Authorities in China’s Guizhou Province have arrested six Christians connected to a house church in the city of Kaili. They are accused of fraud and of “organising activities involving minors that undermine public order.”

According to human rights advocates, the criminal case was triggered by ordinary Sunday school classes for children, the inVictory portal reports.

Human rights defenders say that the Chinese authorities regard children’s church classes and the participation of children in Christian worship services as violations of the law. ChinaAid President Dr Bob Fu described the situation as “a dangerous escalation in the persecution of religious freedom.”

He stated that criminal prosecution for Sunday school activities and teaching children the Christian faith constitutes an abuse of the law and a violation of the rights of parents and the church.

Lawyers in China have also expressed concern over the charges. According to them, the article on “organising minors for activities that disrupt public order” was previously applied to cases involving fights, theft and other crimes threatening public safety. Now, however, the authorities have begun using it against the religious upbringing of children.

Human rights advocates believe this demonstrates the expanding control of the Chinese Communist Party over the religious life of citizens.

Earlier, we reported that a married couple of American missionaries who had worked in the country for many years were deported from the Chinese city of Guangzhou. Chinese Christians were also arrested for distributing printed Christian materials.

As LF previously reported, the state-run Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China supported the government’s ban on pastoral activities by unregistered clergy and on the use of unauthorised places of worship.

Earlier, we wrote that the Chinese authorities are increasing pressure on underground Catholic communities in an effort to force them to join the state-controlled official church. This was stated by the organisation Human Rights Watch in its report.