Beijing , China - Chinese state prosecutors have charged two leaders of an underground Catholic church with 'illegal border crossing' after they visited the Vatican, a rights group and an official said Friday.
Shao Zhumin, the deputy head of the underground church in the south-eastern city of Wenzhou, and church official Jiang Sunian were formally charged by the city procuratorate this week, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said.
An official with the Wenzhou city procuratorate confirmed by telephone that the two men were charged with 'illegal border crossing' but declined to give details.
Wenzhou police travelled to the southern port of Shenzhen to arrest the two men when they returned to China on September 25, the Information Centre said.
Shao and Jiang are accused of illegally leaving China by using other people's identities to travel as tourists to Europe after local authorities refused to grant them passports.
They face possible sentences of about one year in prison, the group said earlier.
Shao has been imprisoned before. He was released early in 2003 after he was sentenced to six years in prison in 1999 for illegally printing Bibles, the rights group said.
China officially has about 16 million Christians, but activists estimated the true figure is closer to 40 million.
The government has no official relations with the Vatican, which recognizes Taiwan, and accuses it of interfering in the state management of Catholic churches.
It does not normally grant passports to clergy from underground Catholic churches to prevent them having contact with the Vatican, the Information Centre said.
All religious organizations must register with government supervisory bodies, but many Christian groups refuse to do so, claiming their religious freedom is too restricted within China's official churches.
Police and officials forcibly disband illegal Christian and other religious groups. Their leaders face criminal charges, and buildings used for underground religious activity are often demolished.