Ms. Li Yaohua and Ms. Zhang Yibo, Mother and Daughter, Sentenced to Jail

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Yaohua, a citizen of Hong Kong, and her daughter Zhang Yibo were arrested at home in Xuhui District, Shanghai on June 4, 2009. They have been detained for over ten months.

On March 31, 2010, they were sentenced to jail by the District Court. The presiding judge was Zhu Xiwei and the prosecutor was Xu Zhenhui. Ms. Li Yaohua was sentenced to three and a half years in jail, and her daughter Zhang Yibo was sentenced to one and a half years in jail. While they were being sentenced, Ms. Li Yaohua was unable to stand up at the detention center due to the recurrence of an old illness. Ms. Zhang Qin, another practitioner who was arrested and detained at the same time, was sentenced to five years in jail.

Ms. Li Yaohua used to have multiple diseases, including scoliosis. After practicing Falun Gong, all the symptoms and pain disappeared. However, during her detention, the old problem reoccurred and became worse than before. It reached down to the ischium nerve and up her spine into her neck area. She would vomit after eating and had high blood pressure of up to 200. She also had chest pains. At the beginning of March this year, her condition worsened, and she was sent to the emergency room.

Ms. Li's 91 years old father, who had moved to Shanghai from Taiwan, has asked to bail her out for medical treatment several times, but has not succeeded. Her son Zhang Yiyuan, who currently teaches at UCLA in US, has phoned the prosecutor Xu Zhenhui several times to inform him of his mother's medical condition. According to law, if her condition is confirmed to be severe by a doctor, she is to be allowed to be bailed out for medical parole. However, Xu Zhenhui said to him, "We are the ones who make the decisions, not the doctors."

Ms. Li Yaohua's family also phoned the judge Zhu Xiwei many times and asked that she be released, but to no avail.