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 The treatment of Gao Zhisheng, whose secretive detention has also
drawn criticism from the U.N. human rights body, had been one of the
thorniest human rights disputes between China and the United States.
Gao, 50, a Beijing-based lawyer, was held in a small cell, with
minimal light, in the far western region of Xinjiang, according to
Freedom Now, a Washington D.C.-based group that advocates for
prisoners of conscience, including Gao.
It said Gao was fed a single slice of bread and piece of cabbage
once a day and had lost roughly 22.5 kg (50 lbs). He lost many teeth
from malnutrition.
"I am completely devastated by what the Chinese government has done
to my husband," Freedom Now cited Gao's wife, Geng He, as saying.
Geng lives in exile in San Francisco with the couple's children.
An official from the Ministry of Public Security at Shaya county in
Xinjiang said she was unclear about Gao's situation. The Xinjiang
government office could not be reached for comment. Geng did not
answer calls to her phone.
 A combative rights advocate who tackled many causes opposed by the
ruling Communist Party, Gao was sentenced in 2006 to three years in
jail for "inciting subversion of state power", a charge often used
to punish critics of one-party rule.
He was put on probation for five years, formally sparing him from
serving the prison sentence, but his family was kept under constant
surveillance and he was sporadically taken into custody during that
period.
In 2011, state media reported that Gao was back in jail. He has said
in interviews that he was at times tortured.
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Gao attained international publicity for his campaigning for
religious freedom, particularly for members of the banned religious
group, Falun Gong. He had also defended underground Christians and
villagers embroiled in property disputes with government officials.
President Xi Jinping's administration has stepped up a crackdown on
dissent, detaining and jailing activists, muzzling Internet critics
and strengthening restrictions on journalists in what some rights
groups call the worst suppression of free expression in recent
years.
Separately, Chinese authorities arrested on Wednesday dissident
writer Lu Gengsong, on a charge of "subversion of state power", his
lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said.
Police have denied Mo's requests to meet with Lu, saying that Lu's
crimes "endangered national security", Mo said, adding that Lu's
arrest could be due to his involvement in the banned China Democracy
Party.
If convicted, Lu faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, said
U.S.-based rights group, Human Rights in China.
(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
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