Renowned artist Gao Zhen sentenced to 3 years in prison by Sanhe City Court in Hebei Province for infringing on the reputation of heroes and martyrs

(Rights Defense Network Information Center Report) On August 25, 2026, this network learned: This morning, the renowned artist Gao Zhen was sentenced to 3 years in prison by the Sanhe City Court of Hebei Province for the crime of infringing on the reputation of heroes and martyrs. Today, Gao Zhen's third and fifth brothers were allowed to attend the hearing, while the US Embassy's attempt to send personnel to attend was rejected.

On August 26, 2024, the renowned artist Gao Zhen (the elder brother of the Gao Brothers) was criminally detained on suspicion of infringing on the reputation of heroes and martyrs when he returned to China to visit relatives. He was later formally arrested and prosecuted. On December 14, 2025, the application for bail pending trial by Gao Zhen's lawyer was rejected, and the procuratorate recommended a sentence of three years. This case was tried behind closed doors in the Sanhe City Court on March 30, 2026. The authorities did not allow family members to attend, and no verdict was announced. The verdict was announced today, and he was sentenced to 3 years in prison, with the sentence running until August 25, 2027.

After Gao Zhen was arrested, Ma Jian, a writer living in the UK, launched a global joint petition of solidarity, calling on the authorities to immediately release Gao Zhen. This petition has already received signing support from nearly two hundred writers and artists. Currently, his wife is still subject to exit-control and cannot leave China due to alleged reasons involving "national security." Their seven-year-old son, a US citizen, is still unable to return to New York to attend school.

Gao Zhen: Born on May 10, 1956, a native of Jinan City, Shandong Province, is a renowned Chinese sculptor, a scholar residing in the US, a dissident, and a political prisoner in custody in China.

In his early years, because the Gao family suffered a devastating catastrophe during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and his father was persecuted to death in 1968 at the height of the "Cultural Revolution," a deep shadow was cast over the young minds of the two brothers; after the reform and opening up, he and his younger brother Gao Qiang (known as the "Gao Brothers") gradually became some of China's most famous artists, with their political stances leaving a firm and clear mark on their works; starting in 1985, the Gao Brothers began cooperating, dedicating themselves to artistic activities such as painting, installation, performance, and photography, but because their sculptures and paintings often involved sensitive political issues, even though the two brothers believed this was merely expressing their views on society through art, it touched the sensitive and fragile nerves of the CCP authorities; in February 1989, during an art exhibition in Beijing, he signed a public letter from Fang Lizhi to Deng Xiaoping, and was subsequently monitored by the CCP authorities as a political dissident, resulting in the two brothers being under exit-control to go abroad from 1989 to 2003, which was not lifted until 2004; since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, as the authorities have continuously tightened control over the speech of domestic dissidents and public intellectuals, especially since the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law in April 2018 (aimed at holding citizens legally liable for insulting or defaming the names, portraits, and reputations of heroes and martyrs, implemented on May 1 of the same year), the sculptures they collaborated on for many years, such as "The Execution of Christ," the "Miss Mao Series," and "Kneeling and Repenting Mao," became targets for heavy crackdowns by the authorities;

On August 26, 2024, because he returned to China to visit relatives, he was taken away and criminally detained from his personal studio in Yanjiao by the police of Sanhe City, Langfang, Hebei Province, on suspicion of "infringing on the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs," and went missing since; later, his wife and child were banned from leaving the country due to collective punishment, and the family's attempts to seek assistance from the US Embassy in China were also blocked by the police; his works, family property, and studio were all sealed off, and his friends and those who helped him were silenced or forced to write guarantee letters; on October 7 of the same year, his artistic peer and friend suspected in a media interview that he had been formally arrested by the procuratorate; later, his case was prosecuted by the local Sanhe City Procuratorate and transferred to the Sanhe City Court for review, with a recommended sentence of 3 years; on August 16, 2025, it was learned that his case was about to go to trial, but it kept being postponed; on March 30, 2026, his case was officially tried behind closed doors at the Sanhe City Court, with requests from family members and EU representatives to attend being rejected; his case has triggered international attention, with the Human Rights Foundation, Amnesty International, and over 20,000 petition signatures demanding his release by the Chinese government. On the morning of August 25, 2026, Gao Zhen was sentenced to 3 years in prison by the Sanhe City Court of Hebei Province for the crime of infringing on the reputation of heroes and martyrs, with his sentence running until August 25, 2027.

He is currently detained at the Sanhe City Detention Center (West of Gaogezhuang Village, Juyang Town, Sanhe City, Langfang City, Hebei Province, Postal Code: 065201).

This network will continue to pay close attention to the situation of Mr. Gao Zhen.