Man, 42, Dies Within Two Months of Release on Medical Parole

Mr. Tan Degang from Neijiang City, Sichuan Province was sentenced to three and a half years in January 2013 for exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. He was transferred to a local prison two months later and soon developed liver cancer due to brutal torture.

He was eventually released on medical parole in January of this year, only to die less than two months later. He was 42.

Mr. Tan's 2013 imprisonment followed his arrest on August 19th, 2012. A group of agents from Shouxi Police Station seized him while he was passing out flyers bearing information about the persecution of Falun Gong.

The local procuratorate approved Mr. Tan's arrest two months later, and Shizhong District Court tried him twice in January 2013.

The first hearing was scheduled for January 7th, but the court didn't notify the family until the day before. The session ended without any verdict issued, but one court employee told the family that “when it comes to Falun Gong cases, the court must seek approval of its verdict from the 610 Office [an extra-legal agency created with the sole purpose of crushing Falun Gong].”

The court didn't bother to inform the family at all before the second trial session on January 31st. Though the family managed to find out about the trial through various channels, they were unable to attend the session because the court employees refused to disclose the room number.

The family learned later from an insider that their loved one was sentenced to three and a half years.

Mr. Tan was transferred from Neijiang City Detention Centre to Jiazhou Prison in Leshan City on March 14th, 2013. He soon developed liver cancer and was sent to Shuangliu Prison Hospital in Chengdu City.

His family became extremely concerned after the doctors issued a critical condition notice in mid-November of last year. They however had to travel back and forth between different cities numerous times before finally getting their medical parole request approved.

Mr. Tan was released on parole this January, but was still ordered to keep a police-issued mobile phone on 24 hours a day and remain on standby.

He died at Neijiang Railway Hospital on March 8th this year.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:

Name: Tan Degang (谭德刚)
Gender: Male
Age: 42
Address: Neijiang, Sichuan Province
Date of Death: March 8th, 2015
Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 19th, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Jiazhou Prison (嘉州监狱)
City: Leshan
Province: Sichuan