A Christian pastor in Central China has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for fraud and for gathering crowds to disturb public order.

But supporters say the case of Pastor Zhang Shaojie is part of a crackdown aimed at suppressing religious activity in most of China.

Pastor Zhang heads the Nanle County Christian Church in Henan province.

Like Us on Facebook

His church is sanctioned by the Chinese government which allows worship in state-monitored groups.

The court sentence said Zhang was convicted of instigating years-old disputes between members of his congregation, and local businesses over land for a new building of the church.

Zhang was detained last year after the land dispute, but his lawyer, Yang Xingquan, said he was targeted due to his popularity in a region that has seen rapid growth in the number of Christians.

His lawyer said the dispute has been dismissed long ago.

The Nanle country court also heard accusations that Zhang swindled money, but prosecutors failed to produce a key witness to testify.

Christian  organizations worldwide have complained about an obvious crackdown on Christian churches in China, citing incidents of repression in areas where the Christian population has been growing.

In the eastern Zhejiang province, where Christianity has been particularly popular, church members have complained about local governments tearing down crosses on  churches, even when these have been officially sanctioned, on flimsy grounds that they lack construction permits.

China has 23 million Christians according to government estimates. Also scattered across China are unsanctioned home churches that have attracted millions of worshippers. The Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center reported there could be as many as 67 million Christians in the country in 2010, 58 million of whom are Protestants and nine million Catholics.

Bob Fu, who leads the U.S.-based Christian rights group China Aid, said the verdict against Zhang was "totally unacceptable" and shows that the Chinese government "continues to cover up religious persecution with fabricated criminal charges" against innocent church leaders.

TagsChristians, Nanle