Mr. Gao, 52, became increasingly critical of the Communist Party and renounced his membership. Mr. Gao published his memoir “A China More Just,” in Chinese and English, in 2007. He then placed it under my chin,” Mr. Gao wrote of one of his torturers. PhotoMr. Gao’s imprisonment was a prelude to the far more extensive crackdown on Chinese human rights lawyers under President Xi Jinping. Mr. Gao, an army veteran, rose to fame taking on cases that pitted ordinary people against powerful interests, defending farmers from land seizures and suing the police for abuses.

Source: New York Times June 14, 2016 11:32 UTC