Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the detention of Gao Zhisheng in China; and what steps he is taking to secure his release.

We remain concerned about human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng who has been imprisoned in Xinjiang, without access to his family, since January 2013. We raised his case directly with Chinese officials during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 19-20 May. We understand that Gao’s prison term is due to end soon, and we urge the Chinese authorities to ensure that his rights to freedom of movement and communication are duly protected on his release.