HONG KONG, Oct. 19, 00 (CWNews.com) - A Chinese Protestant arrested for practicing his faith has died in a jail after being beaten by police and then denied medical care, according to a Hong Kong-based human rights group.
The Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said Liu Haitong, 19, was arrested by police during a raid on September 4 on home in Henan province being used as an underground church. The center said Liu was beaten and left in the prison without adequate food or care, and began vomiting and developed a fever. Liu died in the jail on October 16.
The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope, and the Three-Self Protestant Association. Many Catholics and Protestants worship in illegal, underground churches with the Catholics following only bishops appointed by the Pope.
Henan has been the center of a crackdown on religion in recent months. The center said the crackdowns are likely to intensify following decisions made last week at an annual meeting of the Communist Party's elite. Immediately after the meeting, Public Security Minister Jia Chunwang ordered police to target members of cults, separatists and "religious extremists." The latter phrase, the center said, is code for people worshipping outside official churches.
CWN - Catholic World News
19. oktober 2000