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Prominent Rights Lawyer Is Freed From Chinese Prison, His Brother Says Prominent Rights Lawyer Is Freed From Chinese Prison, His Relatives Say
(about 5 hours later)
HONG KONG — One of China’s most famous dissident lawyers, Gao Zhisheng, was released from prison on Thursday, his brother said. But it remained unclear how much freedom Mr. Gao would enjoy and whether he would be able to reunite with his exiled wife and children eight years after he disappeared into a shroud of repeated detention and, he has said, torture. HONG KONG — One of China’s most famous dissident lawyers, Gao Zhisheng, was released from prison on Thursday, his wife and brother said. But it remained unclear how much freedom Mr. Gao would enjoy and whether he would be able to reunite with his exiled wife and children eight years after he disappeared into a shroud of repeated detention and, he has said, torture.
Before the police detained him in 2006, Mr. Gao had embraced a succession of politically contentious cases and causes, emerging as one of China’s most prominent, and combative, human rights advocates. But his conviction that year for “inciting subversion of state power” made him an example of the Chinese Communist Party’s determination to silence dissent using means that rights advocates and a United Nations panel have called arbitrary and ruthless.Before the police detained him in 2006, Mr. Gao had embraced a succession of politically contentious cases and causes, emerging as one of China’s most prominent, and combative, human rights advocates. But his conviction that year for “inciting subversion of state power” made him an example of the Chinese Communist Party’s determination to silence dissent using means that rights advocates and a United Nations panel have called arbitrary and ruthless.
That official secrecy at first left unclear even whether Mr. Gao had been freed from prison Thursday after serving out his sentence, or whether he might face another stretch of detention incommunicado. Later on Thursday, his older brother confirmed that he had accompanied Mr. Gao as he left the prison. That official secrecy at first left unclear even whether Mr. Gao had been freed from prison Thursday after serving out his sentence. Later on Thursday, his older brother confirmed that he had accompanied Mr. Gao as he left the prison.
“He’s out. Everything is fine,” the brother, Gao Zhiyi, said in a brief telephone interview. He said he and his brother were in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, the region in far western China where Mr. Gao had been imprisoned. “He’s in his father-in-law’s home,” said the brother. But he would not comment on how long Mr. Gao would stay in Urumqi, or what might happen next.“He’s out. Everything is fine,” the brother, Gao Zhiyi, said in a brief telephone interview. He said he and his brother were in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, the region in far western China where Mr. Gao had been imprisoned. “He’s in his father-in-law’s home,” said the brother. But he would not comment on how long Mr. Gao would stay in Urumqi, or what might happen next.
“He can’t talk to you,” he said. “No matter what, he’ll rest in his father-in-law’s home for a time and then we’ll see. I don’t know anything more about after that.” Although a prison officer had told the family that Mr. Gao was due for release Thursday, his wife, Geng He, who lives in San Francisco, endured hours of uncertainty waiting for confirmation of his release, and then spoke to him for a few moments, she said. In 2009, Ms. Geng and the couple’s daughter and son escaped surveillance and fled to the United States, and she said she hoped Mr. Gao would be allowed to join them there.
Repeated phone calls to the prison in Xinjiang were not answered, and China’s state-run media were silent about Mr. Gao. Hu Jia, a prominent dissident in Beijing who has closely followed Mr. Gao’s case, said on Twitter that Mr. Gao’s brother had said the two would rest in Urumqi for a few days and then return to their hometown in Shaanxi Province in northwestern China. “I could finally hear my husband’s voice,” Ms. Geng said. “I asked him how he was and how his health was, and he told me that his teeth were in bad shape, and I wanted to ask more, but there was a sound of many people and then my sister took the phone and said it would be impossible to continue talking to him.”
Although a prison officer had told the family that Mr. Gao was due for release Thursday, his wife, Geng He, who lives in San Francisco, endured hours of uncertainty waiting for confirmation of his release. She did not answer calls made after the brother confirmed her husband’s release. In 2009, Ms. Geng and the couple’s daughter and son escaped surveillance and fled to the United States, and she said she hoped Mr. Gao would be allowed to join them there. Ms. Geng said her sister said Mr. Gao had four or five loose teeth on his lower jaw and several more on his upper jaw, making eating difficult.
“I really want to know how he is, at least hear his voice,” Ms. Geng said by telephone before her husband’s brother confirmed that he had been freed. “But being able to see him, that’s the most important thing.” Mr. Gao’s release comes as the Communist Party, under President Xi Jinping, has imprisoned rights activists and dissidents in a nationwide drive against political dissent. Yet Mr. Xi and other leaders have also promised to create a less arbitrary, more accountable legal system.
Mr. Gao’s release comes as the Communist Party, under President Xi Jinping, has pursued a nationwide drive against political dissent, imprisoning rights advocates and dissidents. Yet Mr. Xi and other leaders have also promised to create a less arbitrary, more accountable legal system.
