Christian pastor being horrifically tortured in China Is an ‘utterly grievous injustice,’ group says

China, June 30, 2017: Persecution watchdog groups have decried the “cruel” and horrific torture an imprisoned Christian pastor is being subjected to in China, calling it an “utterly grievous injustice.”

“In 2014, Pastor Zhang Shaojie was unjustly sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment and an extortionate fine. Recent reports that he is on the verge of death after being tortured in prison would be an unacceptable abuse of human rights even if he were guilty, but the deliberate ill-treatment of an unjustly sentenced pastor is an utterly grievous injustice,” Christian Solidarity Worldwide Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We call on the Chinese authorities to immediately stop the mistreatment of Pastor Zhang and to review his sentence with a view to securing his unconditional release. We further urge the Chinese government to ensure that the right to freedom of religion or belief is fully protected in China.”

China Aid, which monitors human rights abuses in China, reported late last week that Zhang’s daughter, Zhang Huixin, who currently lives in the U.S., has been speaking out against the mistreatment of her father who has been in Xinxiang Prison of Henan Province for almost four years now, as part of his 12-year sentence.

“They cruelly torture my father,” the daughter described. “He’s unable to see the sun during the day. He’s deprived of sleep for 24 hours at a time. The prison gives him only one steamed bun a day and intentionally starves him. According to people who have been released from that prison, my father is barely alive, suffering both mentally and physically.”

– christian post