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China activists demand search for missing detained rights advocate

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Chinese lawyers and US-based rights group ChinaAid on Friday called on Beijing police to conduct a search for missing Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. Police reported Thursday that Gao, who has been in police custody since February, went missing in September. Gao's brother, Gao Zhiyi, stated Thursday that police believe his brother "got lost and went missing while out on a walk." Suspicions abound among rights groups, however, that Gao has been tortured or killed. Gao drew international attention in September 2007 when he wrote a letter to the US Congress requesting assistance in improving human rights in China. Gao, who has also defended Christians and coal miners in China, claimed that he was tortured after his arrest in 2007. Gao was originally part of the Chinese Communist Party and handled prominent cases involving the outlawed Falun Gong movement, but fell into disfavor with the government in 2006 when he was convicted of subversion and placed under house arrest. China has long received criticism from watchdog groups for its treatment of rights activists such as Gao.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 15, 2010 (boomark / email).