(Minghui.org) While a businesswoman in Shijiazhuang City remains imprisoned for her faith, her husband, who has been in poor health and relied on her for care all these years, was so traumatized that his blood pressure shot up to the point that he had to have a stent procedure. He is still hospitalized at the time of writing.
Ms. Hu Yanxia, 54, was arrested on November 15, 2013 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. She was later released on bail due to her poor health. She appeared in Qiaoxi District Court on October 12, 2015 and sentenced to three years in prison on July 6, 2016.
The Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court soon rejected her appeal without communicating with her lawyer or holding a hearing. As her health condition failed to meet the prison admission standard, she was given probation, though the length of probation remains to be investigated.
Judge Zheng Lijun of Qiaoxi District Court called Ms. Hu on February 14, 2017, asking her to go to the courthouse to sign some paperwork to turn her probation into “serving time outside of prison.”
She went the following day, and Zheng took her to the local Shijiazhuang Second Detention Center for a medical examination “as part of the normal procedure.” Her blood pressure registered at 180/130. Hours later Zheng said it was time to send her home, but he took her straight to Hebei Province Women’s Prison.
Ms. Hu’s husband received a phone call from the prison on March 1, asking him to send in money to purchase medication to treat his wife’s high blood pressure. Her husband had deposited 500 yuan for her only one week before, and he wondered where the money had gone or whether his wife’s condition had deteriorated. He asked to see his wife, but his request was denied.
The prison called again two days later, asking for more money. Ms. Hu’s husband became even more worried about her condition. He went to the prison on March 9, an open house day that accepted family visits without reservations, but the guards turned him away.
Worries about his wife took a toll on the husband’s health. He had always had health struggles and relied on his wife to make money and care for him. His blood pressure suddenly shot up to dangerously high levels in December, and his doctors performed a stent procedure. He remains hospitalized at the time of writing.