Additional Name(s): 王怡
Gender: Male
Current Location: Jintang Prison, Chengdu, Sichuan
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Sentence: 9 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: December/9/2018
Date of Sentencing: December/30/2019
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role Unregistered Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Illegal Business Activity Subversion
Wang Yi is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On December 9, 2018, authorities detained Wang, pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu and a former human rights attorney, alongside a hundred members of his congregation during a series of police raids on church gatherings. Wang and his congregation were targeted for failing to register their church with authorities and subject it to state regulation.
On December 30, 2019, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court sentenced Wang to 9 years in prison and 3 years of deprived political rights for "inciting subversion of state power" and "illegal business activity."
There are reports that Wang has been held in solitary confinement and been denied adequate medical care.
Wang is married.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) advocates for Wang as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO, Ret.) previously advocated for Wang as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.
Related Cases: Su Bingsen, Li Zihu, Dai Zhichao, Cao Qing'en
Photo used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. https://www.rfa.org. Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA.
USCIRF Commissioners Nury Turkel, David Curry, and Frank Wolf, Tweet, March 6, 2024
USCIRF Tweet February 17, 2022
"Wang Yi" Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
"Wang Yi" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
"China Sentences Wang Yi, Christian Pastor, to 9 Years in Prison" New York Times (NYT)
"Concerns Grow Over Health of Jailed Protestant Pastor in Sichuan's Chengdu" Radio Free Asia (RFA)
Additional Name(s): Su Zhimin, 苏志民
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: October/8/1997
Current Status: Unknown
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Disappeared
Reason for Persecution: Pilgrimage Religious Activity Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role
Nature of Charges: Not Applicable
James Su Zhimin was forcibly disappeared for his religious leadership role and activity.
In March 1996, Su, an unregistered bishop in Baoding, Hebei Province, was arrested as he led a procession of Catholics to a shrine near the village of Donglu in Hebei.
A month later, Su reportedly escaped custody and went into hiding.
On October 8, 1997, Su was recaptured and subjected to an enforced disappearance.
On November 15, 2003, Su was sighted at a hospital in Baoding, where he had undergone an eye operation and treatment for a heart ailment. He subsequently disappeared again.
On July 30, 2020, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on Su's case.
Su is a part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.
Prior to his most recent disappearance, Su Zhimin had spent around 26 years either in prison or forced labor camps. Since the 1950s, he has refused to join the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which does not recognize the Pope's authority.
USCIRF Tweet February 16, 2022
"Religious Freedom in China: The Case of Bishop James Su Zhimin" Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
"Testimony by Nury Turkel, Commissioner United States Commission on International Religious Freedom" USCIRF
"Bishop James Su Zhimin" Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
"Su Zhimin" Congressional-Executive Commission on China
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Vietnam
Ethnic Group: Ede
Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: October/6/2020
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief Unregistered Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Treason & Sedition
Y Tup Knul is detained for his religious belief and activity.
On October 6, 2020, authorities arrested Knul for his affiliation with the Degar Protestant Church, a religious movement not approved by the government. Authorities accused him of conducting activities to overthrow the government and subsequently charged him with "activities against the People's government" (Art. 109/2015 VCC). Since his arrest, Knul has been held incommunicado at an unknown location.
Knul is married.
Photo provided by Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam
"Montagnard Prisoners of Conscience, February 2022" Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam