Chinese dissident artist jailed for 3 years over Mao sculptures, family and rights group say
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By Laurie Chen
Originally published by Reuters on August 25, 2026
BEIJING, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, known for making satirical sculptures of former leader Mao Zedong, was handed the maximum three-year sentence for “defaming national heroes and martyrs” by a Chinese court on Tuesday, his wife and a rights group said.
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Shane Yi, a researcher at the Chinese Human Rights Defenders group, which operates outside the country, called for his release.
“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 said. “The only outcome that respects Gao Zhen’s rights is his immediate, unconditional release.”
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“By applying a law retroactively and holding a closed-door trial that shut out even his own family, Chinese authorities have shown exactly how little due process they’re willing to give,” Yi said on Tuesday.
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