China releases underground Church pastor Ezra Jin Mingri months after Trump sought his freedom

Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, a leader of one of China's best-known underground churches, has been released from detention and reunited with his family, months after US President Donald Trump personally raised his case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing.

According to a report in AP, Jin arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday, marking the end of nearly nine months in detention. His release comes less than two months after Trump publicly said he had urged Xi to consider freeing the pastor, with the Xi reportedly responding that he would give the request "serious consideration."

According to AFP, the pastor was told by Chinese officials that his release "resulted from discussions between Trump and Xi, and was presented as a goodwill gesture coinciding with America's Independence Day"

Rights groups confirm pastor's release

Frances Hui of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation announced on X that Pastor Jin had safely arrived in the United States and had finally been reunited with his family.

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The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group of lawmakers from several democratic countries, also confirmed the release. The organisation shared a photograph of Jin smiling alongside his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, after their reunion.

Jin serves as a pastor of the underground Zion Church, one of China's most prominent unregistered Protestant congregations. Churches that operate outside the state-approved religious system have frequently faced restrictions and government action in China.

Arrest followed major crackdown

Pastor Jin was detained in October along with 17 other church leaders in what rights groups described as one of the largest crackdowns on a single church in China in decades.

The arrests came shortly after Chinese authorities introduced stricter regulations governing religious activities. The new rules, issued by the country's top religious affairs regulator, prohibit unauthorised online preaching, religious training by clergy and activities deemed to involve "foreign collusion."

The crackdown renewed international concerns over Beijing's tightening control over religious organisations and restrictions on freedom of worship.

Trump's intervention brought global attention

Jin's case gained international attention after Trump discussed it directly with Xi during his state visit to China in May.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to the US, Trump said he believed Xi was giving "very serious consideration" to releasing the detained pastor.

At the same time, Trump said Xi had indicated that the case of jailed Hong Kong media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai would be much more difficult.

Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this year after being convicted on charges including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious material.