Huang Yizi denied access to lawyers, refused family visits

Photo: Pastor Huang Yizi has been
detained for the second time just six
weeks after being released from prison.

(Photo: China Aid)

China Aid
Reported in Chinese by Qiao Nong. Translated and edited in English by Brynne Lawrence

(Wenzhou, Zhejiang—Oct. 16, 2015) Suspected of “stealing, spying on, buying or illegally providing State secrets for institutions, organizations and people outside the country,” Huang Yizi, the pastor of a church in China’s coastal Zhejiang, has been detained since Sept. 12 and denied permission to see his family or meet with a lawyer.

Lin, Huang’s wife, stated in an interview with a China Aid reporter that, despite familial concern for his well-being, Wenzhou officials denied Huang’s relatives the opportunity to send him necessities, such as money and clothes.

“They won’t even let him meet with lawyers, let alone family members. They also haven’t let us know his whereabouts. We want to go to the detention center and give him a little money to use or give him some clothes. This would make our hearts somewhat more at ease. As it is now, our hearts are not at ease,” Lin said.

According to Lin, the authorities failed to provide Huang’s family with any official information about his case, even though he has been imprisoned for over a month.

In July 2014, Huang was criminally detained by police for leading Christians to the local government building to call for an investigation into the official who beat church members during the demolition of a church cross in the town of Shuitou. He was criminally detained for a year for “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order” and was released on Aug. 1, 2015. He only spent six weeks out of police custody before being taken from his home on Sept. 12.

Lin informed China Aid that there are now a total of 15 Christians detained in Wenzhou, including human rights lawyer Zhang Kai and his two assistants. Additionally, authorities detained Cheng Chaohua, a member of the China Evangelical Concern Group that Huang Yizi led, and Yan Xiaojie.

“The government does us too great a harm when they treat a religious worker and a person who cares about the church like this,” Lin states.

China Aid works to expose abuses of religious freedom and infringements of legal rights, such as those faced by Huang Yizi and his family.


China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.chinaaid.org

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Huang Yizi denied access to lawyers, refused family visits

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