BBC News4/19/2026Politics
Art on trial: Sculptor's arrest highlights new extremes for censorship in China
The secret trial of Gao Zhen, arrested for creating artworks satirizing Mao Zedong, marks what experts call the darkest period for freedom of expression in decades
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- Gao Zhen, a 69-year-old Chinese sculptor, faced a secret trial in China in March 2024 on charges of "insulting revolutionary heroes and martyrs" for artworks created 15 years earlier, including sculptures depicting Mao Zedong.
- Arrested while visiting Beijing, Gao faces up to three years in prison.
- The UN human rights office has called for his release, with experts describing this as the most prolonged crackdown on freedom of expression in China since the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976.
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Gao Zhen, a 69-year-old Chinese sculptor, faced a secret trial in China in March 2024 on charges of "insulting revolutionary heroes and martyrs" for artworks created 15 years earlier, including sculptures depicting Mao Zedong. Arrested while visiting Beijing, Gao faces up to three years in prison. The UN human rights office has called for his release, with experts describing this as the most prolonged crackdown on freedom of expression in China since the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976.
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