Name: Yuan Hongwei (袁宏伟)
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: January 23, 2013
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 2008
Most Recent Place of Detention: Xinmi Prison (新密监狱)
City: Zhengzhou
Province: Henan
Persecution Suffered: Illegal sentencing, imprisonment

(Minghui.org) Mr. Yuan Hongwei was a practitioner from Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. He was paralyzed as a result of abuse in Xinmi Prison in Zhengzhou. When he was released from prison in 2011, he could not take care of himself and was sent to a nursing home. Mr. Yuan passed away on January 23, 2013 at the age of 45.

Mr. Yuan was arrested in May of 2008 while distributing Falun Gong truth-clarification materials. In 2009, he was sentenced to prison, and has been incarcerated in Xinmi Prison since then. He was healthy before his arrest; however, after having suffered brutal persecution in the prison he had to have an open-scalp operation. He was restricted to a wheelchair after he was released from the hospital in 2011.

During Mr. Yuan's imprisonment, his mother worried about him and could not live a peaceful life. She passed away from anxiety and sadness. His father's health also deteriorated and he suffered from many illnesses. His local residential committee was assigned to take care of him and they sent him to the Xianxin Nursing Home in the rural area of Zhengzhou.

Later, Mr. Yuan's health condition deteriorated, and he was sent to the Henan Province No. 3 People's Hospital for emergency treatment. His trachea had to be cut open during treatment. He stayed in the hospital for more than 40 days. But his medical expenses were not paid.

On January 23, 2013, the hospital officials stated that Mr. Yuan's condition had stabilized and then sent him back to the nursing home. When his relatives and friends went to the nursing home the next day to visit him, they were told that Mr. Yuan had passed away the previous afternoon.

Xinmi Prison is infamous for its brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The prison officials and the prison doctors jointly force practitioners to take drugs even if they are not ill. Many practitioners have been persecuted to death or paralyzed. Mr. Chen Yuemin from Sanmenxia City was tortured to the verge of death in the prison and then released. He passed away on April 26, 2011 at the age of 48. Mr. Li Xilu was sentenced to three years in prison in March 2011. In Xinmi Prison, his health deteriorated due to persecution and he showed symptoms of diabetes. He died in the prison on March 9, 2012.