Urgent Appeal for Immediate Medical Attention for Guo Feixiong

To: Guangdong Province Department of Justice, and the Guangdong Province Administrative Bureau:

Yang Maodong (also known as Guo Feixiong), currently held in Guangdong Province Yangchun Prison, is in a distressing state of ill health, and is showing clear symptoms of serious illness. Guo Feixiong’s elder sister Yang Maoping (a deputy chief physician) visited Guo on April 26th, 2016, and describes the situation as follows:

“Guo Feixiong has had blood in his stool or bloody diarrhea on and off for almost a year, and since being in prison has had blood coming up from his throat and mouth. On April 7th Guo was admitted to the prison hospital; on April 19th while still at the prison hospital he experienced a significant loss of blood; he was unsteady on his feet, and was almost unable to stand while speaking with prison political affairs clerk Liu. Currently, Guo Feixiong is being kept in a 7.5 meter-square windowless room with four other people, and is locked inside 23 hours per day. His demands for medical care have been brutally denied.”

As an activist, Guo Feixiong has worked for years to call for democracy, freedom, and justice, and has stood witness in defense of human rights both internationally and domestically; as a result of his efforts, he has been unjustly persecuted, including serving two terms in prison. An unjust trial may have taken his freedom, but it has no right to destroy his body. In order to give Guo Feixiong the humane treatment he deserves, and in order to guarantee the basic medical rights of the incarcerated, we are making this emergency appeal and make the following demands:

1. Immediately bring Guo Feixiong to a major medical facility in Guangzhou to undergo diagnosis and treatment; immediately administer all necessary tests and scans such as endoscopy, colonoscopy, lumbar vertebra MRI, lung CT scan, and blood tests; immediately notify Guo’s family and attorneys of the results.

2. Investigate malfeasance and abuse of prisoners by Yangchun Prison officials and employees such as prison political affairs clerk Liu and others (clerk Liu and others cannot deny knowledge of the obvious deterioration of Guo Feixiong’s health).

3. According to the diagnostic test results, immediately arrange for Guo Feixiong to receive medical parol, thereby preventing further deterioration of Guo’s health, and guaranteeing the medical rights of prisoners.

This appeal was originated by the following undersigned:

Chen Guangcheng

Wang Lihong

Tan Zuoren

Cha Jianguo

Hu Jia

Ye Du

Murong Xuecun

Xiao Shu

Wang Debang

Hua Chunhui

Li Xuewen

Ou Biaofeng

April 27th, 2016