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China refers to missing lawyer
AP, BEIJING
Saturday, Jan 23, 2010, Page 1
A Chinese human rights lawyer missing for almost a year has been judged by legal
authorities and “is where he should be,” a Foreign Ministry official said in
China’s first public comment on the case.
Gao Zhisheng (高智晟), one of China’s most daring lawyers, has drawn international
attention for the unusual length of his disappearance and for his earlier
reports of the torture he said he faced from security forces. In a memoir he
described severe beatings, electric shocks to his genitals and lit cigarettes
held to his eyes.
His brother said earlier this month that the Beijing police officer who took Gao
away in February last year told him he “went missing” in September, leading to
fears for the lawyer’s safety.
But at a regular press conference on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma
Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) indicated that Gao was in custody after he was asked whether he
knew where Gao was.
“The relevant judicial authorities have decided this case, and we should say
this person, according to Chinese law, is where he should be,” Ma said. “As far
as what exactly he’s doing, I don’t know. You can ask relevant authorities.”
A transcript of Thursday’s news conference posted on the ministry’s Web site did
not include the question on Gao or Ma’s response.
Beijing’s Public Security Bureau referred questions yesterday to the Beijing
High Court. The court’s press office referred questions to its foreign affairs
office, but telephone calls went unanswered.
Gao has been one of China’s best-known activist lawyers, taking on highly
sensitive cases involving the banned Falun Gong spiritual group and eventually
advocating constitutional reform. When he disappeared last year, it was presumed
police had taken him into custody.
It has never been clear what happened to him after that.
A lawyer for Gao, Li Fangping (李方平), called the Foreign Ministry’s comments
“extremely insincere,” and said yesterday that after one year, no one in Gao’s
family knows where he is.
“His case is an indication of China’s human rights situation,” Li said.
Human rights group Amnesty International said that Chinese law requires
authorities to tell Gao’s family where he is.
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