WASHINGTON — Ding Jiaxi knew he would spend his 57th birthday alone in a Chinese prison cell, without a phone call from his family or the chance to lie in the sun.
It was the activist’s fifth year in those circumstances. Despite letters assuring his family in the United States that he was healthy, his wife, Sophie Luo, was not convinced.
“I am really worried about his health because he was tortured before,” Luo told The Associated Press from Washington.
Luo shared details of her husband’s plight ahead of his birthday on Saturday, shedding light on the harsh situation treatment endured by the country’s imprisoned political prisonersAccording to families and human rights organizations, they are often denied rights such as outdoor sports and contact with loved ones.
Beijing has said that the legal rights of detainees are protected in accordance with Chinese law. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Ding, a leading member of the now-defunct New Citizen’s Movement that sought to promote democracy and civil society in China, was arrested in December 2019 after attending an informal gathering in the southeastern city of Xiamen to discuss current affairs. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in April 2023 on charges of subverting state power.
Maya Wang, interim China director for the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, called the harsh treatment of political prisoners in China “commonplace.”
“Unfortunately, this abuse is common and has become worse under Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Wang said. Political prisoners have been torturedwho have no access to lawyers and “very little” contact with their families, she said, adding that the secrecy has made it easier for the abuse of prisoners to continue and for their health to suffer.
Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on a bipartisan congressional committee on human rights, urged Ding’s release.
“He will once again be alone in a prison in Hubei Province, China. He will be separated from his loved ones — his wife and children. He will celebrate the passing of his birthday in isolation — his fifth in prison,” Schiff, D-Calif., said in a statement released Friday.
Luo said she has not been allowed to speak to her husband on the phone since he was taken away by authorities in 2019. Since then, “I haven’t heard his voice,” said Luo, who moved to the U.S. with the couple’s two children shortly after Ding was first detained in 2013.
It wasn’t until March that she received his first letter. Ding is not allowed to write letters about his case, how he was treated in prison or other topics the Chinese government considers sensitive, Luo said.
She said she couldn’t believe Ding wasn’t allowed out of his cell to exercise. “This is really bad for his health,” Luo said. “Every prisoner in China should have the right to be released to exercise. Why can’t he?”
And she lamented Ding’s absence from their two daughters’ lives. “He can’t be with the girls when they need a father the most,” she said. “It’s a really big loss.”