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

(Minghui.org) A 74-year-old Baoding City, Hebei Province, resident has been denied visits from his family while serving 8.5 years for carving the Chinese characters of “Zhen-Shan-Ren” on a piece of artwork. 

“Zhen-Shan-Ren,” translated as Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, are the principles of Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation practice that has been persecuted in China since July 1999. 

Mr. Han Junde was arrested on August 30, 2019, and sentenced to prison with a 10,000-yuan fine by the Gaoyang County Court on February 26, 2020.

After he was taken to the Jidong Prison in Tangshan City in June 2020, he was allowed to call home a few times over the next few months. After that, communication with his family was completely cut off. His wife, also in her 70s, feared for his safety and traveled 182 miles (291 km) from Baoding to Tangshan to see him. But her visit was denied. 

Mr. Han Junde 

Denied Calls for Refusing to Renounce Falun Gong 

Although Mr. Han was allowed to call his family a few times, the authorities never allowed him to make a video call, even though his family deposited 200 yuan in his account to cover the video call expenses. Beginning December 2020, the prison authorities completely suspended his rights to call his family. The denial of his communication rights was punishment for his refusal to renounce Falun Gong. 

Mr. Han’s family wrote him at least three letters but never received a reply. In the last phone call, he mentioned that one of his eyes was almost blinded because of torture.

His family talked to the prison and the provincial prison administration bureau many times about treating his eyes. Eventually, the prison authorities agreed to take him to a hospital, but only if the family deposited 10,000 yuan first. After his family made the deposit, the prison never provided any updates on whether he was taken to a hospital, his condition, or the balance of the deposit. 

Director Refuses to Let Wife See Husband 

Fearing for his life, Mr. Han’s wife decided to take a trip alone to see him in Tangshan, despite the objection of other family members, who worried about her own safety. When 74-year-old Ms. Fu arrived at the prison, security personnel refused to let her in. Two men later came out to talk to her. One of them, surnamed Huang, claimed that he was a director but refused to give his full name. 

When Ms. Fu brought up the topic of wanting a report about her husband’s health and requested medical parole, Huang asked if she practiced Falun Gong. Ms. Fu called the question irrelevant and repeated the request to see her husband. Huang kept silent and was ready to leave. She then demanded to see the warden and was still met with silence. She followed Huang into the building. Huang went upstairs and had a guard stop her from following him. 

“I haven’t heard from my husband for months and the family didn’t celebrate the New Year because of what has happened to him. With his advanced age, how can he endure the torture? The poor meals here are destroying his health. What am I going to do if he collapses?” Ms. Fu said, in tears. 

Several guards took her to an office and tried to reason with her. Suddenly another guard came in and accused her of pretending to be the prison hospital director’s mother in order to get in. She politely denied having said so and clarified that she merely asked to talk to the hospital director about her husband’s condition. 

The guard refused to listen and was about to punch her. She stood up and said, “Are you going to beat and arrest me? That’d actually work. My husband is here and I will keep him company.” 

Instead of responding to Ms. Fu’s requests, Huang and his team tried to brush her off and make her leave. They called the police and the officers checked her ID, took her photo, and took down her deposition. The atmosphere in the prison and the attitude of the people working there made her even more worried about her husband’s well-being. 

Ms. Fu said she learned that the prison has a budget from the goverment to pay for inmates’ medical expenses. Jidong Prison violated the law by having her family pay for Mr. Han’s hospital visits. To make matters worse, the prison refused to provide information on his health, after taking the money. Also, inmates’ families have the legal right to visit and call them in prison. But the prison authorities threatened her and denied her rights. 

Ms. Fu’s Complaint Silenced 

After the trip to Jidong Prison, Ms. Fu filed a complaint with the Hebei Prison Administration Bureau and the Jidong Police Department. So far she hasn’t heard back from them. She followed up by calling the Jidong Police Department. A staff member simply commented, “It’s no big deal. They just had a bad attitude.” He hung up on her and never answered when she called again. 

Jidong Prison has a record of torturing Falun Dafa practitioners and several practitioners have died here, including Mr. Dong Hanjie, an engineer from Zhuozhou City who died two months after he was transferred to the prison on October 10, 2015, as well as Mr. Cao Jinxing from Tanshan City who was put in Jidong Prison in November 2018 and died there in May 2020.

Worried about her husband’s situation, Ms. Fu’s blood pressure has surged and she has had difficulty sleeping. 

Related reports: 

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