Five Christians have been sentenced for up to 5 years in prison for meeting in an underground church in China, Persecution.org reports. The five believers were some of 40 who were gathered to pray when their service was disrupted by armed policemen in March of 2016.
They have been charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order.” China has been cracking down hard on underground church members in an attempt to coerce unregistered churches to join the state-run church known as the Three Self Patriotic Movement.
All five Christians, who are ethnic Han Chinese, pleaded not guilty and said they would appeal the verdict.
