On the frontlines: Zhang Kai

Photo: China Aid

arrested for fighting injustice

My name is Zhang Kai. In July 2015, I was arrested along with 270 of my colleagues: fellow lawyers and human rights defenders who fight for justice in China. We were taken from our homes or our offices, or just grabbed off the street. For most of us, it was nothing new. I have been harassed many times by the government for my work defending religious minorities. In 2009, while investigating the unnatural death of a Falun Gong practitioner, I was arrested, beaten, and locked in a steel cage.

But, now, things are different. Sentenced to six months in prison, I am in one of China’s ‘black jails’ – in other words, nobody knows where I am. I have vanished into the prison system, and it may be that no one ever hears from me again.

I have been charged with gathering a crowd to disturb public order, stealing, spying, buying and illegally providing state secrets and intelligence to entities outside of China. What I really did was this: I defended churches that have had their crosses taken down, or been demolished. I helped pastors harassed by the government, and I sought justice for those who subscribe to a faith the government doesn’t approve of.

My name is Zhang Kai, and I am on the frontlines.