Senior Pastors Yang Rongli and Wang Xiaoguang were on their way to Beijing to file a formal complaint with the Central governing authorities concerning the raid and destruction of their church when they were stopped and arrested without a warrant, according to The Christian Post. The privately owned property where an entire network of house churches met was also a shoe factory, and the violent government attack had left many wounded, some to the point of needing hospitalization.
The trial for the married couple and other leaders associated with the church lasted over 12 hours, according to www.chinaaid.org. Apparently, the court had no intention of providing a fair trial. The lawyers representing the church leaders were only allowed to review 50 pages before the trial, while the prosecuting attorneys had over 1000 pages of alleged evidence. Church leaders received sentences that ranged from 3-7 years, with Senior Pastor Yang Rongli getting 7 years, and her husband Wang Xiaoguang ending up with 3 years.
China Aid President Bob Fu commented, “To punish an innocent house church leader for 7 years imprisonment is the most serious sentence since 2004 when the senior Henan house church leader pastor Zhang Rongliang received a similar length.” He added that, “We strongly condemn these unjust sentences, which are based on trumpeted charges. This case clearly shows the serious deteriorating situation of religious persecution in China. We call upon the Obama administration and international community to speak up unequivocally its concern about this case.”
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