Founder of prominent underground church released from prison in China

China Releases Imprisoned Pastor Ezra Jin After U.S. Pressure

Jin’s release came after US President Donald Trump raised his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing in May.

The pastor and founder of the Zion Church had been imprisoned following overnight raids across China in October, described by Christian groups as one of the strictest crackdowns on religious activity in the country's modern history.

Ezra Jin is the founder of Zion Church, one of China's unregistered churches that some Christians choose to worship at instead of state-sanctioned ones, which are regulated by the government.