Update: Prisoners of faith kept from lawyers

China Aid Association 13 September 2012

Alimujiang Yimiti
Photo: China Aid Association

A lawyer for a prominent house church leader and two lawyers for an imprisoned Christian attorney have been refused access to their clients in two separate incidents.

In August, an attorney from Beijing applied to meet with imprisoned Christian Alimujiang Yimiti in Urumqi, Xinjiang. The lawyer was illegally and unreasonably refused access to Alim by prison officials. Alim, a convert from Islam to Christianity, has been detained since January 2008 and was convicted of "instigating separatism and revealing state secrets to foreigners" (for more, click here). He is currently serving a 15-year sentence.

Gao Zhisheng
Photo: China Aid Association

The following month, two lawyers for jailed Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng were denied a meeting at the prison in far west China where he has been held since last December (for more, click here). In order to see their client, Gao's lawyers repeatedly tried to fulfill the unreasonable requests made by officials. However, they were still turned away because officials said they were not "authorized by the prisoner."

The lawyers in both these cases have said they will fight this decision by appealing to higher authorities and speaking publicly about the injustice.

Please pray that Alim and Gao will be supernaturally protected while they face these fiery trials. Pray that in all things they will look to our Father for strength. Pray that they will witness to others during their time in prison. Pray that the Lord will open the doors necessary for these men to meet with their legal counsel. Please pray that China will succumb to international pressure to uphold religious freedom for all citizens.

Go to the China Country Report for more on the suffering Church in China.

China

Current Ministry Projects
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians in the country, making it possible for them to have their own printed version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, while presenting ways to effectively respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Underground Church, Bible, Relief & Development
Country Information
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.1), ethnic minorities (8.9 - includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Religion (%)
Folk religion (21.9), Buddhist (18.2), Christian (5.1), Muslim (1.8), Hindu (< 0.1), Jewish (< 0.1), other (0.7 - includes Daoist [Taoist]), unaffiliated (52.1) (2021 est.)

Leader
President Xi Jinping (2013)

Government type
Communist party-led state

Legal system
Based on civil law system; influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for China
Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout China without government interference so many more names can be added to the Lamb's "Book of Life." May there also be a spirit of unity demonstrated among the country's growing churches, further strengthening existing believers and spurring them on in their ministry service and evangelistic outreach within the country's numerous communities.