“How Gao Zhisheng will be treated will be very important, because we’ll be looking at whether or not the current leadership approaches him any differently than the previous administration,” said Maya Wang, a China researcher in Hong Kong for Human Rights Watch. “Will they repeat the use of enforced disappearance for Gao Zhisheng?”“How Gao Zhisheng will be treated will be very important, because we’ll be looking at whether or not the current leadership approaches him any differently than the previous administration,” said Maya Wang, a China researcher in Hong Kong for Human Rights Watch. “Will they repeat the use of enforced disappearance for Gao Zhisheng?”
Mr. Hu, the Beijing dissident, who is himself under house arrest, said Mr. Gao was likely to remain under heavy police surveillance and be prevented from returning to the capital. “He still has a high reputation,” he said. Hu Jia, a Beijing dissident who is under house arrest, said he had called Mr. Gao’s brother, who said the two men would rest in Urumqi for a few days and then return to their hometown in Shaanxi Province in northwestern China. Mr. Gao was likely to remain under heavy police surveillance and be prevented from returning to the capital, Mr. Hu said. “He still has a high reputation,” he said.
“The authorities deeply feel that Gao Zhisheng is still a threat,” Mr. Hu said. “He might be kept inside China in a black jail in a home,” he added, referring to informal detention in a village or some other secluded location. “Or they might judge that it would be better to let him go into exile, given that he’s treated as a destabilizing element.”“The authorities deeply feel that Gao Zhisheng is still a threat,” Mr. Hu said. “He might be kept inside China in a black jail in a home,” he added, referring to informal detention in a village or some other secluded location. “Or they might judge that it would be better to let him go into exile, given that he’s treated as a destabilizing element.”
A burly former soldier, Mr. Gao, 50, passed the Chinese entrance exams for lawyers without going to university and established himself in Beijing. In the 1990s, he began taking on contentious cases: coal mine owners whose assets had been taken away, farmers stripped of their land and underground Christians arrested for worshiping and proselytizing beyond the limitations set by the state.A burly former soldier, Mr. Gao, 50, passed the Chinese entrance exams for lawyers without going to university and established himself in Beijing. In the 1990s, he began taking on contentious cases: coal mine owners whose assets had been taken away, farmers stripped of their land and underground Christians arrested for worshiping and proselytizing beyond the limitations set by the state.
Mr. Gao’s booming, pugnacious manner won him growing numbers of clients and glowing profiles in the Chinese press. But he also unnerved some other rights advocates, who feared he would attract a backlash with his truculent criticism of the party. Mr. Gao’s booming, pugnacious manner won him growing numbers of clients and glowing profiles in the Chinese media. But he also unnerved some other rights advocates, who feared he would attract a backlash with his truculent criticism of the party.
Mr. Gao remained unbowed, and in 2005 he publicized accusations that members of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China, had been grievously abused in detention. Despite tightening surveillance by security police, he refused to abandon the case and was arrested in September 2006. He was convicted of subversion, but his three-year prison sentence was suspended and he was put on probation for five years. Mr. Gao remained unbowed, and in 2005 he publicized accusations that members of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China, had been grievously abused in detention, touching one of the party authorities’ rawest political nerves. Despite tightening surveillance by security police, he refused to abandon the case and was arrested in September 2006. He was convicted of subversion, but his three-year prison sentence was suspended and he was put on probation for five years.
Even while facing the threat of prison, Mr. Gao continued to criticize the Communist Party authorities, and he disappeared into informal detention. He briefly resurfaced in 2010, when he spoke to foreign reporters, telling The Associated Press that he had been repeatedly tortured while in custody. In 2011, days before Mr. Gao’s probation ended, a Beijing court declared that he had violated its conditions and had to serve out the three-year prison sentence he received in 2006.Even while facing the threat of prison, Mr. Gao continued to criticize the Communist Party authorities, and he disappeared into informal detention. He briefly resurfaced in 2010, when he spoke to foreign reporters, telling The Associated Press that he had been repeatedly tortured while in custody. In 2011, days before Mr. Gao’s probation ended, a Beijing court declared that he had violated its conditions and had to serve out the three-year prison sentence he received in 2006.
In 2012, a panel of United Nations experts called for Mr. Gao to be released, saying his “detention in an unknown location is an enforced disappearance and a crime under international law.”In 2012, a panel of United Nations experts called for Mr. Gao to be released, saying his “detention in an unknown location is an enforced disappearance and a crime under international law.”
Mr. Gao’s previous meeting with family members was in January of last year, said Ms. Geng. “My father said he was pale and his body was weaker,” she said. “Emotionally, he seemed O.K.” Mr. Gao’s wife, Ms. Geng, said she hoped that her husband would be allowed to join her and their children in the United States, but was unsure whether he would be allowed to leave China.
When the family visitors asked whether Mr. Gao was allowed to read books and newspapers, according to Ms. Geng, a prison officer interjected and said: “We have a library here, but he’s not qualified to read books.” “In China, people have the view that the teeth are the strongest bones, so if his teeth are ruined, that shows how poor his health is and how he received no decent medical care all the time he was in prison,” Ms. Geng said. “I hope he can be free, speak freely, but has he really received his freedom? How long before he can be with us?”