The German chapter of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) and the German Evangelical News Agency IDEA have named Evangelical Pastor Zhang Sen from Fuyang in Anhui Province, west of Shanghai, as “Prisoner of the Month for September.” He was staying with friends in Jiangsu Province, north of his hometown, when he was arrested in the late afternoon of July 9, 2025. According to a final message to his wife, Xu Chao, unknown individuals were in the process of breaking the lock on the door of the apartment he was visiting. His wife later learned of the arrest from eyewitnesses who took photographs. He was handcuffed and placed in a car with the license plates of his hometown.

Zhang Sen in a video screenshot © China Aid

The location where the father of three has been held since then has not yet been disclosed. The Maizhong Reformed Church, to which the pastor belongs, is a house church. It has not joined the Patriotic Three-Self Movement, which the communist state has designated as an umbrella organization for Protestant Christians. Because it thus evades the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), members of the church have been persecuted since the summer of 2021: They are monitored with electronic tracking devices or subjected to pressure through reprisals such as burglaries and arbitrary arrests. ISHR and IDEA are requesting appeals to Chinese President Xi Jinping to advocate for the pastor’s immediate release.