China: House church leader Zhou Heng freed |
| Apr 15 2008 |
| Postings >> China |
The Chinese authorities have freed Xinjiang house church leader Zhou Heng after holding him for more than six months on suspicion of 'illegal business practices'.
A court in Urumqi city dismissed his case after deciding that the Public Security Bureau had not put forward sufficient evidence to convict Zhou Heng.
In an open letter to his supporters worldwide, Zhou writes: 'Although I am still physically weak, my heart is filled with peace and light from the Holy Spirit. Let us, in Christ, continue to focus on [our] Father's kingdom and righteousness.' And he adds: 'I thank you for the love and the help you offered for my family. I'm proud of you.'
Zhou, manager of the Yayi Christian Book Room, was arrested in August 2007 after receiving a large shipment of Bibles at a bus station (7x7, September 18, 2007). He was denied bail and later transferred to Xishan prison in Urumqi.
China Aid reports that Zhou was treated badly in custody and was forced to sleep on a concrete floor for a month. Guards instructed the 14 other detainees in Zhou's cell to beat him to force him to make a false confession. But Zhou refused.
Meanwhile, Release International is joining with other members of the Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP) to urge Christians worldwide to pray for Chinese Christians throughout 2008 and particularly during the Beijing Olympics in August. The RLP is calling on the church to pray for freedom of worship and an end to religious persecution in China.
Amnesty International has just released a report claiming that persecution is getting worse, not better, as the authorities in China try to create the façade of a stable society. 'It is increasingly clear that much of the current wave of repression is occurring not in spite of the Olympics but actually because of the Olympics,' The Olympics Countdown report says.
- Praise God for the release of Zhou Heng. Pray that God will bless him and his family and fill their home with His peace.
- Pray that China will end its repressive policies towards the church as the eyes of the world turn to Beijing for the Olympics.
