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Tu Yan. a Christian in Yunnan,
was also wrongly arrested for
supposedly participating in
the “Three Grades of Servants.”
(Photo: ChinaAid)
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ChinaAid
(Dali, Yunnan—Oct. 26, 2017) Authorities in China’s southwestern Yunnan province continue a wave of persecution against area Christians, accusing them of cult crimes at court meetings on Oct. 17.
More than 20 Christians in the Lincang, Chuxiong, Dali, Zhaotong, Yuxi, Pu’er, and Xishuangbanna areas of Yunnan were arrested and accused of participating in the “Three Grades of Servants” cult. Three Christians were sentenced to four years in prison this April: Li Shudong, Li Meihua, and Peng Zhenghua.
Now, seven more Christians—Liu Wei, Li Yunxiu, Li Wanhong, Li Chunyu, Yao Jiaping, Hu Yuxin, and Zong Yonggui—await trial for the same charge, “the crime of utilizing cults to undermine law enforcement.” A pre-trial meeting was held on Oct. 17, with a trial set for Oct. 26.
Previous cases of a similar vein have resulted in prison sentences between four and six years, despite the prosecution failing to provide any actual evidence regarding cult affiliation. Many of the Christians accused of this participation had never heard of the “Three Grades of Servants” group before the charge was levied against them.
One of the defense lawyers involved in the case, Xiao Yunyang, demanded evidence of cult participation from the prosecutors, describing the pre-trial meeting. “Today, the main motivation of this pre-trial meeting is to work through procedural problems. Is there illegal evidence that should be excluded? Is there new evidence to submit? This is especially important for our evidence, as well as the contents of the prosecution’s evidence and whether or not there will be an expert to testify in court. We asked for the anti-cult staff at the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Bureau to testify about the identification of cult propaganda materials. The court said they would answer us three days before the hearing.”
ChinaAid reports on cases of persecution in China, such as the wrongful imprisonment and trials of underground church Christians, in order to expose corruption and government abuses and to promote religious freedom and rule of law.
ChinaAid Media Team
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