Medical parole - Definition

Medical parole is a form of parole which involves the release of a prisoner on the grounds that he is too ill to continue serving his prison sentence. This practice is practically unknown in the West, but occurs often within the People's Republic of China with about 25000 prisoners annually released on these grounds.

Medical parole is often used by the Chinese government to release a prisoner without losing face and admitting that the original sentence was unjust. There have been cases where a prisoner has been released on medical parole immediately after conviction.

This occurs especially in where medical parole effectively exiles a political dissident. The Chinese legal code has no explicit provision for exile, but often a dissident is released on the grounds that they need to be treated for a medical condition in another country, and with the understanding that they will be reincarcerated if they return to China. Dissidents who have been released on medical parole include Wang Dan, Wei Jingsheng, Gao Zhan, and Fang Lizhi. Exiling a dissident in most cases destroys them politically, as they are no longer seen as a martyr within China.