Ezra Jin describes harsh prison conditions in first comments since release from China.
Pastor Ezra Jin has been released from detention in China and reunited with his family in the U.S., his family said Saturday, July 4, 2026. YouTube ScreenshotDays after reuniting with his family for the first time in eight years on the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, Chinese house church Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri has vowed not to rest until he sees the release of eight other church members still behind bars in China, where they are confined to cramped cells and must sleep on floor mats in blistering heat.
Jin, 56, was released from detention last week after 266 days in a Chinese prison. He was detained along with 28 other leaders and members of Beijing Zion Church last October. His release came less than two months after President Donald Trump raised his case with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
In an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal, the founder of Beijing Zion Church expressed hope that his release might mark a “new chapter for people of faith in China” where “people can freely worship.”
“Such a future might seem impossibly remote, but so did my release,” Jim wrote, after explaining that he thought he was being taken to a trial when guards ushered him into a van last Friday. While he expected a long sentence for leading an underground house church, he was instead freed with all charges dropped. CD
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