A Chinese church leader has been sentenced to nine years in prison Monday morning following a secret trial.

Pastor Wang Yi is the pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church. He was found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations.” Both charges were given to him because of his position within the church, according to ChinaAid.

Wang was taken into custody on Dec. 9, 2018, along with 100 other members of his church. On Dec. 26, 2019, he was tried suddenly and secretly. Today, officials handed him a nine-year sentence along with three years of denied political rights and a 50,000 yuan ($9,300 CAD) fine.

“This is a pure case of unjust religious persecution against a peaceful preacher of a Chinese reformed church,” ChinaAid Founder and President Dr. Bob Fu says. “This grave sentence demonstrates Xi’s regime is determined to be the enemy of universal values and religious freedom. We call upon the international community to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party and hold this evil regime accountable.”

Recently, many of the church’s members have been mandated to meet with public security officials five times a day.

On November 29th, an elder of the church, Qin Defu, was sentenced to four years in prison. This verdict is in contradiction to the promise his family had received of Qin's conditional release, provided he accepted a state-appointed attorney.

Qin was charged with "illegal business operations" because of the Christian books used by the church. His lawyer adds that Pastor Wang could be facing a ten-year sentence, in part, for his admitted involvement with the use of the Christian materials.