(Minghui.org) A 68-year-old woman serving time for her faith in Falun Gong has been repeatedly denied medical parole even though she is critically ill from metastatic breast cancer.
Ms. Li Fenglan, a resident of Baiyin City, Gansu Province, was already cancer-stricken when she was admitted to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison (located in the capital city Lanzhou) on February 27, 2023 to serve a term of one year and eight months. The prison guards took her to a hospital for chemotherapy, but her cancer still metastasized.
Ms. Li’s husband and the prison both requested that she be released on medical parole, but the police in charge of her case rejected them on the grounds that she had already been granted parole once back in 2019. They insisted that no more paroles would be allowed for her.
A Quick Recap of Ms. Li’s Latest Ordeal
Ms. Li’s sentencing stemmed from an earlier arrest on August 7, 2016 (detailed later in this report). She was released on bail the next day after she was found to have high blood pressure and denied admission to the local detention center. In the next few years, the local police and the court made numerous failed attempts to have her detained, as her blood pressure remained high. She stood trial in April 2018, but there was no report on what prison term she was given. While she was released on bail again after the court hearing, she was taken back into custody on February 19, 2019 after being deceived into going to the local court. She was then admitted to Jiuzhou Women’s Prison on April 15, 2019.
Ms. Li developed breast cancer in prison and was released on medical parole. She was arrested again on March 14, 2022 and soon released on bail due to her health condition. She was taken back into custody on September 6, 2022 after being deceived into going to the court. She was then admitted to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison on February 17, 2023 to serve one year and eight months.
There was no report on any court hearing or prison sentence following Ms. Li’s arrest in 2022. Due to the communist regime’s information censorship, Minghui.org correspondents faced tremendous challenges in gathering accurate information in a timely manner. Based on the available information so far, the most likely scenario was that Ms. Li had only been sentenced once, back in 2019, and that she was ordered to serve the remainder of her prison term – totaling one year and eight months – after she was taken back into custody in 2022.
The following details Ms. Li’s earliest persecution and her post-2016 ordeal.
Earliest Persecution
Ms. Li used to work for the local finance bureau. She took up Falun Gong in 1997 and soon recovered from her illnesses, including cholecystitis, severe sinusitis, pharyngitis, headaches, and rheumatoid arthritis. After the persecution began in July 1999, she gave up cultivation after being harassed by local authorities. Her illnesses relapsed and no medical treatments worked. She then resumed practicing Falun Gong in September 2003 and again faced mounting pressure from the authorities to renounce her faith. This time, however, she remained steadfast.
In September 2008, the local street committee seized Ms. Li from her home and took her to the Baiyin City Brainwashing Center, where she was detained for ten days.
The same episode happened again in September 2009, with her being held in a different brainwashing center for an unknown amount of time.
Ms. Li went to the nearby Jingyuan County to distribute Falun Gong informational materials on February 5, 2015, when she was arrested by the Dongwan Police Station officers. They took her to the Jingyuan County Lockup and held her there for 15 days.
Arrested in August 2016 and Released on One-Year Bail
Ms. Li was arrested on August 7, 2016, while putting up self-adhesive stickers bearing Falun Gong information. The arresting officers included agents from the Dashuitou Police Station, as well as Yu Ming, Wang Chaobiao, and Li Jinfu from the Changzheng Police Department. They proceeded to raid her home.
Ms. Li warned the police that they’d face consequences for arresting law-abiding citizens like her. Yu scoffed, “I’m not afraid of consequences. I am the judge in hell!”
Yu took Ms. Li to the Baiyin City Detention Center, which declined to admit her after she was found to have high blood pressure during the required physical examination.
Ms. Li was released on 5,000-yuan bail the next day. The police said the bail was for one year and she must seek their permission if she intended to go out of town. They also warned her that they planned to submit her case to the Pingchuan District Procuratorate at the end of her bail period.
Going into Hiding in March 2017 to Avoid Facing Trial
A staff member of Pingchuan District Procuratorate called Ms. Li in November 2016 when she was visiting her daughter in Lanzhou. She was asked to report to the Procuratorate at 10 a.m. the following day.
Ms. Li complied. While in the procuratorate, she was asked to sign a police-prepared document so as to close her case. She signed, only to be asked to defame Falun Gong on television and to provide information on other practitioners before her case could be closed. Ms. Li refused and was given bail again after her family was forced to pay 10,000 yuan.
