Gao Zhisheng: Chinese human rights lawyer

Prominent human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who was released from prison on August 7 after being detained since December 2011, is currently unable to speak coherently.

His lawyer Jared Gensher told BBC News that Gao, who in his work had defended Christians in court, has been ‘utterly destroyed’ after nearly three years in jail. He is emotionless, ‘basically unintelligible’ and has lost teeth through malnutrition.

Gao spoke to his wife, Geng He, from his uncle’s home briefly after his release. She said it was clear that there were security minders in the background. The authorities have prohibited Gao for 12 months from saying anything publicly that might ‘damage the reputation or interests of the state’.

While his wife and their two children escaped to the US in 2009, Gao is under virtual house arrest at Geng’s sister’s home in Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang.

Pray for Gao, his family, those who support him, and others who are suffering for their faith in China’s prisons.