An American pastor detained in China for nearly 20 years has been released

A Christian pastor from California has been freed from China after nearly 20 years behind bars and is back home in the U.S., the State Department said. Two groups say the 68-year-old David Lin was detained after he entered China in 2006, convicted of contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison. One advocacy group says that charge is frequently used against leaders in the house church movement, which operates outside state-sponsored faith groups. His sentence had been reduced and he had been due for release in April 2030. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom noted in 2019 that there were reports Lin was in declining health.