The U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide has urged authorities in China to release Ma Yan, a 32-year-old Christian pastor jailed over an allegedly illegal Christian gathering.
Ma, from Yunnan Province, was charged and tried on Feb. 10 for “organizing illegal gatherings” involving fewer than 10 worshipers.
The pastor was first detained on Aug. 9, 2024, when police raided a small group of Christians at a guest house in Yinchuan’s Jinfeng District, according to CSW.
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Officers from the Jinfeng District Public Security Bureau took Ma and three other believers into custody, issuing an administrative detention order against them the following day for the offense of “disrupting public order.”
Two men in the group were detained for seven days, while Ma and another Christian were held for 10 days at the Yinchuan Detention Center. Once Ma completed his administrative detention on Aug. 20, the Jinfeng Public Security Bureau placed him under criminal detention on suspicion of “organizing illegal gatherings.”
CSW said Ma pleaded guilty during his trial to the charge of “organizing illegal gatherings,” which carries a more limited penalty compared to other charges.
The prosecution reportedly recommended a nine-month prison sentence, though no final verdict has been announced. The pastor’s family has expressed concern about potential long-term consequences if his nine-month sentence is confirmed.
The U.S.-based group China Aid said Ma became a Christian while studying at college and later began serving as a house church preacher in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Originally from Zhenxiong in Yunnan Province, he had visited another preacher’s family prior to his detention to offer support.
Shortly after Ma’s detention, his relatives released a public letter saying Christian gatherings do not constitute an unlawful activity and questioned the rationale behind the charges of disturbing social order.
Multiple Christian groups in China have organized prayer efforts, requesting personal and spiritual support for Ma and his wife, Meihang.
“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,” said CSW’s President Mervyn Thomas. “CSW calls on the authorities to release Ma immediately, and to declare him not guilty.”
Open Doors, which monitors Christian persecution globally, has said that the persecution of Christians in China is part of an expansive effort to control religious practice in China. This includes stringent regulations and enhanced digital surveillance specifically targeting unregistered “house churches.”
