Chinese dissident Gao Zhen was detained on suspicion of "insulting revolutionary heroes and martyrs," his brother and artistic partner Gao Qiang said.
The Gao brothers are known for their provocative sculptures, which criticize the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong, and his regime.
Gao Zhen left China in 2022 and moved permanently to the United States of America.
He was visiting family when he was arrested in Hebei province, his brother wrote on Facebook.
Chinese authorities have not responded to Gao Qiang's claims that around 30 police officers raided his art studio in the city of Sanhe at the end of August.
They also confiscated several works of art and arrested his brother Jen, he added.
- A cake on a wax figure of King Charles the Third
- Paint on art and history: Who are the climate activists of the Italian movement Last Generation
- Stonehenge sprinkled with orange powder in protest of eco-activists
The Gao brothers have been attracting international attention since the 1980s for works such as Mao's wrongs, a bronze statue of the former communist dictator in a penitential pose.
Among their works are Execution of Christ, a statue of Jesus facing Mao's firing squad, Miss Mao, as well as a collection of statues of Mao with large breasts and protruding noses.
Mao Zedong helped found Communist China in 1949 and led it through a turbulent period in the 1960s and 1970s.
Those years are known as the Cultural Revolution, in which more than a million people are believed to have died.
The father of the Gao brothers was labeled as a class enemy and taken to a place that was "neither a prison nor a police station, but something else", where he died, Gao Zhen told New York Times 2009.
Deceiving or insulting China's revolutionary "heroes and martyrs" has been declared a crime in 2021 by the newly amended criminal law.
The campaign was led by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
A sentence of up to three years in prison is foreseen.
For most of his career, Gao managed to avoid serious punishment from the Chinese authorities, often holding secret or invitation-only exhibitions.
However, in 2022, Gao Zhen decided to emigrate to New York, where he had a permanent residence.
Zhen's son is an American citizen, went to school at the time, and moved because of the "deteriorating social situation in China," said his brother Gao Qiang. Several prominent Chinese artists wrote an open letter urging the authorities to release Gao Zhen.
"It appears that the Sanhe Police Department views Gao Zhen's artwork as evidence of a crime, repeating the persecution of the Cultural Revolution," the letter said.
The Sanhe Public Security Bureau declined to comment on the case.
BBC is in Serbian from now on and on YouTube, follow us HERE.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube i Viber. If you have a topic proposal for us, contact us at bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
Bonus video:
