June 9, 2017
Chinese Christian lawyer Jiang Tianyong has not been seen
since he disappeared last November. Now, his family have been told he’s been
charged with trying to overthrow the regime – and faces a potential life
sentence.
Jiang Tianyong went missingas he returned from
visiting the family of a fellow lawyer who had been detained during the July
2015 crackdown on ‘dissidents’. Jiang is thought to have been held incommunicado
in an illegal ‘black jail’ until now.
Please pray for peace and perseverance for our brother Jiang Tianyong as
he awaits trial.
Jiang’s father has just received a statement from a local Public Security
Bureau in southern Hunan province informing him that Jiang was charged with
‘subversion of state power’ on May 31.
Jiang, a fierce advocate for minorities’ religious rights and broader
human rights, was charged in December with ‘inciting subversion of state power’
and sentenced to spend time in an unofficial ‘black jail’. His family have now
been told he’s being held at Changsha No. 1 Detention Centre – the first
official confirmation of his whereabouts for six months.
- Pray that the Holy Spirit will fill Jiang afresh, giving him the power and strength he needs to endure.
- Pray for the immediate release of Jiang Tianyong and all the other lawyers and activists arrested during and since the 2015 crackdown.
- Pray for peace for Jiang’s wife, Jin Bianling, and their daughter who have fled to the US to avoid further harassment.
(Sources: China Aid, Reuters)
UPDATE
Please stand with us in praying for our Christian family in Marawi in the
southern Philippines who are still coming to terms with a brutal extremist attack on their community on May 23. It has now
emerged that the attackers shot dead eight Christians captured as they tried to
flee Marawi: they were killed after refusing to recite the Islamic creed. Eleven
other civilians were also killed. Pastor Teresito ‘Chito’ Suganob was abducted
from St Mark’s Cathedral along with 13 other members of the congregation: his
kidnappers released a video last week in which Pastor Teresito was seen pleading
for his life. More than 200 people were kidnapped and remain
missing.
(Source:
Morning Star News) Release Int.
