Crippled petitioner tells of being locked up in disused morgue

A middle-aged woman petitioner whose legs are paralysed has been locked up in a disused morgue in Heilongjiang since being released from 18 months in a labour camp.

Chen Qingxia told China National Radio that her husband, a mental patient, was sentenced to re-education through labour for damaging a railing in 2003. But the labour camp refused to take him because of his condition and sent him back to the local public security bureau.

China National Radio said he was diagnosed as schizophrenic by a government hospital a few months later. When her husband returned home, Chen said she found bruises on his body and his psychiatric state had worsened.

She then started petitioning in the hope of seeking justice.

In 2007, she was detained for 10 days in her hometown of Yichun after being intercepted by Heilongjiang officials during a petitioning trip to Beijing. Chen accused guards at the detention centre of beating her and paralysing her.

"My feet were okay when I returned from Beijing," she said. "I walked into custody; they beat me. I am no longer able walk on my own any more."