艺术家高兟因艺术创作被判最高刑期三年：国际特赦组织发布紧急行动，吁立即释放并解除妻儿出境禁令Artist Gao Zhen given maximum three-year sentence for his art: Amnesty International issues urgent action urging release and lifting of family's exit ban

国际特赦组织发布针对中国艺术家高兟的第三次紧急行动（106/25，索引 ASA 17/1527/2026，中国，日期 2026 年 10 月 2 日）；加拿大特赦分会于 2026 年 10 月 10 日发布了该行动的更新页面。行动呼吁：立即无条件释放高兟；在其获释前，充分保障他与家人联系的权利，确保他免受酷刑或其他虐待，并获得充分和独立的医疗评估与治疗；停止骚扰和威胁他的家人，允许他们自由、安全地离开中国。[1][2]

高兟（70 岁）是中国当代艺术的重要人物，是知名艺术组合“高氏兄弟”之一。自 1980 年代以来，兄弟二人一直利用讽刺和幽默来揭露文化大革命的暴行，其作品也对毛泽东及毛泽东政权时期的威权统治手段提出尖锐批评——这些话题在当代中国依然非常敏感且属于禁忌。[1]

2024 年 8 月 26 日，当局在高兟与妻子和儿子在国内旅行期间将其拘留。大约 30 名警察突击搜查了他在河北省三河市燕郊镇的工作室，拍摄了他的艺术作品，并没收了几件雕塑作品（其中大部分是十多年前创作的），随后封存了整间工作室。[1]

2026 年 3 月案件开庭；同年 8 月 25 日，河北省三河市人民法院以“侵害英雄烈士名誉、荣誉罪”判处高兟有罪，并判处该罪名的法定最高刑期——有期徒刑三年，刑期预计于 2027 年 8 月 25 日届满。高兟在法庭上的最后陈述中指出，当局指控所依据的是他在 2005 年至 2009 年间创作的艺术作品，而针对他的罪名是在这些作品创作多年后才被纳入刑法的；他质疑将相关法律追溯适用于其作品的做法，并为自己的作品辩护，称其属于正当的艺术表达，同时表达了希望与家人团聚的愿望。他已就定罪和判刑提起上诉，案件现已移送廊坊市中级人民法院。[1][2]

高兟在羁押期间的健康和福祉令人严重担忧。判刑之前，可靠消息来源称，这位 70 岁的艺术家患有多种疾病，包括腰椎疾病和膝关节积液，据报道在被拘留期间曾数次晕倒。2026 年 8 月 25 日被判刑后，据报道高兟数次吐血，并从拘留所被送往医院接受检查；虽然即时症状后来有所缓解，但具体原因仍不明。与此同时，他的妻子仍被以“国家安全”为由禁止出境，但当局并未对其提出正式指控；他们 8 岁的儿子是美国公民，依法享有出境权，但实际上若无成人陪同（最好是父母）便无法离开中国，这一事实上的出境禁令已影响其接受学校教育超过两年。[1][2]

核实说明：本记录记录的是“国际特赦组织发布针对高兟的紧急行动”这一可核实的公开机构行为。拘留、搜查、开庭、定罪与量刑的时间线来自特赦组织的行动文件；羁押中的健康状况、家属受骚扰与出境限制等细节，来自特赦组织引述的“可靠消息来源”，本站未独立核实。高兟已上诉，本站将继续跟进上诉进展、健康状况与家属出境限制的变化。[1][2]

Amnesty International issued its third urgent action for Chinese artist Gao Zhen (106/25, Index ASA 17/1527/2026, China, dated 2 October 2026); Amnesty International Canada published an updated action page on October 10, 2026. The action urges the authorities to: immediately and unconditionally release Gao Zhen; pending his release, ensure his right to communicate with his family is fully respected, protect him from torture or other ill-treatment, and provide adequate and independent medical assessment and treatment; and stop harassing and threatening his family and allow them to leave the country freely and safely. [1][2]

Gao Zhen, 70, is a prominent figure in contemporary Chinese art and one half of the renowned Gao Brothers duo. Since the 1980s, the brothers have used satire and humour to explore the atrocities of the Cultural Revolution, and their work also critiques former Chinese leader Mao Zedong and the authoritarian practices of his regime — subjects that remain deeply sensitive and often taboo in contemporary China. [1]

On August 26, 2024, authorities detained Gao Zhen while he was travelling in China with his wife and son. Around 30 police officers raided his studio in Yanjiao, a town in Sanhe City, Hebei province. They photographed his artworks and confiscated several sculptures, most of which he had created more than a decade earlier. Authorities then sealed the studio. [1]

The case went to trial in March 2026; on August 25, 2026, the Sanhe City People's Court in Hebei province convicted Gao Zhen of 'slandering China's heroes and martyrs' and imposed the offence's statutory maximum — three years in prison, due to end on August 25, 2027. In his final court statement, Gao argued that the charges concerned artworks he created between 2005 and 2009, while the offence was introduced into criminal law many years after those works were made; he challenged the retroactive application of the law and defended his work as legitimate artistic expression, also expressing his wish to reunite with his family. He has appealed the conviction and sentence, and the case has moved to the Langfang Intermediate People's Court. [1][2]

There are serious concerns about Gao Zhen's health and well-being in detention. Before sentencing, reliable sources reported that the 70-year-old artist suffered from several health conditions, including lumbar spine disease and fluid accumulation in his knees, and had reportedly collapsed several times in detention. After sentencing on August 25, 2026, Gao reportedly vomited blood several times and was taken from the detention centre to hospital for examination; although his immediate symptoms later subsided, the cause remains unknown. Meanwhile, his wife remains barred from leaving China on national security grounds despite facing no formal charges; their eight-year-old son is a US citizen with the legal right to leave China, but in practice cannot do so without an accompanying adult, ideally one of his parents. The de facto exit ban has disrupted his schooling for more than two years. [1][2]

Verification note: this record documents the verifiable public act — Amnesty International issuing the urgent action for Gao Zhen. The timeline of detention, raid, trial, conviction and sentencing comes from Amnesty's action documents; details of his health in detention and of the harassment and exit restrictions on his family come from sources cited in Amnesty's reports and have not been independently verified by this site. Gao Zhen has appealed; this site will continue to follow the appeal, his health, and any change in the restrictions on his family. [1][2]