The Pingchuan District Court called Ms. Li on February 23, 2017 and asked her to pick up the notice of her court hearing, which was set to take place in ten days. She left home in March 2017 to avoid facing trial.
Tried in March 2018
The police tracked Ms. Li down and arrested her from her daughter’s home on March 30, 2018. They took her back to Baiyin City. Her arrest was soon reported by Minghui.org.
Wang Chaobiao, one of the aforementioned officers who also arrested Ms. Li in 2016, interrogated her at the Changzheng Police Department. He questioned her on who had provided his contact information to Minghui. After Ms. Li refused to answer, he took her to Baiyin Hospital to have her go through a physical examination. She was found to have unusually high blood pressure. Wang took her back to the police department before driving her to the hospital again for another physical examination. Her blood pressure remained high.
Wang tried two more times that day, but the additional physical examinations still showed that Ms. Li had high blood pressure. Nonetheless, he proceeded to take her to the Baiyin City Detention Center.
Ms. Li’s blood pressure still registered high at the detention center, which firmly refused to take her. Wang and his supervisor had no choice but to let her go home after demanding her husband to pay 2,000 yuan.
Ms. Li was ordered to appear in court several days later. Only she and her husband were allowed inside the courtroom. Her husband’s brother tried to attend the trial, but was threatened by judge Wan Ming.
Ms. Li defended herself, citing her freedom of belief. The judge announced on April 24, 2018 to keep her released on one-year bail before further prosecution.
Futile Police Attempt in July 2018 to Have Ms. Li Detained
Officer Wang summoned Ms. Li to the police department in July 2018 and seized her upon her arrival. He then took her straight to the Baiyin City Detention Center. Her blood pressure remained very high and Wang again had to let her go home, but not before forcing her to pay a 2,000-yuan fine. In the days that followed, she was asked to go to different hospitals to have her blood pressure taken. The readings remained high.
Officer Wang and judge Wan pressured her workplace to stop her pension in September 2018. She also received a notice from the court on November 30, which claimed that she would be taken into custody in ten days. Her family hired an attorney and had her take another physical examination. Her blood pressure was still high. The police and judge’s attempt to get her detained again failed.
Back into Custody in February 2019 After Being Deceived Into Going to Court
Ms. Li was notified on February 19, 2019 to go to court to sign some documents. Right after she and her husband arrived in court on February 22, judge Wan ordered the bailiffs to detain her. Officer Wang was on hand to take her to the Baiyin City Detention Center. She was transferred to the Jiuzhou Women’s Prison on April 15, 2019.
It was unclear though what prison term Ms. Li was ordered to serve.
Released on Medical Parole After Developing Breast Cancer in Prison
Ms. Li developed breast cancer while serving the unknown prison term. She was released on medical parole at an unknown date.
Arrested Again in March 2022 and Released on Bail Hours Later
Ms. Li was arrested again on March 14, 2022, ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s two annual political meetings. The aforementioned officer Wang Chaobiao and his colleague Wang Shizhen from the Changzheng Police Department raided her home and confiscated two E-readers, two cell phones, one computer, one music player, three memory cards, more than a dozen Falun Gong books, and several Falun Gong brochures.
Ms. Li was then taken to the police department to be interrogated. She refused to answer the police’s questions or have her picture taken, and fingerprints pressed. They put her on the tiger bench twice. She condemned the police for interrogating her with torture.
The police released her on bail at around 8:30 p.m. that night. She later filed complaints against the two officers, both surnamed Wang.
Taken Back into Custody in September 2022 and Transferred to Prison Months Later
Wang Chaobiao and Wang Shizhen took Ms. Li to do a COVID-19 test on September 5, 2022. They drove her back home afterwards. The next day, they asked her to report to the Baiyin City Court. She went, only to be seized upon her arrival by the two officers. They took her to the Baiyin City Detention Center and delivered her arrest warrant to her husband the following day. Her husband suspected that she was targeted for filing complaints against the two officers.
Ms. Li was transferred to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison on February 17, 2023 to serve one year and eight months, likely the remainder of the prison term that she was given back in 2019.
Related reports:
Five Residents in Same District Sentenced to Prison Since 2022 for Their Shared Faith in Falun Gong
Gansu Woman Imprisoned After Two Years of the Authorities Attempts to Prosecute Her
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