77-year-old Man in Critical Condition While Serving 8.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Mr. Han Junde, a 77-year-old Baoding City, Hebei Province resident, has fallen in critical condition while serving time for his faith in Falun Gong at Jidong No. 5 Prison. 

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

According to Mr. Han’s family, he was taken to the intensive care unit at the Xiehe Hospital in Tangshan City on April 5, 2022. He is unable to breathe on his own and has been put on a ventilator. 

The prison hospital’s president Jiang told Mr. Han’s son that the Xiehe Hospital has been designated as a restricted area during the pandemic. The family isn’t allowed to visit him there, and the prison hospital wasn’t allowed to take him back. Jiang said that he didn’t know how many days Mr. Han could live. If he died, the Xiehe Hospital would freeze his body for the family to see after the pandemic.

When Mr. Han’s family requested medical parole for him, Jiang said that it has to be decided by the Tangshan Workers’ Hospital and three doctors have to reach the same conclusion. But due to the pandemic, most of the doctors have been dispatched to treat COVID-19 patients, leaving no manpower to evaluate his condition. Even if the doctors supported the medical parole, it would still have to be approved by the prison administration bureau. 

Mr. Han’s wife, Ms. Fu Gui, called Jiang on April 9. He hung up the call before she finished talking and refused to answer when she called again. She and the rest of the family are now very worried about Mr. Han’s situation. 

Mr. Han was sentenced to 8.5 years for making gourd crafts carved with Falun Gong’s principles – “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” After two years in Jidong No. 5 Prison, he developed severe anemia. He is blind in one eye and he has to be wheeled around in a wheelchair in the prison. The family had applied for medical parole for him, but the Jingxiu District Justice Bureau denied their application, even after the doctor had determined that he was qualified.

This is the second time that Mr. Han has been hospitalized in recent months after becoming critically ill. He was wearing a drainage tube after being discharged the first time.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Jidong No.5 Prison: [phone]Jiang (蒋), president of Jidong No.5 Prison Affiliated Hospital: [phone]Zhang Rong (张荣), director of Jingxiu District Justice bureau: [phone]Intensive care unit in Xiehe Hospital in Tangshan: [phone]

Related reports:

Woman in Her 70s Seeks Medical Parole for 76-year-old Ailing Husband Serving 8.5 Years for His Faith

Eight Arrested in One Day: One Deceased, Another Awaits Verdict, Two Displaced, and Three Sentenced

Elderly Man Denied Communication with Family, Wife Barred from Visiting Him in Prison

Wife of Imprisoned Falun Gong Practitioner Given Administrative Detention for Sending Letters to Seek Justice for Him

Three Hebei Residents Sentenced for Raising Awareness of Their Faith