China Jails Sichuan Protestant Pastor For Nine Years For 'Subversion'

Acourt in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Monday handed down a nine-year jail term to Wang Yi, the Protestant pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church. Wang, who founded the church, was detained by police in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu on Dec. 14, 2018 on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power," alongside dozens of church members in a raid that prompted an international outcry.

The Chengdu Intermediate People's Court issued a verdict and sentence after finding him guilty of "incitement to subvert state power" and of "running an illegal business" in a secret trial last week. The court sentenced him to nine years' imprisonment, confiscating his personal property to the value of 50,000 yuan. Wang's mother and wife were placed under house arrest and prevented from attending his trial, as were dozens of members of the now-shuttered church that he founded.

The trial came after Wang's lawyer Zhang Peihong was prevented from representing him because he had made comments deemed critical of the ruling Chinese Communist Party online.

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