Detained artist Gao Zhen on trial on March 30 with the trial hearing be held behind closed doors, according to a report by the right group Chinese Human Rights Defenders.
Authorities will not allow Gao’s family to attend, in violation of Chinese law.
Before announcing the trial date, Sanhe City Court held a pre-trial hearing on March 24, less than two weeks after it had postponed the start of his trial for the third time.
“Gao Zhen has the right to freedom of artistic expression. The use of a contrived, retroactively applied law and a closed trial underscores serious due process violations,” said Shane Yi, researcher at Chinese Human Rights Defenders. “The charges should be dropped and Gao Zhen released immediately.”
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Gao Zhen, who will turn 70 in May 2026, has a number of pre-existing medical conditions, including lumbar spine disease, knee effusion, an eye disease, and chronic hives. His health has deteriorated during detention and he has been deprived of food at the Sanhe City Detention Center. These conditions may amount to torture or ill-treatment under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which China ratified in 1988.
In addition to detaining Gao, authorities have arbitrarily banned his wife, Zhao Yaliang, and their seven-year-old son, a citizen of the United States, from leaving China, a form of collective punishment to penalize them by family association.
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