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Chinese Pastor Wang Yi Given 9 Year Sentence on State Subversion

Joyce Huang

   Chinese pastor Wang Yi, founder of Early Rain Covenant Church, has been
   sentenced to nine years in prison on the charges of inciting state
   subversion and illegal business operation, a court in Sichuan in
   southwest China said on Monday.

   One year after his incommunicado detention and a recent secret trial,
   Wang has also been deprived of his political rights for three years
   with 50,000 yuan ($7,157) of his personal property being confiscated,
   the announcement on the court's website added.

   The court, however, gave no details of its so-called "open" trial,
   which Wang allegedly faced last week.

   Religious rights activists called Wang's verdict the harshest in a
   decade, which paints a bleak picture of China's government-led
   persecution of religious groups under the leadership of Chinese
   President Xi Jinping.

   Wang was among dozens of the church's followers and leaders including
   his wife detained by police in December 2018 although most were
   subsequently released.

   The 46-year-old pastor is also a productive writer, social activist and
   formerly a legal scholar at Chengdu University before he took up the
   pastorate.
   

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