WASHINGTON—The leader of one of China’s largest underground churches, freed after President Donald Trump personally raised his case in Beijing, has been awarded a major human rights prize for his defense of religious freedom.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri was named the recipient of the 2026 Lantos Human Rights Prize by the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice on Oct. 9, exactly one year after Beijing arrested him as part of a clampdown on Zion Church.
Jin said he is honored to receive the Lantos Prize and raise awareness about the “severe persecution faced by people of faith in China.”…