Missing Dissident Chinese Lawyer Said to Be in Remote Prison
The brother of a prominent dissident-rights lawyer who had been missing for 20 months said Sunday that the lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, was being held in a prison in the remote western region of Xinjiang.
The brother, Gao Zhiyi, told two news agencies that he had been informed that Gao Zhisheng was in a prison in Shaya County. The brother said he had received an official notice on Sunday telling him that Mr. Gao was now back in prison because a court had revoked his probation, and that he would have to serve three more years.
Mr. Gao, a Beijing lawyer known for taking politically delicate cases, was sentenced to three years of probation in 2006 for inciting subversion of the state. The official Xinhua news agency reported last month that his probation had been revoked.
But human rights advocates say Mr. Gao was never on probation because he had been missing for 20 months, presumably in police custody. Over the years, Mr. Gao has disappeared for lengthy periods and re-emerged to say he had been tortured by security forces.
After his 2006 conviction, Mr. Gao was supposedly released on probation, but then disappeared. He resurfaced briefly, and apparently was seized by security officials again in 2009. He re-emerged in April 2010 and gave an interview to The Associated Press, presumably with the permission of officials, and then disappeared again. Mr. Gao’s brother said at the time that he had seen Mr. Gao in the custody of public security officers.
Mr. Gao is one of China’s most outspoken dissidents, and his case has attracted support from foreign governments and human rights groups. The United States government has called on China to release Mr. Gao, who once defended practitioners of Falun Gong, a banned spiritual group.