(Minghui.org) An 83-year-old man serving seven years for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline persecuted in China, is in critical condition.
Mr. Huang Qingdeng is a resident of Leqing City, Zhejiang Province. His family received a call from Hangzhou Second Prison in mid-November 2020 and was told that he has been sent to the hospital for resuscitation. The prison staff said that Mr. Huang has been found to have six diseases and he could die at any time. Yet they refused to release him on bail.
Mr. Huang was arrested at home on April 17, 2019, together with his wife, Ms. Chen Eying, for upholding their faith in Falun Gong. Both of them were sent to the Leqing City Detention Center.
The Leqing City Court sentenced Mr. Huang to seven years on March 12, 2020. Days later, his wife was released. He was admitted to prison on an unknown date.
Mr. Huang took up Falun Gong in 1998. He credits the practice for improving his health and enabling him to become more positive about life.
Because he refused to renounce his faith, he has been arrested and harassed several times over the past 21 years.
Mr. Huang and his wife were harassed at home by a dozen officers on October 20, 2004. The officers forcibly took Mr. Huang away and attempted to interrogate him. But they refused to reveal where they came from or give their phone numbers. No arrest warrant was provided either.
On January 12, 2006, police officers showed up at Mr. Huang's home. They ransacked his place and confiscated 8,000 yuan in cash along with other valuables. They dragged him downstairs and took him to the local police station, claiming he had been reported for practicing Falun Gong. He was interrogated for several hours and released later in the day.
Mr. Huang was arrested again after he came home from dropping off his granddaughter at her kindergarten school on May 10, 2011. He was held in Leqing Detention Center and denied family visits. It’s not clear how long he was detained at that time.
