CHINA: AUTHORITIES PRESSURING ATTORNEYS OF PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
Eighteen Chinese Christians from Beijing’s Zion Church have been held at the Beihai Detention Center in Guangxi Province since October 2025 while they await trial. Now the attorneys representing them are reportedly facing pressure from authorities as well.
That’s the word from Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its US-based partner China Aid, who have been advocating for the detained Zion Church leaders since the church’s senior pastor, the Korean-Chinese Ezra Jin, was arrested along with 29 other Zion Church leaders in the largest one-day crackdown in history on a single Chinese house church. Eighteen of those leaders, including Pastor Jin, remain in custody on charges of “illegal use of information networks” and possibly “illegal business operations” and “fraud”.
According to the persecution watchdog groups, the attorneys are not only being prevented from defending their clients. They are being prevented from practicing law at all.
“Several of the attorneys defending the Zion Church leaders have been summoned and warned by local judicial authorities, and some have been forced to suspend their law practice,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. “Some of the attorneys have even had their licenses formally revoked, which means they are no longer legally permitted to serve as attorneys.”
File photo from the original location of Zion Church
Families of the eighteen detainees and fellow Zion Church members issued a statement through the church’s social media channels protesting the authorities’ treatment of the attorneys and demanding that the authorities permit fair legal representation for the Zion Church detainees. The statement says in part:
“We are deeply grieved to see that the legal team providing defense for our loved ones is facing extremely severe repression…. We strongly protest such despicable actions. Lawyers providing legal defense in accordance with the law is one of the most fundamental guarantees of every citizen’s rights. To strip lawyers of their right to practice is to deprive our loved ones of their last opportunity for a fair trial.”
File photo of Zion Church worship service.
The statement includes three demands:
“1.The immediate cessation of all threats, summons, warnings, and repression against the legal team;
2. The restoration of the practice rights of all lawyers who have been suspended or had their licenses revoked;
3.The guarantee that lawyers can perform their duties normally and provide legal assistance to our loved ones without any external interference.”
The statement concludes with a call for “all sectors of society, members of the legal community, and all who are concerned about justice” to continue to monitor the case and advocate for the attorneys.
Representative Foley says that despite the pressure, the attorneys representing the Zion Church detainees are committed to continuing their work. “There are other attorneys who are also quietly doing work on behalf of the Zion detainees and their attorneys,” she says.
Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley and CEO Pastor Eric Foley hosting the two-hour East Asia segment of the 24-hour Zion Church global prayer relay.
Representative Foley is a clinically trained counselor who teaches trauma recovery from a Christian perspective to persecuted Christians globally. She says she was asked to provide her materials to individuals connected with the attorneys defending the Zion detainees.
“Trauma is a real issue not only for persecuted Zion Christians and their families but also for the attorneys defending them,” says Representative Foley. “Christians around the world should be praying not only for the detainees but also—and especially now—for their attorneys.”
Beijing Zion Church was once one of the largest house churches in the capital. Since being banned in 2018, it has remained under intense surveillance by the authorities. An estimated 50,000 people participated in a 24-hour worldwide prayer relay for Zion Church on November 11, 2025, including more than ten thousand people inside China. Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its partner China Aid co-hosted the event on Zoom along with China’s Early Rain Ministry and Mayflower Church, two other ministries who have faced significant persecution from the Chinese government.
The Beihai Municipal Public Security Bureau has not responded to the latest developments in the Zion Church case or to allegations that attorneys have been pressured.
Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with persecuted Christians in China can visit www.vomkorea.com/en/china.