Sentences range from three and a half years to one year in prison. During the marathon 12-hour trial, one of the defendants, a 75-year-old woman fell ill and was admitted to hospital immediately. Observers say the verdict had been decided already for some time.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – The People's Court of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou city, has condemned eight Christians to between one and three and a half years in jail for opposing the demotion of their church.

 

This was reported by the China Aid Association (CAA), a US-based NGO fighting for religious freedom in China.

 

The judges condemned unofficial pastors Shen Zhuke and Wang Weiliang to three and a half years in prison and other believers Feng Guangliang and Luo Bingliang to two years. The other four defendants had their prison sentences suspended for the time being.

 

The verdict was handed down after a sitting of 12 straight hours, during which Shen Chengy, 75 years, felt ill and had to be admitted to hospital immediately. Observers said the “verdict had already been decided some time ago otherwise the trial would have taken much longer.”

 

The eight defendants were arrested on 29 July: they were opposing the demolition of a church in Cheluwan – Xiaoshan district in Zhejiang (see photo) – which the authorities alleged was built on public land without government permission.

 

In reality, according to the Christians of Cheluwan, the church had been built on private land bought by a Christian couple. For a long time, the community submitted requests for permission to build the church but the government never gave the green light, although all the papers were in order.

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• xiaoshan
• religious
• freedom
• christians
• protestants
• arrests
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• rights
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