A court in China has reportedly sentenced a dissident artist to three years in jail for sculptures which satirized former Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.

Sculptor Gao Zhen, 70, became famous in the 2000s for addressing sensitive topics in China such as the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution or the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre through artworks he produced with his younger brother Gao Qiang.

Zhen, who is based in New York, was arrested during a visit to Beijing in August 2024. He was tried this year ⁠in a ⁠one-day behind-closed-doors trial and found guilty of "infringing upon the reputation of heroes."

"We feel outraged," Gao's wife Zhao Yaliang told the Reuters news agency. "Ever since I learned of the ​verdict, I haven't been able to recover from it. It's devastating."

Zhao also said she and her son, who is a US citizen, had been barred from leaving China since Zhen's detention two years ago.

Which Mao sculptures were deemed illegal?

Zhen was charged under China's "Law on the Protection ⁠of Heroes ​and Martyrs," legislation which came into effect in 2018 and was strengthened in ​2021.

The artworks found to have broken the law, however, date to 2005 and 2009, according to Shane Yi, a researcher at Chinese Human Rights Defenders who has been advocating for Gao's case.

"The court has now sentenced him to three years ... for artwork he made as far back as 2005, some 16 years before the law he was charged under even existed," Yi told Reuters, calling the punishment "a very clear case of a violation of a person's freedom of expression."

The artworks in question are reported to be "Mao's Guilt," a 2009 bronze statue of the former leader kneeling remorsefully, and the "Miss Mao" series of caricatures which depict Mao with breasts and a Pinocchio-like nose.

Calls for Zhen to be released

"No artist should face criminal punishment for creating work that challenges official narratives or encourages critical reflection on history," Amnesty's China Director Sarah Brooks told the Associated Press.

"The lengthy pre-trial detention and, ultimately, decision to convict Gao Zhen and sentence him to the maximum three-year prison term under this offense illustrate the authorities' determination to deter others from engaging in independent artistic expression."

Researcher Yi said: "The only outcome that respects Gao Zhen's rights is his immediate, unconditional release."

There has as yet been no official statement from the court.

Edited by: Kieran Burke

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