Vietnam: CSW calls for release of Christian activists convicted of subversion

Seven Vietnamese activists, including three Christians, have been convicted of subversion and given prison sentences of between two and eight years. Mennonites, Pastor Duong Kim Khai, Tran Thi Thuy and Nguyen Thanh Tam were active in peaceful campaigning for land rights and were convicted along with four others.

Tran Thi Thuy received eight years, Pastor Duong Kim Khai six years and Nguyen Thanh Tam a two-year sentence. The seven were denied access to legal representation at the trial, which took place under heavy security, and the outcome of which is thought to have been pre-determined. They were charged under Article 79 of the Criminal Law. Read more of this post

Vietnam: Christian land rights activists to go on trial

Three Mennonite Christians accused of “attempting to overthrow the government of Vietnam” will go on trial along with four other activists charged with the same crime in Ben Tre province imminently. The three were active in campaigning for land rights, and if convicted they may face a lengthy prison sentence or a death sentence.

Pastor Duong Kim Khai, Tran Thi Thuy and Nguyen Thanh Tam have been held since August 2010 without access to lawyers or their families. They are members of the unrecognised branch of the Mennonite church and attended the “Cow Shed Church” in Ho Chi Minh City. Inspired by their Christian faith, they worked assisting fellow Vietnamese citizens who lost farmland when it was forcibly sold by local government to large corporations, helping them to file complaint letters asking for adequate compensation. Read more of this post

Lepers in Vietnam: Catholic Church working to help them and fight discrimination

According to official Vietnamese government statistics, the country has 18,000 lepers living in 21 big camps. Both they and their children are victims of daily discrimination. On Tuesday, Mgr Hoàng Đức Oanh, bishop of Kontum, visited Thăng Thiên parish to celebrate Mass for volunteers, both Catholic and non Catholic, who help Lepers.

Some 80 people attended the service, including priests, nuns, doctors and other staff involved with lepers. Fr Peter Nguyễn Vân Đông, head of the Committee for Charitable and Social Activities (the local Caritas), complained about the lack of human resources available to lepers as well as the discrimination they face in society, not to mention the lack of respect for patients.

The bishop appealed to religious and lay people, urging them to take care of their brothers and sisters. He stressed the inherent difficulties of the action. “We do not always know where they [the lepers] live and it is hard to get in touch with them. However, we must have strong determination to help them.”

Read More at AsiaNews.it

Vietnamese Authorities in Hanoi Scuttle Easter Celebrations

Authorities in Vietnam prevented much-anticipated public Easter celebrations in Hanoi planned for Friday and Saturday (April 15-16) after giving a verbal promise to organizers that the events would proceed.

According to Compass Direct News, an interchurch organizing committee had submitted a request for permission well in advance and had made elaborate preparations for the special events featuring well known evangelist Luis Palau.

Compass reported organizers said they were disappointed, but not entirely surprised, by the Communist government’s action. “The authorities have clearly demonstrated to the world what we experience regularly – that their promises, whether verbal or written, cannot be trusted,” said one church leader who requested anonymity. Read more of this post

Vietnam: Montagnards Harshly Persecuted – Forced Renunciation of Faith, Harassment, Violence, and Arrests

The Vietnamese government has intensified repression of indigenous minority Christians from the country’s Central Highland provinces who are pressing for religious freedom and land rights, Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) has said in a just released report.

Jarai women in Plei Lao village, Gia Lai, where Mobile Intervention Police broke up an all-night prayer meeting in March 2001, fired on villagers— killing one—then burned the village church (Photo: Human Rights Watch)

The 46-page report, “Montagnard Christians in Vietnam: A Case Study in Religious Repression,” details the latest government crackdowns on these indigenous peoples, known collectively as Montagnards. The report documents police sweeps to root out Montagnards in hiding. It details how the authorities have dissolved house church gatherings, orchestrated coerced renunciations of faith, and sealed off the border to prevent asylum seekers from fleeing to Cambodia. Read more of this post

Vietnam Releases a Rights Defender

Nguyen Van Dai

A Vietnamese human rights lawyer and religious freedom advocate, Nguyen Van Dai, was recently released from behind bars after serving his sentence, according to Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

Van Dai and Le Thi Chong Nhan were convicted of “propagandizing against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” in May 2007.  The charges related to their defense of religious freedom for the “Mennonite Six” in 2004-2005. The pair also faced accusations that they cooperated with terrorists in their efforts to promote human rights.

Read More at Mission Network News

Prayer vigils in Hanoi for an activist for human rights, truth and justice

Two prayer vigils have been organised for tomorrow and the day after at the Redemptorist parish of Thai Ha, in Hanoi, “in favor of the lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu, justice and truth,” says the superior of the monastery , Father Mathew Vu Khoi Phung.

A trial against the lawyer, a noted human rights activist, opens Monday. The lawyer, who is not Catholic, became famous after the complaint filed against Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, over the exploitation by the Chinese of bauxite mines in the Central Highlands. And in October, he again denounced the prime minister for a decree that prohibits groups to submit petitions or complaints against the government.

The lawyer and his wife, Duong Ha, have expressed support for the Catholics of Con Dau, Da Nang and offered for their defense, but was denied permission.

Read More at AsiaNews.it