Gao Zhisheng – missing human rights lawyer

Gao Zhisheng is a self-taught lawyer, a Christian and a Chinese army veteran. He has not been seen since last September – his friends and family don’t know where he is.

It’s possible the human rights activist, who is in his 40s, has been detained by State Security Bureau, but the Chinese authorities have not made an official announcement.

One of Gao Zhisheng’s friends saw about 10 plainclothes officers at his home on 22 September, the day he was last seen. Another close contact thinks he might have been taken away by security officers, but no one actually saw it happen.

Repeated attempts to contact his wife, Geng He, have been unsuccessful suggesting she’s prohibited from talking freely over the phone.

We are concerned Gao Zhisheng's safety is at grave risk. We want the authorites to reveal his whereabouts and to guarantee he will not be tortured or ill-treated.

Storm and search

As a lawyer, Gao Zhisheng has represented underground church members and those complaining that they had lost land to the authorities. He was named one of the 10 best lawyers in China by the country’s Ministry of Justice in 2001.

On 13 September last year, Gao Zhisheng issued an open letter to the US Congress saying the human rights situation in China was deteriorating, and because of that he couldn’t support his country hosting the Olympics.

Three days later, police officers from Beijing Security Bureau’s National Security Unit stormed in and searched his home. At that time a "supervision and modification" committee – made up of Public Security Bureau officials – was reportedly set up to deal with his case.

It’s not the first time Gao Zhisheng has been questioned and detained by authorities.

Law firm closed

In late 2005, his Beijing-based law firm, Shengzhi Law Office, was shut down and his practicing license revoked after he published an open letter calling for religious freedom and to end of the “barbaric” persecution of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.

And in December the following year he was given a three-year prison sentence – suspended for five years – for 'inciting subversion’. The charge was connected to his activism, including organising a hunger strike to draw attention to the plight of several activists whose human rights had been violated.

Daughter intimidated

Over the years Chinese authorities have harassed Gao Zhisheng’s family including psychologically intimidating and beating his daughter, his wife and detaining and harassing a teenage nephew.

As well, Gao Zhisheng has spoken about how he was harshly treated by police during a four-month stint in custody in 2006.

He said he had been handcuffed and forced to sit in an iron chair or cross-legged for long periods. He said he only agreed to confess to his ‘crime’ in order to protect his family.

In China being a human rights activist is a dangerous occupation. Peaceful activists – who are sometimes lawyers, journalists or healthcare workers – risk house arrest, surveillance, imprisonment, torture and execution.

They are regularly prosecuted in politically-motivated trials, and charged with vague crimes such as separatism, subversion, disturbing public order and revealing state secrets.

We believe the crackdown on human rights activists has deepened in the lead up to the Olympics.

You can see Gao Zhisheng speaking out on YouTube.