China Continues to Prevent Pastor Wang Yi from Meeting His Lawyer
Imprisoned Pastor Wang Yi from Sichuan’s Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) still has not been able to meet his lawyer, thanks to the Chinese government’s deliberate delays and obstruction.
In the notice issued by ERCC yesterday, the church said that it has been two weeks since Pastor Wang Yi’s lawyer Zhang Peihong met with officials from the People’s Procuratorate of Chengdu, yet there has been no response or whatsoever from the office to the meeting request of Zhang. According to China’s criminal procedure, Zhang should have been allowed to meet Wang a week ago.
In addition, local authorities continue to illegally restrict and closely monitor the parents and wife of Pastor Wang Yi, with the hope to prevent them from delegating another lawyer for Pastor Wang.
ERCC also went on to ask for prayers for the other church members who are still detained, including elder Li Yingqiang, elder Qin Derfu, Gou Zhongcan, and Li Chengju.
ERCC was heavily clamped down by the local government in December of last year. Pastor Wang Yi has been vocal in his criticism of Beijing’s crackdown on Christianity. Although most of the detained members have been released, many still live under surveillance or were sent to other provinces so they can no longer gather in Sichuan.
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