|
BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese court has secretly executed the leader of a fringe underground Christian sect and 11 followers convicted of murdering members of a rival group, a defense lawyer said Wednesday.
The Intermediate People's Court in the northeastern city of Shuangyashan executed Xu Shuangfu, the charismatic founder of the Three Grades of Servants group, and at least two other leading members last week without notifying their lawyers or family members, said Xu's lawyer, Li Heping.
The executions of Xu and the other leaders, Li Maoxing and Wang Jun, followed an appeals court hearing last month on their convictions and death sentences for the involvement in the killing of 20 members of another group between 2002 and 2004.
|