(Minghui.org) A Harbin City resident serving time for his faith remains incarcerated, even though the prison authorities had granted him medical parole more than three weeks ago.
Mr. Zhao Haijun, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis and kidney disease, told his family that he felt his days were numbered. The prison refused to let him go because his family couldn’t afford to pay 8,000 yuan in medical evaluation fees.
Mr. Zhao was arrested on May 6, 2016 for filing a criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in his past detentions. His family was notified on September 23 that he was sentenced to 8 years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan for his faith.
Mr. Zhao’s health quickly deteriorated in the few short months since he was admitted to Hulan Prison on January 4, 2017. He complained to his family about the frequent torture that he was made to endure at the prison.
The prison notified his family on April 25, 2017 that he had fallen ill. His wife rushed to the prison later that day and learned that her husband had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and kidney disease. The X-ray image showed that about two-thirds of his lungs had collapsed.
Du Peng, head of the prison 610 Office, said that Mr. Zhao’s condition required a lot of prescription drugs and that the prison should not be held liable if his wife failed to cover the cost of his medication, or if his condition worsened.
Mr. Zhao’s wife immediately requested medical parole. Both Du and guard Pei Delin, who was in charge of Mr. Zhao’s imprisonment, demanded that she sign a waiver first to relieve them of liability should anything happen to Mr. Zhao during his parole.
Eager to get her husband out, Mr. Zhao’s wife signed the waiver and the medical parole paperwork. To her surprise, the prison didn’t allow her to take Mr. Zhao home that day.
She was notified on May 5 to prepare 8,000 yuan for a medical evaluation fee. With two college-age daughters and one income, she just didn’t have the money. Du and Pei threatened to revoke the medical parole if she failed to produce the full amount.
Mr. Zhao’s wife wanted to double check on her husband, but only her brother-in-law was allowed to see Mr. Zhao.
The brother-in-law told her afterwards that Mr. Zhao was in a precarious condition. He needed two people’s support to get around and had to rely on an IV to survive. He complained about bloody urine and breathing difficulties. He had to use an oxygen mask at times.
Mr. Zhao immediately went to look for prison management, but no one was willing to talk to her.
She and other family members returned on May 8, but were barred outside. She called guard Pei, who insisted on her paying the 8,000 yuan fee.
She managed to borrow 4,000 yuan over the next two days and gave it to Pei on May 10. Since then she hasn’t heard anything from Pei.
Jiang Zemin, as head of the CCP, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong in July 1999.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners over the past 17 years. More have been tortured for their belief, and even killed for their organs. Jiang is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the CCP established an extralegal security organ, the 610 Office, on June 10, 1999. This organization overrides the police and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's policy regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law now allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are exercising this right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
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