(Hefei – May 11, 2026) The Hefei Intermediate People’s Court recently issued its second-instance written ruling in the “Hefei Ganquan Church” (甘泉教会) case, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original verdict. This marks the procedural conclusion of a two-and-a-half-year legal battle that has drawn international attention regarding religious freedom.
According to defense lawyers, the appellate court delivered the ruling directly on May 7 without holding a hearing. Earlier this February, Pastor Zhou Songlin (周松林) and Elder Ding Zhongfu (丁中福) of the church were respectively sentenced to four years and six months and four years in prison on charges related to financial and organizational matters.
The case began in November 2023, when Hefei police launched a raid against Ganquan Church. Over the following 29 months, the case went through two pretrial conferences and two lengthy court hearings. For this unregistered house church, each stage of the legal proceedings was accompanied by anxious vigil and concern from supporters and family members.
The first-instance judgment showed that, in addition to prison sentences, the two church leaders were fined a combined total of nearly 58,000 RMB (≈ USD 8000) and ordered to repay more than 360,000 RMB (≈ USD 50,000) in so-called “illegal gains.” The court also authorized relevant authorities to dispose of the church’s seized property and bank accounts.
In a statement released on Friday (May 8), family members expressed grief over the ruling and deep concern regarding the health conditions of the two pastor.
“Both pastors are already over sixty years old and suffer from underlying health conditions,” family members Wei Shudie (魏淑蝶) and Ge Yunxia (葛云霞) stated. They noted that since their arrests at the end of 2023, both men have been held in detention centers for two and a half years and are now about to be transferred to prison facilities to serve their sentences. The families called on the public to continue paying attention to how they adapt to the new environment.
In recent years, China has intensified scrutiny of unregistered religious groups, and many church leaders have faced criminal charges such as illegal business operations or fraud. Although defense lawyers repeatedly argued during the trial that church offerings are part of religious practice rather than illegal gains, the court ultimately adopted the prosecution’s position.
At the conclusion of their statement, the families quoted a passage from 2 Thessalonians, emphasizing that, even amid suffering and persecution, they would persevere. For the congregants of Hefei Ganquan Church, this ruling marks not only the legal end of the case but also a severe test of their faith community’s resilience.