'Disappeared' Chinese Rights Lawyer Wins London Award

Dharamshala: Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer and pro-democracy advocate Gao Zhisheng has been awarded the Bindman's Law and Campaigning Award at the Index on Censorship: Freedom of Expression Awards in London, in recognition of his work for vulnerable individuals and groups facing persecution by the Chinese regime.

Those represented by Gao included medical malpractice victims, religious minorities and practitioners of Falun Gong, the peaceful movement frequently attacked by the Chinese government through vicious abductions and torture and hateful propaganda.

Gao has been missing ever since his abduction in 2007 by Chinese authorities. His wife accepted the ward on his behalf via video, praising her husband's honourable actions and courageous refusal to back down, even when threatened by the government, saying "My husband's case is a true presentation of China's ongoing human rights crisis".