(Minghui.org) A Chengde City, Hebei Province, resident was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer less than one month after she was admitted to Hebei Province Women’s Prison, yet the authorities barred her family from visiting her and refused to grant her medical parole.
Ms. Han Liping, 73, was arrested at home on July 22, 2022, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. The arresting officers were from Chengde City Police Department and Shuangqiao Police Station. They ransacked her home before taking her to the Chengde City Detention Center.
The Shuangqiao District Court sentenced Ms. Han to five years with a 5,000-yuan fine on January 19, 2023. Her appeal was rejected by the Chengde City Intermediate Court, and she was transferred to Division 14 of Hebei Province Women’s Prison on April 18.
Ms. Han had already exhibited some symptoms while in the detention center. She had coughing fits and elevated blood pressure. She even lost consciousness one night and the guards took her to a hospital the next morning. She was hospitalized for one week before being taken back to the detention center. The guards never told her or her family the health exam results.
Since her arrest, Ms. Han’s family has never been given any update on her case status, except for an arrest notice that they received in the mail on August 19, 2022. The detention center never informed them of Ms. Han’s deteriorating health; the court never notified them of her trial or conviction; and the prison never issued them a notice of her prison admission.
Ms. Han’s loved ones were only allowed to see her once at the detention center, on April 17, 2023, the day before her prison transfer. That visit was only made possible after an insider alerted them of the upcoming prison transfer and her family strongly requested a meeting with her at the detention center.
The prison authorities were well aware of Ms. Han’s health condition, but they still admitted her on April 18. They didn’t allow her family to visit her but kept asking for money from them to cover her medical examinations.
On May 11, a prison guard called the family saying that she had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. Her loved ones called relevant agencies seeking her medical parole. They were told that she met the parole requirements, but the prison refused to release her and also denied their requests to visit her.
Ms. Han was moved to Division 17 of the prison on May 21. The guards took her to a hospital for a medical evaluation and called her family afterward saying that her diagnosis had been downgraded to lung inflammation. They claimed that the hospital recommended anti-inflammatory treatment for two weeks and another CT scan after that. The previous CT scan done while she was still in Division 14 indicated she had a hilar mass (tumor at the lung roots). A pathological examination and puncture into the lung would be performed if the new CT scan showed no improvement after the anti-inflammatory treatment.
The guards also told Ms. Han’s family that medical parole would not be approved without pathological exam results. This did not make sense to her family because pathological exams may not even be medically necessary in the first place.
The prison again demanded money from the family and asked them to sign some paperwork. Ms. Han’s loved ones asked to see her exam results first but were rejected. Their request to visit her was also denied.
Past Persecution
Ms. Han has been repeatedly persecuted in the past 24 years for her faith in Falun Gong.
She was detained at the Dahugou Detention Center in Chengde City for 25 days in January 2000. She was also fined 3,000 yuan. Lu Feng, then head of the local Domestic Security Office, extorted 500 yuan from her.
She went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on February 2, 2001 and was arrested by agents from Tiananmen Square Police Station and Liuliqiao Police Station. She was interrogated and tortured for eight days, during which time she was not given any food or water.
She was given two years of forced labor in May 2001 and suffered brutal torture at Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp in Hebei Province. Her health was ruined as a result and she was unable to work for two years after she was released.
She was arrested in Xinglong County in January 2008 and sentenced to four years by Xinglong County Court in December of that year. While serving time at Hebei Province Women’s Prison, she was once beaten to unconsciousness and another time had her teeth knocked out during a torture session.
The Chengde City Social Security Bureau suspended her pension in August 2020 and has not reinstated it.
Related Reports:
Three Hebei Residents Imprisoned for Their Faith—One Diagnosed with Late-Stage Lung Cancer
Four Hebei Residents Sentenced for Practicing Falun Gong
Tortured for Her Belief: Years Spent in Labor Camp and Prison
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