Imprisoned China pastor finally permitted to meet with lawyer
A lawyer was finally given permission to meet with an incarcerated pastor in China after a month of attempting to see his client.
Lawyer Chen Jiangang had requested many times for permission to see his client Yang Hua, whom he last saw on March 23, but his requests had been denied. However, on April 22, he was granted the permission to talk to his client, according to China Aid.
Yang is a pastor of Huoshi Church. He was detained on Dec. 9, 2015 on initial charges of "obstructing justice." Days after, authorities accused Yang of "gathering a crowd to disturb social order." He was supposed to be released on Dec. 20, but when his wife went to pick him up, she saw him being escorted into a vehicle, his head covered by a hood.
The charge raised against Yang was changed to the criminal charge of "illegally holding state secrets." After a month, authorities changed his charges once more to "divulging state secrets."
Yang's wife, Wang Hongwu, told China Aid in a previous interview that her husband had not been tortured nor forced to confess the crimes he was being accused of. She learned, however, that authorities did threaten him, saying they have control over the case.
"We know we cannot change your beliefs. However, we control everything and can completely succeed in painting you as a greedy pastor, causing you to lose all of your reputation," they reportedly said to Yang.
Zhao Yonglin, another lawyer who works with Chen on the case, said that when they saw Yang in March, he had lost weight. He added that although Yang missed his family greatly, he seemed "mentally peaceful."
Chen and Zhao also had had to file repeated requests to see their client before they were granted permission to meet with him last month.
Huoshi Church in Guiyang has faced intense persecution from the authorities, especially since mid-2015. Government officers reportedly intimidated church members through one-on-one interrogations in order to stop them from participating in church events.
