{"id":46294,"date":"2023-04-04T14:20:48","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T05:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=46294"},"modified":"2023-04-04T15:07:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T06:07:25","slug":"vomk-report-248","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2023\/04\/04\/vomk-report-248\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: UYGHUR PASTOR RELEASED AFTER 15-YEAR IMPRISONMENT"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46286″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Uyghur pastor Alimujiang Yimiti was released from prison last month after serving a 15-year sentence for allegedly providing state secrets to foreign nationals, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea. The ministry, which conducted an international campaign to send letters of encouragement to Pastor Alimujiang during his time in prison, is urging Christians to continue to pray for the pastor, and to send letters to other Christians still imprisoned for their faith. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>For the second time in a month we are overjoyed to report that a Christian <\/span>prisoner <\/span>on our letter writing list <\/span>has been released <\/span>and returned home,\u201d<\/span> says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley. <\/span>The ministry previously reported on <\/span>Vyacheslav Koldiaev<\/span>, a church deacon <\/span>released from prison in Arkhangelsk, Russia on March 3 after serving a two-year sentence<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]But Representative Foley cautions that prayers are often needed more after a prisoner is released than during the<\/span> imprisonment<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Former prisoners of faith often tell us that while they are in prison, the Lord feels very close to them, and then when they are released the<\/span> feel<\/span> overwhelmed by all the challenges of returning to normal life–especially when authorities are watching closely,\u201d she says. \u201c<\/span>In Pastor <\/span>Alimujiang<\/span>\u2019s case, <\/span>his children grew up during the fifteen years he was in prison. The family was only allowed to see him for fifteen minutes every three months. The pastor will need to recover his health, and the family will need to rebuild their relationships day-to-day and discover a new \u2018normal\u2019 family routine<\/span> together<\/span>. We should pray that the family <\/span>will experience<\/span> the <\/span>Lord<\/span>\u2019s comfort and strong, safe presence<\/span>, and that they <\/span>will know how to serve him in the coming days<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46292″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Alimujiang Yimiti, also known as Alim, converted from Islam to Christianity in 1995 and served as a house church pastor to Uyghurs in Kashgar, Xinjiang. In 2007, authorities initially accused Alim of using his business to <\/span>bring the Christian faith to<\/span> Kashgar.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that <\/span>Alim was detained on Jan<\/span>uary <\/span>12, 2008,<\/span> on charges of <\/span>inciting separatism and unlawfully providing state secrets to overseas organizations<\/span>,<\/span> due to a conversation he had with an American colleague, possibly about his interaction with authorities in 2007. <\/span>\u201cThey eventually dropped the <\/span>separatism charge <\/span>due to a lack of evidence <\/span>and <\/span>then tried <\/span>him a year later<\/span> on the state secrets charge,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>Alim was forced to remain in detention the whole time, and <\/span>Alim\u2019s family was prohibited from attending<\/span> both trials<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]On Aug. 6, 2009, the Kashi District Intermediate Court sentenced Alimujiang to 15 years imprisonment<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span> It was not until Oct. 27 that <\/span>year that <\/span>the court notified Alimujiang\u2019s wife and his <\/span>attorney<\/span> of the sentence.<\/span> Efforts to appeal were unsuccessful.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46289″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Uyghur pastor Alimujiang Yimiti (file photo)” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says while the world\u2019s awareness of China\u2019s <\/span>large-scale detainment of <\/span>Uyghurs<\/span> has grown <\/span>sign<\/span>i<\/span>ficantly <\/span>since <\/span>Alim\u2019s trial and conviction<\/span>, there remains little awareness that Christians are among those suffering. \u201cThere are an<\/span> estimated <\/span>1 to 2 <\/span>million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic minorities in concentration camps<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThe story of Pastor Alim is a reminder that Christians are among those imprisoned.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley also says that writing letters to Christians imprisoned for their faith is a ministry often neglected by Christians. \u201cMost Christians don\u2019t realize that it is often possible to write letters to Christians <\/span>like Pastor Alim or Deacon <\/span>Koldiaev<\/span>, to encourage them while they are in prison,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cChristians assume that the letters would be blocked or would create further troubles for Christian prisoners<\/span>, or they worry that they themselves will be tracked somehow for writing a letter<\/span>. But our website maintains a list of prisoners in places where mail can be received, and where a simple letter of Christian encouragement will not create trouble for the prisoner<\/span> or the letter writer<\/span>. Former prisoners frequently tell us how much letters from Christians around the world <\/span>meant to them <\/span>during their imprisonment.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The ministry\u2019s website currently lists the information and addresses for 11 Christians currently imprisoned for their faith, in countries including China, North Korea, and Eritrea. The list is accessible at <\/span><\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/prisoner-profiles\/<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46286″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Uyghur pastor Alimujiang Yimiti was released from prison last month after serving a 15-year sentence for allegedly providing state secrets to foreign nationals, according to Voice of …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":46287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46294"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46299,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46294\/revisions\/46299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}