New | Jailed journalist Gao Yu’s health deteriorates; 'I don’t want to die here', brother quotes her as saying
Brother says her heart disease is life-threatening and any delays to treatment could cost her life
A recent hospital check showed the health condition of China's jailed veteran journalist Gao Yu has deteriorated yet again, with the normally spirited journalist saying she did not want to die in jail, said her brother on Tuesday.
As a condition for her release, Gao had been asked to confess her supposed guilt on television again but she refused, said her lawyer Shang Baojun, who visited her at a police detention centre in Beijing on Tuesday.
Gao, 71, has a long history of heart disease and high blood pressure. Earlier this month, her brother, Gao Wei, said she was suffering frequently from heart pain and urged the authorities to allow her to have a thorough health check.
A hospital check in recent weeks found there were signs of blockages in Gao Yu’s heart arteries and there were also signs that she had suffered a heart attack some time ago, although it could have happened before she was jailed, Shang said.
The medical check also found abnormal nymph node growth in her neck, although it was yet unclear whether the hard lumps on both sides of her neck were benign or malign. Shang said Gao was “very worried” over her deteriorating health conditions and said: “I don’t want to die here.”
The last time her lawyer met her in early July, she said her heart pain was so frequent and serious that her medication had to be doubled.