards again demanded that they pay for her surgery, but the family insisted that it was the illegal imprisonment and abuse that had wrecked Ms. Fei’s health and that the prison should be responsible for it. The guards accused the family of not cooperating with them and denied their visit on the next visitation day on October 19 that year.
During the family’s visit in February 2019, they saw that Ms. Fei’s condition was much worse than the month before. She appeared to be unresponsive and numb at times. When she spoke, she kept asking the same question. She often over-ate and was upset if others tried to stop her. Her family suspected that the prison had injected her with nerve-damaging drugs. They applied for medical parole for her again, but the prison never responded.
The prison never allowed the family to visit Ms. Fei again, citing the pandemic as an excuse. Even after she injured her femur in a fall and was unable to care for herself, the prison still denied her family’s request to release her on medical parole.
Related reports:
69-Year-Old’s Health Deteriorates While Serving 13-Year Term for Practicing Falun Gong
Law Firms Join Their Falun Gong Clients to Seek Removal of Corrupt Court Officials
Almost 50 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in the Past Month in Heilongjiang Province
Governor of Heilongjiang Province Orders Arrests of Over 50 Falun Gong
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