The Christian Post – China announced it upholds a North Carolina pastor’s seven-year prison sentence for so-called, “organizing illegal border crossings” — a crime more commonly applied to human traffickers — despite his appeal.
Pastor John Cao, who along with a fellow Christian teacher, allegedly crossed the China-Myanmar border last March, filed an appeal for being wrongfully convicted in 2018. After postponing Cao’s hearing several times, a court in China’s Yunnan province announced July 25 its decision to uphold the sentence, persecution watch group International Christian Concern reported.
The court was surrounded by a heavy police presence, according to China Aid, which also noted that Cao’s 83-year-old mother, his sister and their lawyer were allowed to hear the verdict.
