China has freed David Lin, a U.S. pastor who had been in jail since 2006, the State Department said Sunday, marking the release of a man who Washington claims was wrongfully detained.

U.S. politicians had for years urged Beijing to free Lin, who was jailed for life on charges of contract fraud.

“We welcome David Lin’s release from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years,” said a State Department spokesperson.

Lin’s daughter Alice earlier told Politico that her 68-year-old father would be arriving in San Antonio, Texas.

“No words can express the joy we have – we have a lot of time to make up for,” Politico quoted her as saying.

Last November, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged President Joe Biden to use a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to push for the release of Lin and two other detainees – Kai Li and Mark Swidan.

Washington says the three were wrongfully detained. China says such cases are handled according to the law.

A congressional commission is due to hold a hearing next Wednesday on the case of American citizens imprisoned in China, in particular Lin, Li and Swidan, which it said had all faced health issues.

Comoros President Azali Assoumani was slightly wounded in a knife attack Friday, the presidency said, adding that the attacker had been arrested.

“The President of the Republic Azali Assoumani was slightly wounded by a knife while attending the funeral” of a well-known religious leader, it said in a statement.

“His injuries are not serious, and he has returned home. The attacker is in the hands of the security services,” it added.

Government spokeswoman Fatima Ahamadael told AFP that the attack happened in Salimani-Itsandra, an area on the outskirts of the capital Moroni.

“Thank God, his life is not in danger,” she said, declining to give further details.

Witnesses told AFP that the attacker was a 22-year-old with no criminal history, who had joined the army in 2022. He was dressed in a boubou, and was in the room with the religious leader’s body, as mourners were paying respects, they said.

The knife injured the president’s hand, but the attacker was stopped by another mourner, the witnesses said.

A source close to the presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The president has received appropriate care. He is out of danger.”

A second source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the attacker was a young “active-duty gendarme”.

No other details were immediately available.

After the attack, the neighbourhood remained tense, with gendarmes on the scene. Residents hurried home, sometimes pausing to whisper in small groups on the streets.

Azali, 65, a former military ruler who came to power in a coup in 1999, was re-elected president in January after a disputed vote was followed by two days of deadly protests.

He has been accused of growing authoritarianism.

In August, he granted new powers to his son, in a move that critics said was a step towards consolidating the family’s rule over the small African island nation.

Nour El Fath Azali, who is Azali’s eldest son, was appointed secretary general of Comoros in July.

With his new powers, he must approve all decrees issued by ministers and governors.

Critics said that elevates his role to that of de facto prime minister.

In January, President Azali won a vote which his opponents said was marred by fraud. Court challenges to the election were dismissed.

One person was killed and several others injured in the violence that erupted in the aftermath of the election in the country of some 870,000 people.

His arch-rival, former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, is serving a life sentence for high treason for allegedly selling passports. (AFP)