Release International

Beijing lawyer Gao Zhisheng has disappeared again, just days after security officials apparently freed him at the end of a 13-month detention.

Gao, a Christian human rights lawyer, has been missing since April 20 and is 'definitely in the hands of security forces', according to Release partner China Aid.

After his release on April 6 (Prayer Alert, April 13, 2010), Gao was allowed to return home to Beijing and later to visit his in-laws in Urumqi, Xinjiang province. But four police officers accompanied him to his relatives' home and allowed him just one night there. Gao promised to call his in-laws on his return home to Beijing – but never did.

China Aid believes that the Chinese authorities allowed Gao a brief re-appearance to prove he was still alive – but have seized him again to stop him speaking about his treatment in custody, when he was held in communicado. Gao, who was tortured by security police in 2007, refused to discuss his recent detention at a press conference on April 7, saying only that he 'no longer had the strength' to continue his legal work.

(Sources: China Aid, Compass Direct)

• Ask God to strengthen and protect Gao and his family. His wife and children have fled to the US.
• Pray that the Chinese authorities will respond to international pressure to release Gao for good.

Back to top