Ms. Jiang Xiaoyan On the Brink of Death after Torture at Heilongjiang Women's Prison

Ms. Jiang Xiaoyan, a 54-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment. As a result of the persecution she has suffered at the Heilongjiang Women' Prison, she has become severely anemic and developed a large tumour in her abdomen. Although she is on the brink of death, the prison refuses to release her.

Ms. Jiang is a resident of Shuangcheng City. She was arrested on the afternoon of November 13th, 2011, when police arrested over 50 practitioners in Harbin and Shuangcheng cities.

Several officers from the Mingzhu Police Station, including Pan Hongmin, participated in the arrest of Ms. Jiang. Wang Yubiao and Xiao Jitian from the Shuangcheng Police Department, as well as some officers from Harbin, interrogated Ms. Jiang via torture.

Subsequently, the authorities sentenced her to 14 years of imprisonment and sent her to the Heilongjiang Women's Prison.

Prison Refuses to Release Ms. Jiang for Medical Treatment

Before she began to practise Falun Gong, Ms. Jiang suffered from uterine fibroids and colorectal cancer. She was critically ill. After practising Falun Gong, she felt reborn and her cancer was cured without treatment. She strictly followed Falun Gong's main principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in her daily life, and for more than a decade, she did not take a single pill.

After her arrest and severe torture, however, her health drastically declined and she developed anemia.

During their visits, her family observed that Ms. Jiang looked pale, had no strength and could not say more than a few sentences. Her family negotiated with the prison officials several times before they agreed to send Ms. Jiang for a physical examination. The doctors at the provincial hospital confirmed that she was anemic.

Ms. Jiang's family went to see her in prison again in July 2013. They could tell that her condition had deteriorated and were afraid that her life might be in danger. They went to see the prison director and section leader to request her release. Both officials and police in charge told them that Ms. Jiang could not be released on medical parole.

In early July, Ms. Jiang's family saw that her face was even more pale and swollen than before. She could not see clearly with her left eye and was on the verge of collapse after uttering just a few sentences.

According to the prison health records, the tumour in Ms. Jiang's stomach increased from 98x85 units in March to 105x115 units in July. Her other tumours also enlarged significantly.

The prison subsequently contacted her family to come to the prison, but did not allow them to see Ms. Jiang. Division head Ji and team head Wang sent two guards to take the family to an empty warehouse. There, the guards pressured the family to sign an undisclosed document. The family refused.

The guards took videos of the family and treated them arrogantly. Ms. Jiang's family suspected that Ms. Jiang was dying and the prison was trying to shirk the responsibility.

The family plans to press charges against Heilongjiang Women' Prison, prison head Shi Genghui, head of the prison hospital, division head Ji, and team head Wang if something happens to Ms. Jiang. They are demanding her unconditional, immediate release.