TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

DISAPPEARED HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER AT HIGH RISK OF TORTURE

Gao Zhisheng is one of the most respected human rights lawyers in China, with the Ministry of Justice naming him "one of the nation’s top 10 lawyers" in 2001 for his pro bono work on public interest cases. Despite this, Gao has been subjected to enforced disappearance, torture, illegal house arrest and detention as a result of his work, which includes representing human rights activists and working on other politically sensitive cases.

On August 13, 2017, Gao Zhisheng’s wife Geng He, who fled to the United States in 2009 after repeated instances of harassment and abuse by Chinese authorities, posted on Twitter that Gao was not answering his phone. The family subsequently learned that he had been taken to Beijing ,but they have not received any further information about his whereabouts or condition. The manner in which Gao Zhisheng vanished without a trace and was subsequently found to be held under incommunicado detention is characteristic of a larger pattern in which Chinese authorities round up outspoken or dissenting voices.

Urge the Ministry of Public Security to immediately and unconditionally Gao Zhisheng - send your email using our email-writing tool.

YOUR INFORMATION

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Address

Apt., Ste., Bldg.

City

State

Postal Code

Country

Phone Number (Optional)

By providing your mobile number, you are signing up to receive calls, recurring messages from Amnesty International USA at 213-33. Repy STOP to quit. Msg and data rates may apply. Privacy & Terms.

Postal Address Sharing

Do not exchange my postal address with other organizations.

Customize your message

Minister of Public Securi

Wang

Xiaohong

Minister of Public Security

Dear Minister Wang,

Gao Zhisheng, an activist and human rights lawyer, has not been seen or heard from since he was first reported missing by his family on August 13, 2017. He is a victim of enforced disappearance, raising fears that he may be subjected to  torture or other ill-treatment.

Local police in Jia County and Yulin City, both located in the northern Chinese province of Shaanxi, denied that he was being held in police custody and that they knew his whereabouts shortly after he was reported missing by his family. After receiving no information for over three weeks, Gao Zhisheng’s family finally learned on September 5, 2017 that he had been taken to Beijing. The government official who relayed this news to his elder brother refused to provide details about Gao Zhisheng’s exact whereabouts, his current condition or the grounds for his detention.

Two lawyers appointed by Gao Zhisheng’s family visited Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and Jia County Public Security Bureau on October 12 and November 8, respectively, seeking further information about his detention. The authorities refused to disclose any information to the lawyers. On November 11, 2017, an officer of the Security Maintenance Office in Gao Zhisheng’s hometown told a Radio Free Asia reporter that Gao was in the custody of the local national security office and his condition was fine. However, according to Gao Zhisheng’s wife, no one in the family had been told about this. Since then, Gao’s family has received no additional information or official notification of his arrest.

A former prisoner of conscience, Gao Zhisheng shared his experience of previous enforced disappearance and repeated torture in detention as a result of his work, raising fears that Gao Zhisheng is at high risk of torture and other ill-treatment or even death.

Therefore, I call on you to immediately and unconditionally release Gao Zhisheng if he has been detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. Pending his release, I urge you to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Gao Zhisheng, and ensure that he is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment while in detention. Finally, I ask that you ensure that he has regular, unrestricted access to his family, lawyers of his choice, and medical care on request or as necessary.

Yours sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}