Ji Sizun (纪斯尊, 1949–2019) was a Fujian “barefoot lawyer” and grassroots rights advocate. This archive collects the source trail on his advocacy, detention, health deterioration, release from prison into a guarded hospital setting, and death on July 10, 2019.
Source chronology
- 2016: Chinese Human Rights Defenders published a profile documenting Ji’s rights work and his detention beginning in October 2014.
- June 2019: CHRD reported that Ji had completed his sentence on April 26, 2019 but was transferred directly from Putian Prison to a hospital ICU under police guard after serious health deterioration and denied medical-parole requests.
- July 2019: CHRD and other human-rights reporting documented Ji’s death and called for an investigation into his hospitalization, treatment, and the circumstances surrounding his death.
- August 2019: Further reporting documented the aftermath, including restrictions on family access and concerns raised by friends and rights advocates.
Evidentiary limits
The exact medical cause of Ji’s death remains unresolved in the sources reviewed. Reports describe a prior stroke, bowel surgery, severe illness and internal bleeding shortly before his death, but no independent autopsy or completed independent investigation is publicly documented.
Key sources
- Chinese Human Rights Defenders — Ji Sizun profile
- CHRD — China Detains a Former Prisoner of Conscience in Hospital
- CHRD — July 2019 report
- CHRD — August 2019 report