Nearly 1,000 sect members arrested in crackdown
Authorities have arrested nearly 1,000 members of a Christian sect since June after its members were accused of murdering a woman at a McDonald's restaurant the previous month.
Chinese authorities have arrested nearly 1,000 members of a Christian sect since June after its members were accused of murdering a woman at a McDonald's restaurant the previous month, according to state media.
The suspects are members of The Church of Almighty God, a Christian group that has attracted followers in some rural areas for more than a decade.
The arrested included "high-level organisers and backbone members" of the group, Xinhua said, citing officials.
It did not give details of what crimes the suspects, said to come from more than six provinces, are accused of.
Beijing has for years struggled to suppress the group, with state media reporting the arrest of nearly 1,000 followers in 2012 when the organisation was under the spotlight for predicting an apocalypse.
The group told members at the time that a "female Jesus" had arrived and called on members to overthrow the Communist Party, which it refers to as "the big red dragon", the state-run Global Times reported.