(Suizhou, Hubei Province – April 3, 2024) The 72-year-old preacher, Song Yude, from a house church in Suizhou, Hubei Province, was criminally detained in July 2023 along with more than ten fellow co-workers from the church on suspicion of “sabotaging the enforcement of law by organizing and utilizing cult organizations” because of their Christian belief. He has been in custody in Suizhou Detention Center since then. It has been reported that Song Yude recently developed a hernia in the detention center, causing him great pain, and his health condition is worrying. Another detained Christian suffers from depression, further raising concerns about their well-being.
The church where Song Yude is based uses the Bible as its foundation, adheres to the Apostles’ Creed, and upholds the Ten Commandments. It is considered an authentic house church. Song Yude himself had previously served an eight-year prison sentence for his faith when he was younger. The accusation against the church as a “cult” is believed to be solely due to the government’s harsh crackdown on house churches.
Since July 1, 2023, the house church led by Song Yude has been labeled as a “cult” by authorities in Suizhou. Several believers, including elderly individuals over 70 years old, students still in school, and individuals suffering from severe depression, have been arrested. Apart from those coerced into confession, all believers have maintained that they adhere to Christian teachings, primarily focusing on the study of the Bible.
Several Christian lawyers who reviewed the case files concluded that this is a normal house church, and all evidence clearly indicates that they are neither heretical nor cultic. The main reasons cited by the investigators for their accusations include their refusal to attend government-sanctioned Three-Self churches, crying during prayers, a couple displaying an ornament bearing the inscription “What God has joined together, let no one separate,” and the discovery of several books in the home of a believer, whose content did not violate the Apostles’ Creed commonly followed by Christian churches in China, but were arbitrarily deemed by the investigators as books have no knowledge of Christianity and house churches at all. The lawyers believe that the nature of this case is extremely malicious, and with such logic and investigative methods, all house churches in China could be defined as cults. This is utterly absurd.
Recently, there have been several reports of Christians being bullied and abused in prison. For instance, Chang Hao, a disabled evangelist from Zhenxiong Township, Yunnan Province, could only take cold showers in the detention center during winter. Additionally, Chang Yuchun and Li Chenhui, a couple printing Christian books for a house church, were subjected to bullying in prison. Li Chenhui was even transferred out of the monitoring area to perform heavy labor, and her requests for medical parole when ill were denied. Regardless of whether they are innocent or guilty, even criminals should have basic rights. The human rights situation in Chinese prisons has long been a concern for the international community. With the government’s crackdown on house churches, the increasing number of arrests and detentions of Christians deserves more attention, particularly regarding their human rights conditions in prisons and detention centers.
