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Washington DC: A few senators in the US have
written a letter to the Chinese premier asking him to
release Gao Zhisheng who went missing.
Gao Zhisheng (b. 1966) is a Chinese army veteran and
self-taught lawyer who was disbarred, detained, and
tortured by the Chinese secret police after taking on
human rights cases. These included defending fellow
ac tivists, and religious minorities like Falun Gong and
Chinese underground Christians. In 2006, he authored a
memoir on his life and work, the English translation of
which, A China More Just, was subsequently published in
2007. He was a candidate for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. Gao went missing February 4, 2009
The following is the full text of the Senators' letter
to President Hu Jintao:
Dear President Hu: We are writing to express our deep
concern over the disappearance of prominent lawyer and
human rights advocate, Gao Zhisheng. Tomorrow will mark
the 100th day in which Mr. Gao has not been seen or
heard from. We fear that Mr. Gao's life may be in grave
danger, given Mr. Gao's past treatment at the hands of
public security officers (and others working under their
direction).
Mr. Gao, voted "one of China's top ten lawyers" in 2001
by a Chinese Ministry of Justice publication, has
represented numerous civil society figures, religious
leaders and writers. In September 2007, Mr. Gao sent an
open letter to the U.S. Congress alleging widespread
human rights abuses in China. Afterwards, public
security officers abducted him and held him for over 50
days, during which time he was repeatedly tortured. He
was told that he would be killed if he told anyone about
what happened. Mr. Gao was last seen on February 4, 2009
at a relative's home, where more than 10 public security
officers and others forcibly removed him from bed, and
whisked him away to an unknown location. Mr. Gao's
whereabouts are still unknown.
Mr. Gao's disappearance appears to be a violation of
both Chinese and international law. We urge your
government to inform the concerned public of his
whereabouts, to guarantee Mr. Gao's right to be free
from arbitrary detention, and to secure his release.
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