Tags

Detainment / Arrest

• Anniversary Conference Leads to Further Charges

  

  On December 9th, 2018, police in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, began a coordinated attack against members of the Early Rain Covenant Church. This has resulted in the detainment of more than 100 church members – several of them convicted of a variety of charges – and mounting pressures being imposed upon the church during the ensuing years. For more information on the initial attack, go to this report.
  
  Since the crackdown began, members of the church have been unable to meet together in person. Instead, they have held small group gatherings in homes and participated in online meetings. On the fourth anniversary of the incident, members of the church organized an online event, which was initially hosted by Elder Li Yingqiang. As the event commenced, an archival video was played featuring their detained pastor, Wang Yi. In the middle of the video, Elder Li suddenly interjected: "The police are already here. They are knocking at my door. I'll be gone soon." After praying with everyone, he was taken to the police station where he was accused of "disturbing social order."

• Church Leader Arrested at Airport

  

  A prominent church leader in Myanmar, who formerly served as the president of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), was reportedly arrested at the Mandalay International Airport on December 5th. After being held overnight, Dr. Hkalam Samson was sent back to the city of Myitkyina in Kachin State where military officers rearrested him, and he has since been detained. The Christian leader was scheduled to fly to Bangkok for medical treatment when intercepted by the authorities.

• Christians Arrested at Wedding Reception

  

  Numerous arrests took place at the wedding reception held for a pastor's daughter and son-in-law on November 28th. Acting on accusations from Hindu nationalists in the community, police raided the gathering at the pastor's house in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. The host attempted to explain that it was simply a wedding reception and not, as alleged by community members, a "conversion program." However, his pleas were ignored. Nine pastors and the newly married couple were arrested and charged under the state's anti-conversion legislation.

• Church Leader Arrested on False Allegations

  

  For two years, Abdalla Haroun Sulieman lived in Lebanon. Upon returning to Sudan in February 2022, Abdalla declared that he had come to faith in Christ. While sharing his newfound faith with the people of his community, he also prayed with them, frequently asking God to minister healing to those struggling with infirmities.

• Church and Associated School Officially Closed

  

  The Linfen Covenant House Church has experienced ongoing legal challenges, many of which arose after police officers raided a family camp in August 2022. Two preachers from the church were arrested for alleged fraud and, more recently, two other church workers were suddenly detained without notice (see this page for more information).

• Trial for Teachers Rescheduled

  

  In August 2021, four house church leaders were arrested for allegedly carrying out "illegal business operations" due to their involvement with a house church school in Wuhu, Anhui State. Two of the arrested Christians were later released on bail, but the others, Wan Hongxia and Wang Minghai, were formally charged and have since been awaiting trial. For more information on their arrests, see this page.

• Additional Arrests Involving Members of Linfen Church

  

  On August 19th, a family camp run by the Linfen Covenant House Church was raided by police, leading to the arrest of two preachers. (Read more.)Since their arrest, members of the church have faced severe pressure from governing authorities to corroborate the charges of "fraud" against the two men. The congregants were also pressured to pledge that they will never attend the church again. Most refused but, after intense coercion from members of their workplace and family, some were forced to sign statements claiming that they were "victims" of the alleged fraud.

• Christian Education Facilities Face Closure

  

  In recent months, seminaries in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, have been raided and forced to close by officials who claim that the Christian schools are illegal. On August 8th, the Wenzhou Bowen Bible School and the Wenzhou Bible School were both raided. These raids followed an official announcement which was issued to the seminaries three days before. The claim is that the schools were organizing events without government authorization and had not registered their activities with officials.

• Two Preachers Arrested for Alleged Fraud

  

  On August 19th, 70 members of the Linfen Covenant House Church were enjoying an outdoor family camp when more than 100 police officers suddenly appeared, taking everyone into custody, before they were eventually released. Preacher Li Jie and Preacher Han Xiaodong were detained on suspicion of fraud a few days later. Formal notice of the charges was presented to their wives on September 23rd. Li Jie's wife, Li Shanshan, had also been arrested but was released on bail September 6th and reunited with their two children.

• Christian Portrayed as "Socially Dangerous"

  

  The Public Security Bureau in the Sichuan Province of China arrested a Christian man, Lin Xuesui, on June 14th for allegedly "organizing and financing illegal gatherings." The charges were laid after Lin, who is from the coastal city of Wenzhou, shared his testimony in a remote mountainous region about 2,000 kilometres away from his home. Two other Christians were arrested at the same time but later released on bail. According to a recent report by VOM Korea, Lin remains in custody pending his trial.