Pastor Zhang Shaojie has been released after serving 12 years in prison according to Release International’s partner for China.
Pastor Zhang Shaojie was detained in November 16, 2013, following a dispute with local government authorities over a plot of land that his church had the legally acquired rights to. He and other church leaders had been planning to have a new church and ministry built on the land. The year after being detained he was charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order” and “fraud”.
Church members believed the Chinese authorities had targeted him in order to obtain the land and to prevent the ministry of the church from growing.
Prayer Request: Release International’s partner for China has requested that we continue to pray for Pastor Zhang Shaojie and his family, as the Chinese Communist Party has installed a large number of facial recognition cameras around his home, and have not allowed anyone to visit.
