Case Details and Biography of Ma Tao, Elder of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, Who Was Arrested

（Rights Defense Network Information Center report）On June 21, 2026， this website learned the case details and biography of Ma Tao, elder of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, who was arrested. They are reported as follows：

Ma Tao：Born on July 20, 1984， his original name was Ma Shutao. He is from Yingshang County, Anhui Province， a resident of Nanzhao Town, Yingshang County， a Christian， an elder of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” in the Economic and Technological Development Zone of Fuyang City, Anhui Province， a victim of religious persecution， and a Chinese prisoner of conscience in custody。

He is kind and friendly， and because of his devout belief in Jesus Christ， he became involved in ministry at the Wheat Seed Reformed house church in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, at an early stage and became a preacher； however, because his church maintained the house-church position in matters of faith， and openly refused to join the “Three-Self” churches controlled by the Chinese Communist government， he was placed under stability-maintenance surveillance by the authorities； at the end of August 2021， his church was raided for the first time by police from Yingzhou District, Fuyang City， and was subsequently banned by the local civil affairs bureau on the grounds that it had “engaged in activities in the name of a social organization without registration”， but he and the church’s other pastors and believers did not fear the risks and continued to hold gatherings quietly and with difficulty； however， for precisely this reason， the church’s pastors and several co-workers and key believers often encountered arrests and suppression by the authorities；

On June 29, 2025， while his church and the Covenant Church, a preaching station, were holding worship services, they were again raided by local police. Multiple church groups were forced to stop meeting， and he, Pastor Chang Shun, and 17 other pastors and believers（including four children）were taken away together on suspicion of “illegal assembly”； the following day（June 30）， most of them were gradually released， but he and Pastor Chang Shun were criminally detained on suspicion of “organizing illegal gatherings”； on August 6 of the same year， the two were formally arrested by the Fuyang Municipal Procuratorate on the same charge. During the same period, Pastor Zhang Sen of their church was also arrested and the case was consolidated with theirs； by October 22， it was learned that the police had transferred the case of the three men to the Yingzhou District Procuratorate of Fuyang City for review and prosecution on the charge of “organizing illegal gatherings”； on March 21, 2026， the case was formally prosecuted by the Yingzhou District Procuratorate of Fuyang City； the indictment alleged that the three men, Ma Tao, Zhang Sen, and Chang Shun, had repeatedly held “illegal gatherings” in their respective capacities as elder and pastors and had allowed children to participate in worship services. In particular, Ma Tao had, on October 16, 2021， October 21, 2023， January 2024， and March–June 2025， organized numerous “illegal gathering” activities in the name of the “Wheat Seed Reformed Church” in Yingzhou District of Bengbu City and Yingshang County， also involving multiple minors； it further alleged that the pastors had also allowed their respective children to receive religiously oriented teaching and education， and therefore their conduct constituted “disturbing social order” and was serious in nature, violating relevant provisions of the Criminal Law, and thus public prosecution was initiated； from June 9 to 12, 2026， the case of the three men was formally heard at that court， but no verdict had been issued as of yet。 They are currently being held at the Fuyang City Detention Center（Lukan Road, Yingquan District, Fuyang City, Anhui Province， postal code：236050）。