Persecution Blog

Lawyers for Gao Zhisheng Barred from Visiting Gao in Prison

We have urgent breaking news from our friends at China Aid concerning the latest with Gao Zhisheng.

Click here to read the full report.

(Shaya, Xinjiang—Aug. 28, 2012) Two lawyers for jailed Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng were denied a meeting with him Monday by authorities at the prison in far west China where he has been held since last December, following years of being “disappeared” into police custody. 

ChinaAid learned that prominent Beijing human rights lawyers Li Xiongbing and Li Subin, engaged by Gao’s eldest brother, traveled Sunday from Xinhe county to Shaya county, in the remote part of the region of Xinjiang where Gao is being held. Along the way, they were stopped at a police guard post where their IDs were checked.
 
At 8 a.m. Monday, the two set off for Shaya prison from the county seat on the only road to the prison, which was fenced off on both sides by barbed wire. En route, they were stopped again for ID checks and an inspection of the trunks of their two vehicles. Upon arrival at the prison at 9 a.m., they made their request to see Gao to the police officer on duty at the desk, Dong Ping.  (Photo: Shaya Prison)
 
Dong said that they needed prior approval by the prison authorities to visit Gao. Because the prison administrators were holding their Monday meeting of the Communist Party branch committee and an administrative affairs meeting, no decision could be made until the meetings had ended and the prison administrators were consulted about whether the two lawyers could visit.

Click here to read the full article at China Aid.

Persecution Podcast #111: Algeria, China, India, and Romania

In episode 111 of our Persecution Podcast you'll learn the latest about Gao and what is happening with him and what happened when his family visited him.

David also shares about "Kadar" who is a Christian in Algeria who has been sentenced to five years in prison for "shaking the faith" of Muslims.  This is an amazing testimony of faith.

Also, India is known for Hindu extremists who are persecuting Christians.  David shares a prayer request for some pastors who have been beaten and also prayer for the Christians in India who are suffering under these attacks.

Please click here to listen to this short 5 minute podcast.  Please share with your praying friends.  Thank you.

 

Good News! Gao Zhisheng's Family Visits Him in Prison

Many of you are familiar with Gao Zhisheng, a prisoner in China, who we have been advocating for since he was taken captive.  If you're not acquainted with his case, you may learn about him at www.freegao.com and also sign the petition to help him.

Our friends at China Aid released the following news yesterday:

(Shaya, Xinjiang—March 28, 2012) ChinaAid has confirmed that relatives of prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng were finally allowed to visit him in prison last weekend, putting to rest fears that the pioneer in the growing Christian legal defense movement in China had died during the two-plus years of his forced disappearance into police custody.

Gao’s older brother and his father-in-law were permitted a half-hour meeting with Gao on March 24 at the Shaya prison, in a remote part of Xinjiang in far western China. They were able to see each other through a glass window and converse using a prison phone.

Gao’s wife, Geng He, telephoned ChinaAid’s founder and president Rev. Bob Fu on Tuesday night confirming the meeting and providing details. She said that her husband broke into tears when her father told Gao, “My health is greatly improved now that I have seen you.” Gao, who has disappeared into police custody several times since 2006, was last seen by his family members in April 2010 when he briefly resurfaced after a previous long period of disappearance.  During that time, he gave an extensive interview to the Associated Press, an American wire service, in which he gave a detailed account of brutal torture inflicted on him by Chinese police.

Gao’s wife said he looked fine during the weekend prison visit, which was conducted under the watchful eye of prison officials and Public Security Bureau officials. The PSB instructed Gao’s family members not to talk to the outside world about the visit.
PSB officers from Gao’s hometown in Shaanxi province had accompanied Gao’s older brother, Gao Zhiyi, on the entire trip from central China, a journey of more than 3000 kilometers (more than 2000 miles) to Shaya.

During their half-hour visit, Gao asked his brother to deposit 600 yuan ($100) into his prison account. Gao also asked about wellbeing of his family.

