Hebei Man Suffering Severe Symptoms in Detention, Family Seeks to Hold Police Responsible For Refusing to Disclose His Medical Records

(Minghui.org) After 19 months of detention for practicing Falun Gong, a Cangzhou City, Hebei Province resident developed severe hypertension and had thick fluid buildup around his cerebral arteries due to abuse in custody, but has been denied bail.

Mr. Hou Shuyuan’s family filed for administrative litigation against the Xinhua Police Station, which is in charge of his case, after they refused to disclose Mr. Hou’s medical records. A local court is set to hear the case on September 14, 2023.

Arrested with Three Other Practitioners

Mr. Hou was arrested on January 11, 2022, together with three other practitioners, Ms. Liu Zaiyun, Ms. Su Chunfeng, and Ms. Hu Xiumei, after being followed by the police while out distributing informational materials about Falun Gong.

Ms. Su was released on bail on January 14 due to a health condition, Mr. Hou was taken to the Cangzhou City Detention Center on January 16, and Ms. Liu and Ms. Hu were taken there two days later.

Gao Fusong, then head of the Xinhua District Domestic Security Office who arrested the practitioners, submitted the practitioners’ cases to the Xinhua District Procuratorate in early April, and the cases were transferred to the Yunhe District Procuratorate on May 14. Prosecutor Kong Lingxia indicted the four practitioners on October 26, 2022. Judge Fu Rao of the Yunhe District Court was assigned to handle the case.

Prior to his arrest, Mr. Hou was the primary caregiver of his incapacitated and incontinent father for years. While he was in custody, his wife took over the duty of caring for the elderly man. When Mr. Hou still wasn’t released after over a year, the elderly man’s health quickly declined and he passed away on May 1, 2023, without seeing Mr. Hou for the last time. He was 86.

It has been 19 months since Mr. Hou, Ms. Liu and Ms. Hu were held at the Cangzhou City Detention Center. Ms. Su, who had been released on bail earlier due to her poor health, was taken back into custody on July 12, 2023, by Niu Ben, the new head of Xinhua District Domestic Security Office. She was taken to the Cangzhou City Detention Center the next day.

Seeking Justice for Mr. Hou

When Mr. Hou took up Falun Gong more than 20 years ago, his insomnia, anxiety and neurasthenia soon disappeared, and he had enjoyed good health since. But only weeks after his arrest, he began to struggle with severe symptoms according to his lawyer, who talked to him through video calls on January 23 and February 7, 2022.

Mr. Hou said that during the five days he was held at the Xinhua Police Station, he was held in a metal chair and not allowed to sleep for two days. During his physical examination before being admitted to the detention center, he was found to have extremely high blood pressure, as well as thick fluid buildup around his cerebral arteries.

Despite his condition, officer Gao still forced the detention center to accept him. Gao also refused to let Mr. Hou read his own physical examination report. Only with Mr. Hou’s strong protest, did Gao let him to take a glance at it.

On May 12, 2023, Mr. Hou’s family filed a request with the Xinhua Police Station, demanding it to disclose Mr. Hou’s physical examination report upon his detention center admission. The mail tracking system indicated that the police had received their request a day later, but the family never received any response from the police within the 20-day window as required by law.

Mr. Hou’s family filed for administrative litigation against the police with the Xinhua District Court on June 27, 2023. The court accepted the case on July 11 and informed the family’s lawyer on July 14 that a hearing would be held on September 14. Judge Zhang Jing has been assigned to handle the case.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Niu Ben (牛犇), new head of Xinhua District Domestic Security Office: [phone]Gao Fusong (高福松), former head of Xinhua District Domestic Security Office: [phone], [phone]Ti Zhoude (提寿德), head of Cangzhou City Detention Center: [phone]Zhang Jing (张静), presiding judge of Xinhua District Court: [phone]

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