Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was released on August 7 and is reportedly with his brother Gao Zhiyi.
Gao Zhisheng is a prominent Christian human rights lawyer who is best known for his work defending Falun Gong adherents, Christians, and other persecuted social groups. As a result, the government shut down his law firm and revoked his lawyer’s license.
In August 2006, Gao was illegally detained by the police and, on December 22, 2006, he was sentenced to three years in prison with a probation period of five years on the charge of ‘inciting to subvert the state power’. During his probation he was forcibly disappeared six times and severely tortured in detention. In April 2010, Gao disappeared again while visiting his in-laws in Xinjiang. On December 16 2011, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Gao had violated the terms of his probation and had been returned to prison for three years.
