A Hui Christian pastor from China’s Yunnan Province was charged and tried on 10 February for ‘organising illegal gatherings’ in relation to a gathering of no more than ten Christians in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Ma Yan, a 32-year-old preacher from Zhenxiong, Yunnan Province, was detained along with three other Christians during a raid on a gathering at a guesthouse in Jinfeng District, Yinchuan, by police officers from the Jinfeng District Public Security Bureau, on 9 August 2024.
The next day, on 10 August, the Bureau issued an administrative detention order against the four detained individuals for ‘disrupting public order’ and detained them at the Yinchuan Detention Center. Two men were detained for seven days while Ma and another were held for 10 days.
On 20 August Ma was criminally detained by the same bureau on the charge of ‘organising illegal gatherings’. He was formally arrested on the same charge on 26 September.
CSW sources report Ma pleaded guilty during the trial on 10 February because the charge of ‘organising illegal gatherings’ carries a lighter sentence compared to other charges and does not attract moral stigmatisation.
Ma’s trial concluded without an immediate verdict, but if the court follows the prosecutor’s sentencing recommendation, Ma will be sentenced to nine months in prison.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘The arrest and prosecution of Pastor Ma Yan is yet another instance of the Chinese Communist Party targeting ethnic and religious minorities and violating Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief. CSW calls on the authorities to release Ma immediately, and to declare him not guilty.’
Notes to Editors:
- ‘Criminal detention’ means that any time served in detention will count towards any jail term if an individual is convicted.
- Individuals can be held for up to 13 and a half months before going to trial if they are formally arrested.
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