A pastor of a prominent underground church in China has been detained, according to his daughter, a church pastor and a group that monitors religion in the country.

Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri of the Zion Church was detained at his home in Beihai in China's southeast Guangxi province on Friday evening, along with dozens of other church leaders in Beijing and at least five other provinces across China.

They may face charges of "illegal dissemination of religious content via the internet," according to Sean Long, a Chinese Zion Church pastor currently studying in the United States.

"This is a very disturbing and distressing moment," Long told the Associated Press by phone.

"This is a brutal violation of freedom of religion, which is written into the Chinese constitution. We want our pastors t

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