Imprisoned Poet Li Hong’s Application for Release on Medical Bail Denied
Comments Off on Imprisoned Poet Li Hong’s Application for Release on Medical Bail DeniedImprisoned Poet Li Hong’s Application for Release on Medical Bail Denied
(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, September 22, 2007)- Li Hong (力虹), jailed Zhejiang writer, poet, was denied release for medical treatment, according to the Citizen’s Rights & Livelihood Watch or Min Sheng Guan Cha, a Chinese group.
Li had just started serving his 6-year term in Changhu Prison, Zhejiang Province early this year when he was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy that could lead to paralysis and even death. On June 24, after Li was examined at the Medical Center of Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, which issued a letter evaluating Li’s condition and his need for release for medical treatment, Li was transferred from Changhu Prison to Ningbo City Detention Center in Zhejiang. Li’s wife, Dong Min ( 董敏), said that the transfer is indicative of the severity of Li’s condition. However, Li has now been transferred from Ningbo City Detention Center to Qiaosi Prison in Zhejiang, which is interpreted by family as rejection to his application for release for medical treatment.
In a letter to his family, Li said that after his transfer from Ningbo, he has not received proper treatment for three months and his condition has worsened. During this period, he has also been denied other rights, including access to his family.
According to Li’s wife, Ms. Dong, the authorities failed to follow legal procedures to formally inform her of the hospital’s evaluation of Li’s medical condition and of the decision regarding his application for medical treatment. Neither was Ms. Dong formally notified of Li’s transfer from Ningbo City Detention Center to Qiaosi Prison.
Li Hong (real name Zhang Jianhong 张建红), was the editor-in-chief of the well-known website, Aegean Sea. Because of his participation in the 1989 student movement, he was convicted of “anti-revolutionary instigation” and sentenced to two years of Reeducation through Labor. On March 19, 2007, Li was sentenced to 6 years for “inciting the subversion of state power” by the Intermediate Court of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province.
Click /Article/Class18/Class70/Index.html for information in Chinese.
