(Minghui.org) Ms. Tan Xiaolan, 48, from Changde City, Hunan Province, has developed pancreatic cysts while incarcerated. Her family is concerned about her because she requires surgery, and they wish to have her treated in her hometown rather than in the prison hospital.
However, the prison officials do not want to release her for medical treatment.
Ms. Tan Xiaolan was given a 42-month prison term by the Shimen County Court on January 12, 2017. She appealed to the Changde City Intermediate Court.
The Intermediate Court ignored her appeal. Only after a phone inquiry three months later from the the Supreme Court did the intermediate court send personnel to conduct a perfunctory investigation. The Intermediate Court then upheld the original verdict without a hearing.
Ms. Tan was transferred from the Heshan Detention Center to the Changsha Women's Prison on May 9, 2017. Shortly afterwards, prison officials notified her family that a physical exam at the prison hospital revealed pancreatic cysts. They asked her family to authorize an operation to be conducted in the prison hospital.
Ms. Tan's family went to the Changsha Women's Prison to see what could be done. The prison officials refused to let them meet with Ms. Tan on the grounds that she had not completed a “re-education” (brainwashing) program that lasted 45 days.
Her family unanimously stated that they wanted her released on medical leave. They emphasized that Ms. Tan's illness qualified her for medical parole, and they would not accept any arrangement by the prison staff.
The prison officials asked the family to write down their demands so that they could be given to a higher authority. Ms. Tan's family wrote a formal request that included a detailed account of the situation and this declaration: “We will not accept any arrangement from the prison authorities other than medical parole.”
The prison sent a representative to Mengquan Town to meet with Ms. Tan's husband. Her husband asked to see Ms. Tan before discussing anything. The person told him that because Ms. Tan's whole family believed in Falun Gong, it would be difficult to “transform her” (force her to give up her belief), and no visits would be allowed. The person repeatedly asked Ms. Tan's husband to authorize the surgery.
Ms. Tan's husband has refused to sign because he is fully aware of the tricks the Communist Party uses when persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. He is worried that they will use the operation to torture or kill his wife.
The person had to leave a contact number in case the husband went to the Changsha Women's Prison: +86-13574883188.
According to insiders, Ms. Tan's pancreatic cysts are about five centimeters in size. We call for all concerned people to help rescue Ms. Tan.
