By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 23 April 2009
Key U.S. senators are calling for China to account for well-known Chinese human-rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who disappeared after he was forcibly removed from his home in Shaanxi province by police in February. The lawmakers made their appeals on the Senate floor as Gao’s wife watched from the visitor’s gallery in the chamber.
Gao Zhisheng, who was nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, was forcibly taken from his hometown in Shaanxi province early in the morning on February 4 by more than a dozen police officers. Currently, his whereabouts are unknown. Gao has been kidnapped and tortured for his pursuit of human rights in China. Gao sent an open letter to the U.S. Congress dated September 12, 2007, and, afterward, was kidnapped and severely tortured by Chinese authorities for more than 50 days. Though authorities threatened Gao with death if he revealed the torture he experienced, Gao chose to release publically the details of his experience. It is believed his current disappearance is a direct result of his refusal to be silent.
Sign the petition for Gao Zhisheng’s immediate release at www.FreeGao.com.
Read Gao Zhisheng’s open letter to the U.S. Congress in 2007.
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