From the New York Times:
Gao Zhisheng, one of China’s most outspoken dissidents until his conviction on sedition charges late last year, said in a recorded statement made available over the weekend that while his confession had resulted in a light sentence, it had been made under mental and physical duress.
Gao Zhisheng, a Chinese human rights lawyer, drafting a letter in 2005 protesting the government’s treatment of the Falun Gong spiritual sect.
Mr. Gao’s remarks, recorded by a close friend and offered to journalists in Beijing, were his first public statement since he was convicted in December. He was given a suspended sentence. [Full text]