Chinese foreign minister says missing lawyer Gao Zhisheng sentenced on subversion charges

China says missing lawyer sentenced for subversion

BEIJING — China’s foreign minister added to the mystery surrounding missing lawyer Gao Zhisheng on Tuesday, saying he had been sentenced on subversion charges but offering no details on his present status or whereabouts.

It was not immediately clear if Yang Jiechi was referring to a new conviction or to a three-year sentence for subversion that Gao received in a one-day trial in 2006 but which had been suspended for five years.

As a lawyer, Gao has been known for taking sensitive cases. He has defended prominent government opponents, members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group and Christians, and has been arrested several times.

Most recently, he has been missing for more than a year, and the government has previously provided no information on his status. A human rights group has said it was told by authorities that he is in Xinjiang in the far west of the country.

“Gao Zhisheng has been sentenced for committing the crime of subverting state power,” Yang said Tuesday in response to a question at a joint news conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

“His relevant rights based on this law have been protected, so the question of torture does not exist,” Yang said, referring to international concerns that Gao may have been abused in custody.

Subversion is a broadly defined charge and often used against critics of the Communist Party. It can carry sentences of more than 10 years.

Had the government decided to cancel the suspension of Gao’s sentence and force him to serve his three-year jail term, they could do so simply on the basis of a request from police, said lawyer Mo Shaoping, who has represented clients in numerous subversion cases.

While the law is not clear on how that would proceed, no new trial or access to lawyers would be required, Mo said.

“So, it is basically the police and courts (who) decide, the public would not necessarily know,” Mo said.

Gao’s murky status has prompted speculation he is being held outside the legal system and that the Foreign Ministry has no real information about his present circumstances.

Yang probably hadn’t been provided with any updated information and Gao is likely being held by the State Security Ministry, China’s main intelligence agency, said Joshua Rosenzweig, research manager for the U.S.-based Dui Hua Foundation, which has been seeking Gao’s whereabouts.

“The Foreign Ministry is in an awkward position of having to answer questions on an issue it can’t get any information about,” Rosenzweig said.

Teng Biao, a fellow lawyer and friend of Gao’s, said he was mystified by Yang’s remarks.

“Gao Zhisheng’s whereabouts are completely unknown. It’s completely absurd,” said Teng, who has periodically faced detention and harassment over his involvement in sensitive cases.

Gao’s case has drawn international attention for the unusual length of his disappearance and for his earlier reports of the torture he said he endured in detention.

Last week, a U.N. torture investigator said he was very concerned about Gao’s fate and an international group of lawyers has called on the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to declare Gao’s disappearance a violation of international law.

Miliband said he had raised Gao’s case in his discussions with Yang, but offered no details about the response he was given.

“The widespread concern about it is an example of the global social conscience that increasingly exists,” Miliband said.

At a later news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang sidestepped a question about Gao on when he had been sentenced, telling reporters to check with judicial authorities, who have refused to provide any information about the case.