Elder Zhang Chunlei of Guiyang Ren’ai Reformed Church was sentenced to a total of five years in prison by the Guiyang Intermediate People’s Court in Guizhou Province, China, on 24 July.

Elder Zhang was detained on 16 March 2021 after he went to a local police station to enquire about ten Christians from his church who had been taken away during a police raid on a privately rented property where they were holding a retreat.

On 1 May 2021 Elder Zhang was formally arrested on suspicion of fraud, and in January 2022 it emerged that the authorities had levelled an additional charge of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ against him. He has remained in detention ever since, and was recently denied release on medical grounds after his family learned that he had been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis.

According to China Aid, Elder Zhang was sentenced to three years and six months in prison on the charge of ‘inciting subversion of state power’, and a further two years on the fraud charge, which was combined into a five-year sentence to be served until 16 March 2026 to account for the time he has already spent in detention. The court also ordered the recovery of 14,400 yuan (approximately £1,558 GBP) relating to the fraud charge, and fined Elder Zhang an additional 5,000 yuan (£541 GBP).

China Aid also reports that some Christians who had hoped to attend the hearing were prevented from doing so, and that only Elder Zhang’s wife Yang Aiqing was permitted inside the courtroom on the condition that she store her phone in a locker outside. Elder Zhang will appeal the sentence.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘The charges against Elder Zhang Chunlei are completely unfounded. He should not have spent the past three years in detention on them and he certainly should not have been sentenced to any more time in prison. We call for his immediate and unconditional release and for reparations to be made to Elder Zhang and his family for the years of injustice they have been subjected to already.’