‘[T]he man I love – my husband, the father of my children, the bravest, most honourable man I have ever known – is not here with me. Instead, he sits in the torture cells of a Chinese prison’. – Gao's wife, Geng He

Harassed

Over the last six years Gao has been abducted by police three times and spent more than 36 months in detention. The second time he was taken from his family, policemen broke into their home, stripped off his clothes and beat him unconscious.

For six weeks Geng He, his wife, had no idea where Gao was or even whether he was alive or dead. She was terrified and didn’t know what to do.

Tortured

Geng He feared the worse. And she was right to: Gao was tortured relentlessly during this time – his guards beat him with electric batons, shone lamps in his eyes, chained him to an iron chair and, in Geng He’s words,

‘[They] burnt his dear face and body with cigarettes…Some of what they did to my dear beloved husband was so appalling that he has never been able to speak of it.’

But Gao did not give his torturers what they wanted. That is until the authorities turned their attention to his wife and children. Their home was surrounded by plain clothed police who harassed the family whenever they went outside. The authorities cut off their water for 36 hours and prevented Geng from leaving the house to buy food.

When the authorities told Gao what they had done it was too much for Gao to bear. He signed their confession and was released.

Disappeared

‘In February 2009, the police came back into our home and took my husband away again. Neither I nor my children have seen him since that day.’

In March 2009, Geng and their two children fled to the United States where they were granted asylum. For years, they did not know where Gao was, if he was dead or alive. In December 2011 Chinese State media announced that he was being held at  Shaya county prison in a remote part of China.

Visit allowed

‘[This visit] could not be achieved without the international community’s concerns and the effort and support from the membership of Amnesty International.’

**Terms and conditions