ICC Note:
China has increased its persecution of Christianity over the last several years. Despite appeals from lawyers about illegal arrests, the Chinese government still holds and, often, tortures imprisoned Christians. Fortunately, nine Christians were recently released right before the Lunar New Year. These state charged the Christians with “using a cult organization.” The ‘cult’ designation is very subjective and can be applied based on any whim. While Christianity in general is not considered a cult, government officials can apply it on a case-by-case basis to illegally detain Christians.
02/07/2017 China (China Aid)  Nine unlawfully detained Christians were released on bail prior to the Lunar New Year as their lawyers challenge the legality of their detention.
On Nov. 26, 12 Christians were taken into police custody, where four were released soon afterward, but eight received criminal detention sentences for “using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law.” Of these eight, four went free on bail.
Around this time another Christian was detained and freed.
After the 30-day detention limit was up, the police station applied to the Procuratorate for permission to arrest the 12 Christians. However, eight lawyers jointly appealed to protest the arrest, and only four people were arrested.
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