Gao Zhisheng went missing from his home in northern China’s Shaanxi Province in August 2017.
U.S. officials and rights advocates have called for the immediate release of Gao Zhisheng, a Chinese lawyer whose whereabouts have been unknown for the last seven years.
Mahmood’s call came days after nearly 100 rights activists—including Gao’s wife, Geng He—gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, demanding the Chinese regime disclose the lawyer’s whereabouts and allow him to communicate with his family.
“The CCP has no justification for forcing Gao Zhisheng, a citizen and human rights lawyer, into disappearance for seven years,” Geng told the rally on Aug. 10.
Gao’s Appeal for Human Rights
Calling for Gao’s rescue, the Falun Dafa Information Center posted on X, “The world remembers Gao’s bravery. Governments must call for his immediate release.”
Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline consisting of meditation exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, has been subjected to brutal persecution since 1999 after state surveys found over 70 million people had taken up the practice.
“As long as I still enjoy personal security, I will continue to pay close attention to their safety. It is my right to be concerned about them, as a member of a civilized era, as a Chinese, as a citizen, and as a lawyer, although it is still very dangerous to do so in China,” Gao wrote.
‘Conscience and Courage of China’
Before his disappearance, Gao had been repeatedly abducted and imprisoned. In 2006, Gao was convicted of “subversion” and sentenced to three years in prison, where he suffered torture.
In December 2011, he was once again sentenced to three years in prison and, after his release in 2014, remained under house arrest. His current whereabouts have been unknown to the public since his disappearance in August 2017.
On Aug. 11, in front of the Chinese consulate in Iceland, Chinese dissident Zhou Feng called on the CCP to disclose whether Gao Zhisheng was still alive.
“Gao Zhisheng’s name represents the conscience and courage of China,” Zhou told The Epoch Times.
“Let us work together to ensure that this courage is not swallowed by darkness.”
Li Xi and Yan Yu contributed to this report.