Protestant Pastor Xu Yonghai and 11 members of his church were still in detention in February, weeks after the Holy Love Fellowship house church was raided.
According to reports, 18 or 19 Christians had gathered to study the Bible together in a member’s house in Tongzhou, Beijing, when police arrived and detained 15 members of the group at the local police station. Four, including Pastor Xu Yonghai, were later released. However, Xu was detained again a few days later.
The 12 are being held in Beijing Municipal First Detention Centre. According to a police announcement, they are being criminally detained for their alleged participation in demonstrations and illegal assembly.
Several days before this incident, an official from the District Civil Affairs Bureau came to another Bible study session and accused the group of being an illegal gathering because they had not formally registered in accordance with Article 12 of the Regulations on Religious Affairs, which stipulates that collective religious activities be held at registered sites and presided over by religious personnel or other qualified persons.
It has also been suggested that there may be a connection between the crackdown and Pastor Xu’s own situation. Xu has been under surveillance for several years in connection with pro-democracy activities and supporting unregistered Christian groups. He was previously sentenced to two years of re-education through labour after signing a statement calling for democracy and the rule of law on the sixth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre; in 2003 he was imprisoned for two years for aiding a house church in Anshan.
Lawyer Liang Xiaojun and other human-rights lawyers are planning to represent those detained.
