Chinese artist Gao Zhen sentenced to 3 years for satirical Mao artworks

Chinese artist Gao Zhen was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday for defaming national heroes and martyrs through his satirical artworks, a verdict that has drawn international condemnation and raised concerns about the retroactive application of criminal law. The 70-year-old, a U.S. permanent resident and part of the internationally known artistic duo the Gao Brothers, was convicted by the Sanhe City People's Court in Hebei province for works created more than a decade before the relevant law was enacted.

Gao was detained in August 2024 while visiting family in China from his home in New York. He was tried earlier this year in a closed-door trial and received the maximum sentence under China's Law on the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs, which came into effect in 2018. The charges stemmed from several of his works, including a 2009 bronze statue titled "Mao's Guilt," which depicts former leader Mao Zedong kneeling in repentance, and the "Miss Mao" series of caricatures that portray Mao with breasts and an elongated nose.

Human rights organizations and legal advocates have sharply criticized the sentence, highlighting that the artworks in question were created between...