Mother detained in China after pleas to probe death of vaccinated daughter
- Jiang Yanhong’s 12-year-old child fell ill two days after getting her first dose of a coronavirus vaccine
- Jiang was taken into custody after trying to petition authorities in Beijing for an explanation, friends say
Jiang Yanhong was detained by police in Nanle county, Puyang, Henan province, on Friday on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, friend Yang Ruijuan said.
Jiang’s younger sister Jiang Yanchao, who also tried to petition the authorities, was detained as well.
Nanle police said on Saturday in a notice to a family member that Jiang Yanhong was being held at the Puyang detention centre.
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Yang said county officials tried to stop her friend from petitioning authorities in Beijing and threatened her with arrest after the 44-year-old mother demanded explanations about her daughter’s death.
Boyi had her first shot on August 10 and fell seriously ill two days later. She died in hospital on August 28.
According to Li Guanjun, a legal advocate who has been advising the mother, Jiang Yanhong was not satisfied with the hospital’s explanation that the girl died because of brain dysfunction caused by septic inflammation.
“The existing medical materials cannot prove the direct relationship between the death and the vaccine, and [Jiang Yanhong] does not recognise the conclusion, and has applied for another assessment,” Li said.
“She is now detained while she is still waiting for a reply from the medical association in Puyang about her request.”
Yang said Jiang Yanhong went to Beijing in early September to complain about how local officials refused to handle her case and was warned by Nanle officials last month that she would face arrest if she continued to petition.
She said Jiang Yanhong pressed ahead with her petition after the National Day holidays and she was detained on Friday in Puyang on her return from Beijing.
Repeated calls to Nanle health authorities and police on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
A Henan-based lawyer familiar with the case said it would be difficult to defend the mother.
“Local cadres will do everything they can including imposing penalties to stop people from travelling to Beijing to petition because the authorities will soon hold a political meeting there,” the lawyer said, referring to a plenary session of the Communist Party’s Central Committee to be held in early November.
“It is even more complicated now with the issues of prevention and control for the Covid-19 pandemic. Any claims that the death may be related to vaccination would also make it a very sensitive case.”
