He is purging a 12-year sentence for using the internet to express his ideas on democracy. He was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power”. He suffers from a number of ailments, but prison doctors have refused him outside treatment.

Beijing (AsiaNews/CHRD) – Dissident journalist Yang Tianshui, who has been critically ill for months, plans to go on hunger strike at the beginning of April because he was denied proper medical treatment.

Speaking with his daughter and niece last month at Nanjing Prison, he said that he had not received adequate treatment since his health began to deteriorate, and he worries that, without proper care, he might not live to see the end of his sentence.

Yang was sentenced to 12 years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” by expressing his opinions about democracy.

He has tuberculosis, diabetes, kidney inflammation, and high blood pressure.

Doctors in the prison have administered some basic drugs to him, but they have not allowed him to seek specialised treatment outside of the institution.

• china
• dissident
• ill
• yang
• tianshui
• hunger
• strike
• april
• subversion