Court upholds 15-year sentence of Chinese Christian

Pray for Alimujiang Yimiti's release
from prison.

Alimujiang Yimiti will not be released from prison anytime soon.

ChinaAid has learned that the Higher People’s Court of Xinjiang ruled to uphold the original sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. A notice was sent mid-February to Alim, who is serving his sentence in Xinjiang’s No. 3 Prison.

Alim, a Uyghur house-church leader, was arrested in January 2008. He was sentenced in 2009 to 15 years’ imprisonment for “providing state secrets to overseas organizations.” The charge was based on two private conversations between Alim and an American friend, even though there was no evidence to suggest that sensitive information was discussed.

In November 2010, a high court accepted Alim’s appeal to have his case reviewed. In December 2010, Alim’s wife and two lawyers prepared an appeal. The judge, however, informed them that the collegiate bench had already studied the case and made a decision.

We’ll have more information about Alim in our upcoming April newsletter, along with other China updates. Want to subscribe? Go here.

You can also visit http://www.freealim.com/ to sign a petition to free Alim. Or visit http://www.prisoneralert.com/ to write a letter to Alim in his own language.