Young Woman Imprisoned for Her Faith Denied Family Visits and Access to Lawyer
(Minghui.org) Three years after Ms. Jiang Liyu was arrested for her faith in Falun Gong, the authorities haven’t allowed her family to visit or call her.
According to Ms. Jiang’s parents, who also practice Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999, their daughter is not the only imprisoned Falun Gong practitioner who has been denied family visits for refusing to give up their faith.
Ms. Jiang Liyu (left) and her older sister, Ms. Jiang Lianjiao
Ms. Jiang Liyu, 28, a native of Shiyan City, Hubei Province, who works in Beijing, was arrested in May 2017 for raising awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong. She was sentenced to four years in prison on July 12, 2018 and sent to Hankou Prison in Hubei Province in March 2019. The authorities haven’t allowed her family to visit her since her arrest.
On May 12, 2020, Ms. Jiang’s family called the Hankou Prison again and demanded to visit her. A prison director surnamed Hua answered the call.
Ms. Jiang’s family questioned why they were not allowed to call her when other inmates were allowed to do so amid the pandemic.
Hua said he would arrange for her to talk to them, but soon walked back on his words and claimed that they had talked to her already. He also stated that the prison authorities have contacted the local government where Ms. Jiang’s parents live and told them that Ms. Jiang was doing well. But Ms. Jiang’s family said Hua was lying, as they have not been given any update about her since her arrest. Hua also refused to reveal which ward Ms. Jiang is currently held in.
Prior to the virus outbreak, Ms. Jiang’s lawyer made several attempts to visit her, but was also repeatedly rejected by the prison on the grounds that his Power of Attorney document didn't meet requirements no matter how he updated it according to their requests.