Eight Christians arrested on 8 and 9 September 1992 in several villages of Shouguang county, Shandong province, were allegedly beaten and subjected to torture or ill-treatment in detention. The 8 Christians were members of a local group of the New Testament Church. Seven of those detained have been identified: Zhang Lezhi, a tradesman; Yan Peizhi, and his wife, Zheng Yulian; Xu Zhihe, and his wife, Guo Ruiping; Zhu Zizheng, and Hu Jinting, all farmers. Five of those detained were held without charge for between one to three months and then released, but three others, Zhang Lezhi, Yan Peizhi and Xu Zhihe, were tried in December 1992 and sentenced to three years’ “reform through labour”. The exact charges are not known, but may relate to their peaceful religious activities.
