Human Rights Dispatch Sep 25, 2026 25 Years Since Eritrea Dissolved Civic Space, HRF Demands Release of Chinese Pastors, Free Gao Zhen, and more Xi Jinping is meeting President Trump this week. While Xi is in town, HRF is calling for the release of Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu — elderly Chinese Christians jailed in a crackdown on unregistered house churches.
Press Release Sep 16, 2026 Joint Open Letter to Xi Jinping We, the undersigned organizations dedicated to protecting and promoting human rights, democracy, and religious freedom, write on the occasion of your forthcoming visit to Washington, DC.
Human Rights Dispatch Sep 2, 2026 Zambia Imprisons Opposition Candidates, China Sentences Gao Zhen Gao Zhen, 70, of the internationally acclaimed “Gao Brothers,” remains behind bars in China. On Aug. 25, he was sentenced to three years in prison — the full term prosecutors sought — over sculptures made 2006–2009, under a law that did not exist until 2018.
Human Rights Dispatch Aug 25, 2026 China Sentences Artist Gao Zhen, Censors CADAL Event in Argentina The Chinese embassy in Buenos Aires pressured Argentina’s foreign ministry to cancel a @CADAL conference on 21st-century totalitarianism. The reason was a single speaker, a Uyghur human rights leader. HRF condemns this act of transnational censorship on Argentine soil.
Human Rights Dispatch Apr 1, 2026 Rwandan dissident Déogratias Mushayidi imprisoned 16 years, South Korea formally condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses, demanding Gao Zhen’s release, and more. HRF condemns the one day, closed-door trial of Chinese dissident artist, Gao Zhen, for creating works of art that use satire to criticize the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s human rights abuses.
Blog Post Aug 26, 2025 The Sculptor Xi Jinping Wants You to Forget For 68-year-old Gao Zhen, last Aug. 26 wasn’t just any other day — it was the day of his arrest.
Press Release Aug 26, 2025 Joint statement on the first anniversary of Gao Zhen’s detention, demanding his urgent release We, the undersigned organizations, express our grave concern at the ongoing detention of artist Gao Zhen (高兟), a 69-year-old US permanent resident and prominent figure in China’s contemporary art scene, who has now been imprisoned for a year without trial.
