Extra Bio Info:

Marco Girgis is imprisoned for blasphemy.

On June 14, 2021, authorities arrested Girgis for having pictures on his phone deemed to be offensive to Islam. During interrogation, he was reportedly questioned about his alcohol consumption, relationships with women, and images of a sexual nature found on his phone. Prosecutors charged him with “insulting heavenly religions” (Art. 98(f) ECC), “assaulting Egyptian family values” (Art. 25 Cyber-Crime Law, 2018), and “misusing social media” (Art. 27 Cyber-Crime Law, 2018), among others.

On January 29, 2022, the Cairo Economic Court sentenced Girgis to five years' imprisonment for exploiting religion to spread extremist thoughts, contempt of Islam, and assaulting Egyptian family values.

On September 12, 2022, an appeals branch of the Cairo Economic Court upheld Girgis's sentence.

On March 6, 2024, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest review court on questions of law, rejected Girgis' petition for appeal.

Extra Bio Info:

John Cao was imprisoned because of his religious identity and missionary work.

On March 5, 2017, the Menglian County Police of Yunnan Province detained Cao, a pastor, humanitarian worker, and U.S. permanent resident, on the border between China and Burma, where he had engaged in humanitarian work since 2013. Human rights activists believed Cao was targeted for his religion since among the individuals crossing the border in Cao's group, only Cao and his other Christian colleague were detained. 

On March 28, 2017, Cao was formally arrested and charged with "illegally crossing the border" (Art. 322 CCL).

On March 22, 2018, Cao was sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly “organizing illegal border crossings.”

On July 25, 2019, the Pu’er Intermediate Court upheld his conviction and sentence.

In September 2019, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Cao "was singled out due to his Christian faith and that the Measures were implemented against him in a manner that constituted profiling and discrimination on the basis of Mr. Cao’s religious identity."

In March 2024, Cao was released from prison after completing his sentence.

Cao was reportedly forced to live in inhumane living conditions and been denied medical adequate care. He reportedly suffers from severe back pain, headaches, inflammation, and dental issues and has experienced significant weight loss. 

Cao is married with two children. His wife and children are U.S. citizens. 

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) advocated for Cao as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.

Extra Bio Info:

Wang Yi is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On December 9, 2018, authorities detained Wang, pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu and a former human rights attorney, alongside a hundred members of his congregation during a series of police raids on church gatherings. Wang and his congregation were targeted for failing to register their church with authorities and subject it to state regulation.

On December 30, 2019, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court sentenced Wang to 9 years in prison and 3 years of deprived political rights for "inciting subversion of state power" and "illegal business activity."

There are reports that Wang has been held in solitary confinement and been denied adequate medical care.

Wang is married.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) advocates for Wang as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO, Ret.) previously advocated for Wang as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.

Related Cases: Su Bingsen, Li Zihu, Dai Zhichao, Cao Qing'en