HRF has submitted the case of Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Gao, one half of the renowned Gao Brothers duo, was detained in August 2024 on charges of “slandering heroes and martyrs” based primarily on three artworks all created at least nine years before the law used to prosecute him was enacted.

Gao Zhen is in critical condition with numerous health problems, and his 70th birthday is next month. He has been held in prolonged solitary confinement, denied medical care, and cannot communicate with his family. His trial, delayed three times, took place in a single day on March 30, 2026, suggesting his guilt had been predetermined.

HRF calls on the WGAD to determine Gao Zhen’s detention arbitrary and to demand his immediate release. Read HRF’s press release.