BEIJING — On June 10, a Beijing court found Christian bookstore owner Shi Weihan guilty of “illegal business operation” and sentenced him to three years in prison and a $21,975 fine.
Sources said Shi’s store operated legally and sold only books for which he had obtained government permission and that his Holy Spirit Trading Co. printed Bibles and Christian literature without authorization but only for free distribution to local house churches.
The 38-year-old Shi had been released Jan. 4, 2008, because of insufficient evidence for the same vague charge of “illegal business operation,” but he was arrested again two months later and held virtually incommunicado.
The court ruling appears to have allowed time that Shi has spent in jail to count toward his sentence, a source said, as his prison term was described as running from Nov. 28, 2007, when he was initially arrested, to Nov. 27, 2010. Others in a printing company who stood trial with Shi appeared to have received similar sentences. A written judgment is expected within 15 days to allow time for an appeal.
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