Gao’s brother cried a lot and said to Gao's wife, “I am relieved after finally being able to see that he is at least alive.”

Geng He expressed her deep gratitude to ChinaAid for its advocacy and legal and financial support.

ChinaAid’s Fu said, “We are glad to finally get this good news.” But he added, “For the sake of true justice and the rule of law in China, the Chinese government should immediately release attorney Gao without any conditions. Gao is totally innocent.”

Gao was sentenced on Dec. 22, 2006, to a three-year suspended prison term for “subversion” and was placed on probation for five years. On Dec. 16, 2011, just days before the end of the five-year probation period, China’s central government announced through the official Xinhua News Agency that the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court had sentenced Gao to a three-year prison term because he “had seriously violated probation rules for a number of times, which led to the court decision to withdraw the probation.”

Please read the full story here.   Please keep praying for Gao and his family and this situation.  God is listening!

Over 5000 Letters Written to Christian Prisoner Gao Zhisheng!

Today I wanted to give you an update on our letter writing campaign for Gao Zhisheng who is serving time in a China prison for defending Christians and for being a Christian.  A few weeks ago we asked you to help us reach a goal of 5000 letters written to Gao, and I'm happy to share with you today that, as of the time of this writing, 5010 letters have been written!

Thank you to all of you who took the time to use our wonderful Prisoner Alert system to write Gao.  Your letter is making a difference and so are your prayers.

Let's continue to write Gao more letters, as well as all of the prisoners we're highlighting on our Prisoner Alert page.

Please continue your prayers for Gao and his family.  Pray that he receives favor from those who are guarding him in prison.  Ask for comfort for him and his wife and children.  Let's also ask for God's perfect will to be worked out, and for Gao to have an opportunity to share Jesus Christ with his captors. 

Learn more about Gao and his case at http://www.freegao.com  and write him a letter today at http://www.prisoneralert.com

Only 46 More Letters to Go to Reach 5000 for Gao!

For the last few weeks we've been asking you to help us reach 5000 letters for Gao Zhisheng who is in prison for his faith in Jesus Christ and defending Christians.  Gao has been tortured for his faith and his case is well known internationally.  For background on Gao, please visit www.freegao.com

Last week we only needed 251 more letters to reach our 5000 goal.  Today we only need 46 more letters and I am confident that with your help that we can reach that goal this month! 

Will you please take a moment to share this need on your blog, your Facebook page or Twitter account?  Help us to spread the word about Gao and other persecuted Christians who we can encourage using The Voice of the Martyrs Prisoner Alert page.

Please  click here to write your letter.   Thank you for sacrificing for Gao and furthering the gospel of Jesus when you stand with him.

 

Will You Help Us Write 251 More Letters to Imprisoned Christian Gao Zhisheng

A few weeks ago we shared with you our goal to write Gao Zhisheng 5000 letters and I'm very encouraged and happy to share with you that we are so close to reaching that goal.  As of today, February 28th, we only need 251 more letters written.  In the last few weeks you've written 165 more letters to Gao and I want to thank you so much for taking action.  You're the best!

Now all we have to do is rally our friends, family and others to write Gao a letter of encouragement.

Please  click here to write your letter.   Please also share about Gao with your circle of influence on Facebook, Twitter and in your church and work environment.  Let's show Gao we stand with him in 2012.

You can also learn more about Gao's past and the torture he has endured, and may still possibly be enduring, by visiting FREE GAO and sign the petition.

Click here to write you letter now!  Thank you.

Will You Help Us Write 416 More Letters to Imprisoned Christian Gao Zhisheng

Last week we encouraged you to take a few minutes and write Gao who has been suffering for Christ in prison for over 200 days.  I'm happy to share that another 276 letters were written to Gao, just last week!!  Amazing!  You all wrote more letters last week than in the previous few weeks before that.  Thank you so much!!

We've still got 416 letters to go before we reach 5000 letters written to Gao.  Will you write a letter today if you haven't done so yet?  Even more so, will you spread the word about Gao and get your friends, your pastor, your teacher, or your neighbor to write a letter also... it takes under 5 minutes to do this.

