China Jails Priest for 6 Years for Bible Printing

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Chinese court has sentenced a Roman Catholic priest to six years in jail for printing bibles and other books aimed at spreading the religion, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said Saturday.

A court in Cannan county in the eastern province of Zhejiang sentenced Jiang Shurang on April 25 for ``illegal operation'' and ``illegal publishing,'' the Information Center for Human Rights & Democracy said in a statement.

Speak your mind Discuss this story with other people. [Start a Conversation] (Requires Yahoo! Messenger)

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Chinese constitution, but Beijing permits worship only at state approved ``patriotic'' churches.

Beijing does not recognize the authority of the Pope, forcing millions of Roman Catholics to worship in secret.

Authorities have arrested five other Roman Catholic priests in the same county since January and their status was unknown, the rights group said.

Since February, authorities in the county have also shut down at least seven Catholic churches which refused to join the Communist party-backed ``Catholic Patriotic Association,'' it said.

Jiang, arrested last December, was launching an appeal of the ruling and was banned from seeing visitors, it said.