David Lin was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for his involvement with an underground Christian church.
A California pastor has returned home after spending nearly two decades imprisoned in China.
David Lin, aged 68, was released and is now reunited with his family in the United States, the State Department confirmed Monday.
Lin, who frequently traveled to China in the 1990s to spread the Christian gospel, was detained in 2006 while assisting an underground church, according to China Aid, an advocacy group for persecuted religious activists in China.
In 2009, Lin was formally arrested on charges of contract fraud, a crime that he denied. After a court review, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Though he initially sought government permission to carry out his ministry work, it is unlikely he was ever granted official approval.
“We welcome David Lin’s release from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years”, the State Department said in a statement.
The U.S.
