Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been released today and is now with his brother Gao Zhiyi, according to unconfirmed reports.

In July, Shaya Prison, where Gao was being held, informed Gao’s brother that he would be released on 7 August, but did not provide any further information. Reports on social media suggest that Gao has been released on time and has been collected by his brother. However, it is not clear whether there are any conditions on his release and whether he will be subject to further restrictions on his freedom. 

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 22 December 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 16 December 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.

Despite repeated requests for visits by his brother, Gao’s relatives were allowed to see him just twice in three years, in March 2012 and January 2013. Gao’s wife, Geng He, has asylum in the US where she lives with their two children. 

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “We welcome reports that rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been released and reunited with his brother. Gao Zhisheng, sometimes called ‘the conscience of China’, has been through years of imprisonment, torture and enforced disappearance. We call on the Chinese government to grant Gao his full freedom, without any further conditions or restrictions on him or his family in China.”