Gao Zhisheng, a self-taught human rights
defense lawyer who has been detained, imprisoned, tortured, and who has
recently disappeared, will be receiving the 2010 International Human Rights
Lawyer Award during the American Bar Association’s Annual Meeting.
The award, presented by the ABA Section of International Law, will be
presented on Friday at 1 p.m. to his daughter and other supporters during a
ceremony at San Francisco’s J.W. Marriott Hotel.
"Our family is grateful to the ABA for recognizing my father's important
work and the persecution he continues to suffer at the hands of the Chinese
government for promoting rule of law in China,“ said 17-year old Grace Geng,
Gao’s daughter, who is traveling to accept the award on her father’s behalf.
“We hope that someday my father will be able to thank the ABA himself for
this honor."
“Fighting for what’s right is the essence of being a lawyer,” said ABA
President Carolyn B. Lamm. “Gao’s sacrifices inspire all of us, and he
epitomizes the criterion of this award as a ‘distinguished foreign human
rights lawyer who has suffered persecution as a result of his professional
activities.’ By honoring him, the ABA honors his work and hopes the cause of
his disappearance will soon be positively resolved.”
Gao’s initial objective was to defend the poor and marginalized. This led
him to increasingly focus his work on the Chinese government’s handling of
individual human rights. Subsequently, the government revoked his license
and detained him, during which time he reportedly was tortured. After a
subsequent arrest in 2009, his family — who claimed additional harassment
and threats — left China. After not being heard from for some time, Gao
appeared in the Chinese media in March 2010, stating that he no longer
wished to fight for human rights but only wanted to reunite with his family.
Despite this, he disappeared again on April 20. No one outside of the
government has offered any information about his current condition, and his
welfare is unknown.
With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest
voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the
national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the
administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges
in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education,
and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance
of the rule of law.
Related Links:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/40536/
http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2010/08/07/a417458.html#video(Chinese)
http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2010/08/07/a417460.html#video(Chinese)
-----------------------
http://big5.soundofhope.org/programs/162/166249-1.asp(Chinese)
-----------------------
http://epochtimes.com/gb/10/8/7/n2988516.htm(Chinese)
http://www.kanzhongguo.com/node/362377(Chinese)
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/20100806-GAO-ZHISHENG-100162084.html(Chinese)
