Published on: 18 September 2024
DOHI STAFF
Chinese authorities have released 68-year-old US citizen, Pastor David Lin, after 18 years in prison. In 2006, Pastor Lin was in China working to establish a Christian training center in Beijing when authorities arrested him on false charges of “contract fraud.” He was given a life sentence in 2009. The sentence was reduced to 19.5 years in 2012. After several more sentence reductions throughout the years, Pastor Lin was expected to be released in December 2029.
Lin was active in the underground church movement in China. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has noted that this movement “has long faced hostility from Chinese authorities” and believers often face “intimidation, harassment, arrest, and harsh sentences.”
“Today we praise God that Pastor Lin was released after nearly two decades of being unjustly detained in a Chinese prison! As of Sunday, September 15, Lin is once again standing on American soil and reunited with his family. We pray that he will enjoy this new season in freedom with his loved ones. May the Lord use him mightily in the struggle to bring other religious prisoners in China to freedom.” Paul H. Popov – President of Door of Hope International
Pastor Lin was on US Department of State’s prisoner priority list and considered by them to be wrongfully detained in China.
