David Lin, 68, was detained when he entered China in 2006. He's just been reunited with his family.
David Lin, 68, was detained after he entered China in 2006, later convicted of contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and advocacy groups.
"We welcome David Lin's release from prison in the People's Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and reunited with his family for the first time in nearly 20 years," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. The charge is frequently used against leaders of churches that operate outside state-sponsored faith groups, and it is a crime that Lin denied, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, a humanitarian group that advocates for prisoners in China. The Commission on Religious Freedom says those leading and taking part in churches not sanctioned by the Chinese government "often face intimidation, harassment, arrest and harsh sentences.
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