HONG KONG - A Chinese court sentenced the leader of an underground Christian church to death and 15 others to prison terms in China's latest crackdown on unauthorized religious groups, a Hong Kong rights organization said on Monday
Gong Shengliang, 46, founder of the South China Church, was sentenced to death on Sunday in Hubei province for involvement in an ``evil cult'' that caused harm to his followers and rape, said the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Gong's niece, Li Ying, a co-founder of the church, was given a death sentence suspended for two years, it said.
The center said 15 other church organizers were sentenced to terms ranging between two years and life imprisonment.
South China Church, which has about 50,000 followers, was branded an evil cult by Chinese authorities in April. Beijing has outlawed some 17 underground church organizations.
China bans all religious activity outside state-backed ''patriotic'' religious organizations, but rights groups say millions of faithful worship regularly in underground churches and prayer groups.
In Washington, a State Department official said that he could not confirm the report but that Washington had repeatedly expressed concern at China's use of the anti-cult law to crack down on groups the government does not like.
``We have raised with China on many occasions our concerns over detentions of people peacefully exercising internationally recognized rights to freedom of assembly, belief and conscience,'' added the official, who asked not to be named.