According to the Associated Press, on Tuesday a group of prominent lawyers from around the globe petitioned the United Nations to condemn the illegal detention of legal activist Gao Zhisheng.  The petition mentioned that not only does the current jailing violate international rights standards; it also violates China’s own legal statutes. 

Gao was taken into custody on February 4, 2009 and has not been seen or heard from since.  During his detention, Gao has never been formally charged or arrested and his family has never been informed of his whereabouts.  Under Chinese law, all of these measures should have been taken at some point during the past year. 

This arrest follows Gao’s disclosure of the torture he endured after his detention in 2007.  During that detention, the Chinese authorities threatened to kill him if he ever spoke out about the torture inflicted upon him.  As with his 2007 detention, all of his arrests have been a result of his continued activism against illegal government action including police corruption, illegal land seizures and restriction of religious freedoms.