Ms. An Mei, Victim in the Zion Church 10/9 Case, Released on Bail, Loses 30 Jin in Weight, Bank Cards Frozen, ID Card Withheld, Life Driven to Desperation

On June 29, 2026, this outlet learned that on June 18, 2026, after Ms. An Mei, a victim in the Zion Church 10/9 case, walked out of prison after being released on bail pending trial, she discovered that her weight had fallen by more than 30 jin compared with before her arrest. She suffered from back pain and nausea and felt unwell all over. She had no place to live and was unable to rent a home, restore her mobile phone number, or reactivate her bank cards, because all of these required an identity card. Her identity card had been taken away by political-security case officers, who refused to return it. All of her bank cards had been frozen by Zhu Qimin of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Beihai Municipal Public Security Bureau, leaving her life in desperate circumstances.

With no alternative, Ms. An Mei and her representative Ma Lianshun went to the Yinhai Branch of the Beihai Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Beihai Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Beihai Municipal Public Security Bureau on June 26, in the rain, to seek redress.

An Mei: Born on October 17, 1972, she is from Alxa Right Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and a tenant of Room 802, Unit 2, Building 3, 21 Degrees Mansion, Yinhai District, Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; a Christian, full-time worker at Zion Church, victim in the Zion Church 10/9 case, and prisoner of conscience.

She accepted the Gospel and converted to Jesus Christ as early as 2009, after which she went to Beijing to work and live. In October 2018, she began participating in worship at Beijing Zion Church and became an active member of the church. Unexpectedly, the following year, Beijing Zion Church, where she worshipped, was banned by the Beijing authorities on the charge of promoting a “cult” because it refused to come under the administration of the “Three-Self” church. The church was therefore forced to become what was called an “underground house church.” However, in the face of this attack on the church, she did not abandon her faith, but instead continued for a long time within the faith community to read the Bible and maintain the gathering activities of the church’s family groups. In 2023, she went to Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and joined the service work of the Beihai branch of Zion Church.

From October 9 to 10, 2025, all branches of Zion Church nationwide were suddenly subjected to coordinated mass arrests by the police. Within just two days, 28 pastors and church workers were arrested. On October 10, she was also arrested at her rented residence in Yinhai District, Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and her residence was searched. She later learned that she, along with multiple pastors, church workers, and key believers, had been criminally detained by the Yinhai District police in Beihai City on suspicion of “the crime of illegally using information networks.” On November 18, except for some people who were released on bail, the 18 pastors and church workers, including her, were formally arrested by the Yinhai District police in Beihai City on the same charge. On December 19 of the same year, her defense lawyer went to the detention center to meet with her, but was unexpectedly obstructed. The lawyer was later verbally informed that because the charge against her had been changed from “the crime of illegally using network information” to “endangering national security,” arrangements for a meeting would be refused. Subsequently, because the police never provided formal written notification or documentation regarding the change in her charge, her criminal defense lawyer and complaint lawyer took joint action, twice filing formal complaints with the Beihai procuratorial authorities, the public security bureau’s petition-and-complaint department, and the Beihai Municipal Public Security Bureau regarding the officer who obstructed the meeting and the circumstances of her interrogation. They alleged that the project team had two major serious problems: 1) collecting evidence from An Mei through illegal methods including threats, inducement, and deception; and 2) subjecting An Mei to torture to extract a confession, causing serious physical harm, and using this as a pretext to prevent her lawyer from meeting with her, thereby allegedly covering up illegal conduct. In addition, the lawyers discovered that, compared with the suspect, she had no expenses whatsoever in the detention center. The lawyers therefore called on the relevant authorities to immediately investigate the above allegations, stop the illegal collection of evidence, and protect, in accordance with the law, detainees’ rights to meet with lawyers and to make basic purchases. She was detained at Beihai No. 1 Detention Center (on the right near the Yinhai District Public Security Bureau in Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; postal code: 536000). On June 18, 2026, An Mei was released on bail pending trial.