(Minghui.org) Mr. Li Yanchun’s right carotid artery is 94% blocked, and his systolic blood pressure hovers around 260–280 mmHg (when a normal range is 120 mmHg or lower). Despite his condition, the authorities at the Jidong Fifth Prison in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, repeatedly denied the 73-year-old man’s medical parole requests.
Mr. Li Yanchun
Mr. Li, of Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, is serving a 7.5-year term for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. He was arrested on November 25, 2018, together with his wife, Ms. Pei Yuxian, also a Falun Gong practitioner.
The couple were convicted on August 27, 2019, with Mr. Li given 7.5 years with a 20,000-yuan fine and his wife four years with a 5,000-yuan fine. Ms. Pei was admitted to the Hebei Province Women’s Prison and finished serving time in November 2022. Mr. Li, who had been released on bail 20 hours after his arrest, was taken back into custody on July 22, 2021, and admitted to the Jidong Fifth Prison in Tangshan City. His term is set to end in January 2029.
The prison guards forced Mr. Li to make clothes for at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week. The prison never provided breakfast on Sunday mornings. Due to the intensive labor and his age, Mr. Li was often exhausted. He requested to have a physical exam at his own expense, but Liu, the division head, refused and continued to force him to do the same amount of work every day.
On top of the forced labor, Mr. Li was also made to read or watch materials slandering Falun Gong and ordered to renounce his faith. His health kept declining, and the prison eventually gave him a physical exam. He was found to have a blocked neck artery and dangerously high blood pressure, but was still denied medical parole.
Details of Arrests and Trial
Both Mr. Li and his wife are retired physicians. During their long careers, Mr. Li once served as the president of a rehabilitation hospital and published over 20 academic papers; his wife was an award-winning oncologist who made breakthroughs in early-stage tumor imaging diagnosis.
The couple were arrested on November 25, 2018, after being reported for handing out calendars with information about Falun Gong. The police interrogated them for over six hours.
The officers later took the couple to their home and ransacked their residence. When Mr. Li resisted, the officers slapped him in the face, causing his mouth to bleed, and forced him to kneel down with his hands cuffed behind his back.
While Mr. Li was released on bail due to high blood pressure after 20 hours of detention, Ms. Pei was sent to Qinhuangdao City Detention Center.
They appeared in the Changli County Court on May 31, 2019. Their Falun Gong books, computer, printer, and cellphone were used as “prosecution evidence” against them.
The couple’s lawyer argued that his clients’ possession of Falun Gong books broke no law, according to a notice issued in 2011 by the Chinese publication bureau that revoked the ban on Falun Gong books. When the lawyer mentioned the notice for a second time, the presiding judge threatened to remove him from the courtroom should he talk about the notice again.
The judge announced on August 27, 2019, a sentence for Mr. Li of 7.5 years with a 20,000-yuan fine and Ms. Pei was given four years with a 5,000-yuan fine. Mr. Li was allowed to go home after the sentencing, but Ms. Pei was transferred from the detention center to the Shijiazhuang Women’s Prison.
Mr. Li was seized by three plainclothes officers from the Shuangwang Police Station outside of his residence on July 22, 2021, and taken to the Jidong Fifth Prison.
Related Reports:
70-year-old Retired Hospital President Subjected to Forced Labor in Prison
Hebei Couple Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Calendars about Their Shared Faith
Older Couple Tried for Their Faith, Defense Lawyer Not Allowed to Mention Falun Gong
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