▲ Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen
A dissident artist who previously satirized China's founding leader Mao Zedong has reportedly been sentenced to three years in prison.
Human rights groups have called for his immediate release.
According to reports by AFP, AP, and Reuters on the 26th (local time), the US-based human rights organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) stated that Gao Zhen, 70, who was indicted on charges of defaming the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, was sentenced to three years in prison by the People's Court of Sanhe in northern China's Hebei Province on the 25th.
The three-year prison term is the maximum sentence for the charge.
Gao Zhen and his brother Gao Chang gained recognition in the early 2000s for addressing politically sensitive subjects such as China's Cultural Revolution, the Tiananmen Square protests, and Mao Zedong's legacy.
Their representative works, "Miss Mao" and "Mao's Guilt," are evaluated as symbolic expressions of the hypocrisy of power and historical responsibility.
In particular, they drew controversy by critically addressing the violence and political purges of the Cultural Revolution.
While Chinese authorities have defined the Cultural Revolution as having caused a "serious catastrophe," they still maintain a strict attitude toward public criticism of individual leaders.
Gao Zhen, who had been based in New York, USA, was arrested by Chinese authorities in 2024 at his studio on the outskirts of Beijing while visiting China to see his family.
Following this, in June of last year, Gao Zhen was indicted on charges of insulting heroes and martyrs.
In 2018, China enacted and implemented the "Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law" to protect the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, and strengthened related punishment regulations in 2021.
Shane Yi, a researcher at Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said, "Gao Zhen created the works in question in 2005, about 16 years before the legal provisions applied to him came into existence," adding, "An unconditional release is the only conclusion that respects his rights."
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also emphasized in a statement sent to AFP, "Concerns are raised in terms of the retroactive application of criminal law, the use of criminal sanctions to punish artistic expression, and the impact on his family," while urging his immediate release.
According to human rights groups, Gao Zhen's wife and his son, who is a US citizen, have also been barred from leaving China since 2024.
Sarah Brooks, China director at the international human rights organization Amnesty International, pointed out that the maximum prison sentence handed down to Gao Zhen demonstrates the Chinese authorities' intent to suppress independent artistic activity.
According to Amnesty International, Gao Zhen is scheduled to complete his prison term in August of next year.
He plans to appeal the ruling.
(Photo: Capture from Amnesty International website, Yonhap News)
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