Please   click here to write your letter.   Please also share about Gao with your circle of influence on Facebook, Twitter and in your church and work environment.  Let's show Gao we stand with him in 2012.

You can also learn more about Gao's past and the torture he has endured, and may still possibly be enduring, by visiting FREE GAO and sign the petition.

Click here to write you letter now!  Thank you.

Help Us Write 500 More Letters to Gao Zhisheng

A few weeks ago we shared with you that we would like to reach 5000 letters written to our dear brother Gao, who is still in prison suffering for his faith in Jesus.  I'm very happy and encouraged by the response of all of you who have taken the time to write.  We have had an additional 207 letters written to Gao in the last few weeks!  Praise the Lord!

Will you help us to write 500 more letters to Gao?  It's easy and only takes a few minutes of your time.  Simply click here to write your letter.   Please also share about Gao with your circle of influence on Facebook, Twitter and in your church and work environment.  Let's show Gao we stand with him in 2012.

You can also learn more about Gao's past and the torture he has endured, and may still possibly be enduring, by visiting FREE GAO and sign the petition.

Click here to write you letter now!  Thank you.

Help Us Write 5000 Letters to Gao Zhisheng Who is in Prison Suffering for His Faith

Today I  would like to ask you to take a few minutes and write Gao Zhisheng a letter of encouragement.

We've been focusing on Gao this month since we heard the news about finding his current location.  I see it as God's mercy in providing this vital information, this way we can write directly to the prison where he is being held.

Click here to write your letter to Gao today and don't be afraid to share this with others who want to be an active voice for the persecuted church.

To learn more about Gao's past and the torture he has endured, and may still possibly be enduring, click here to visit FREE GAO and sign the petition.

I would love to see us generate 700 more letters this month, reaching 5000 individual letters written to our suffering brother.  He is standing firm in his faith for Christ, will you stand with him by writing a letter today?  Click here to write you letter now!  Thank you.

Updates About Christian Persecution Aired on In the Market with Janet Parshall

Yesterday Todd Nettleton, the Director of Media Development for The Voice of the Martyrs, appeared as a guest on In the Market with Janet Parshall to discuss the latest news concerning persecuted Christians around the world.

In their short twenty minute interview, Janet and Todd discussed the horrible persecution happening to Christians in Northern Nigeria and explained that just this year, seventy four people have been killed by the Boko Haram group which is seeking to wipe out all Christians.  Todd suggested that Christians pray for those in Nigeria who are also Christians and ask the Lord for protection and for wisdom to know how to respond to those who are persecuting them.

Todd also gave an update about Gao who was recently found in a prison in China, that is out in the outskirts of China.  He explained that Gao's brother had tried to visit him, only to be denied access and he discussed the prison giving conflicting reasons why he wasn't allowed to see Gao.

Todd also shared a little bit about prison ministry in China and a story about a female Christian prisoner in China who shared that it was a good experience for her.  He explained that often, as a Western Christian, we think things that are often very contrary to the real experiences some Christians have while they are in prison.  He contrasted prison ministry in China, as being something that a pastor may do because he is in prison himself, versus how some here in  America may do prison ministry, but may have never been in prison.  Todd, wanted everyone to understand that persecuted Christians often have more joy than we may expect because they are able to share the Lord Jesus in a place where they might not have had access.

The conversation continued as Janet asked Todd about North Korea in which Todd shared that bibles are being smuggled into North Korea in creative ways, like being attached to balloons.

Todd also shared that the DVD Jesus:He Lived Among Us, has now been translated into the Korean language with both North and South Koreans working on the project.  He explained that usually there is conflict among North and South Koreans, but the making of this project shows unity that Koreans have in Christ.

The conversation ended with discussion concerning Indonesia and how persecution in Indonesia used to be from outside the government, but now has evolved to the government persecuting Christians in this Muslim dominated country.

Please click here to listen to this interview.  You'll be inspired and challenged to pray.