(Minghui.org) A 67-year-old man in Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has been in critical condition since late May 2023, while serving a three-year term for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zhao Hengde, a former health official, has been denied family visits since his arrest on November 26, 2021, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. His family recently learned that he has been wearing a urinary catheter shortly after his arrest. The Yinchuan City Detention Center kept him in custody despite his condition and never informed his family about it.
Mr. Zhao’s lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him during the hearing at the Xixia District Court on March 15, 2022. The lawyer learned then that Mr. Zhao was wearing a urinary catheter and thought it was a recent event, without realizing that his catheter use had been going on for months.
The judge sentenced Mr. Zhao in early April 2022 on charges of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” a standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners. He was taken to the Shizuishan Prison around June 2022.
Mr. Zhao’s family said that he had an x-ray in late May 2023 and that it showed he had a “white lung,” indicating massive pleural effusion. He fell into critical condition and was taken to the Dawukou City Second Hospital for resuscitation and admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) afterward. A few days after his hospitalization, the prison contacted the family and asked them to sign a liability waiver relieving the prison of any potential consequences of his health condition. It’s not clear whether the family complied or Mr. Zhao has been discharged from the ICU at the time of writing.
Related reports:
Ningxia Man Sentenced to Three Years for His Faith
Once Tortured for Three Years in Prison, Ningxia Man Faces Jail Time Again for His Faith
Ningxia Man Experiences Medical Condition Three Months Following Latest Arrest for His Faith
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