Vietnam

A Christian human rights lawyer, Nguyen Van Dai, was blocked by Vietnamese security agents from visiting with a high ranking U.S. diplomat earlier this month. The incident is yet another indication of just how much control the Vietnamese government exerts over citizens who stand up to defend human rights and religious freedom. 

14 Catholic and Protestant activists in Vietnam have had their appeal hearings postponed indefinitely by Vietnam's supreme court this week. The Christians were arrested for being members of a pro-democracy group that is illegal in Vietnam and convicted of plotting to "overthrow" the Vietnamese government back in January. It is not uncommon to find Christians in positions as activists in countries like Vietnam and China where their religious convictions lead them to vocally support greater political and religious freedoms.

The death in police custody of Hmong Christian and church leader Hoang Van Ngai last month has revealed just how brutal treatment of Christians in Vietnam's Central Highlands and Northwest Mountainous Region can be. Ngai's brother has revealed that he was arrested as the same time as Ngai and witnessed the badly bruised and beaten body of his brother being dragged out of the station by police. ICC joins with other human rights groups in calling for Vietnam to immediately halt the arbitrary arrest of religious minorities and to ensure that they are protected against violent abuse at the hands of local authorities. 

On March 17th a Vietnamese Christian and church elder died while in police custody. Reports indicate he was severely beaten and electrocuted by police. Although the motive for his arrest and torture is unclear, Christian members of the Hmong ethnic group living in the Central Highlands and Northwest Mountainous Region of Vietnam are often subject to harassment, arrest, and other harsh treatment as a result of their faith, which the Vietnamese government views with suspicion. Reports of this kind are rare however, as even providing the report can be dangerous for those Christians connected to the incident.

A Christian leader belonging to the Hmong ethnic group was brutally murdered by Vietnamese police earlier this month. Sources say Vam Ngaij Vaj, a church elder, was beaten and likely tortured using electric shock before his death on March 17th. It was not immediately clear why police had chosen to target Vaj specifically, but for years Communist authorities have suppressed and persecuted Hmong Christians in both Central and Northern Vietnam.  

Maria Tan spent years publicly criticizing corrupt government and business practices before she was put on trial last summer and sentenced to ten years in prison. Last week the State Department recognized Maria as one of the "10 most courageous women in the world" for her strong stance on human rights despite severe government pressure to remain silent. Many Christians in both Vietnam and China have risked their lives and led the way in calling for greater religious and political freedoms. 

The following article provides an in-depth analysis of Decree 92, a new religion law passed in Vietnam that went into effect on January 1st. One long-time missionary to the country says the Decree is designed to allow the Communist Party to carefully control the spread of religion, especially Christianity. While the Vietnamese government has done its best to hide religious persecution, ICC regularly collects reports of Vietnamese Christians facing harassment  physical violence, and imprisonment for refusing to abandon their faith.

The Communist government of Vietnam has long faced criticism from the countries Catholic population for seizing large amounts of Church owned land and destroying church property in order to develop state directed projects. The Carmelite monastery of Hanoi is more than a hundred years old and was held by the Church until being forcibly seized. According to this report the government intends to completely destroy "all traces" of the monastery.  

Le Quoc Quan began refusing food and water five days ago to protest his imprisonment under the charge of tax evasion. Trumped up charges such as this are often used to imprison Vietnamese citizens like Quan, a Christian blogger and human rights activist who has been jailed before after speaking up against the ruling Communist Party.

Thanks to widespread government monitoring of communication within Vietnam, it is often difficult to obtain reports of persecution. However it is clear that repression of Christian churches is still common, especially among the Hmong ethnic group. Now a new religion law is going into effect which enhances the already strict laws governing religious events and includes new requirements making it harder for foreigners to hold religious conferences in the country. 

Throughout South-East Asia it is not uncommon to see Christian activists arrested for speaking out about violations of human rights and religious freedom. Many are often driven by their Biblical worldview and Christian values to speak out against oppressive systems of government, for which they face unrelenting persecution. The fourteen Catholic bloggers in this case are an example. 

Despite greatly expanding it's economy and encouraging Western tourism, the government of Vietnam remains mostly hostile to the spread of Christianity. This has led to tight restrictions on holding unregistered church services and evangelizing. Some ICC sources report dozens of pastors currently remain imprisoned for refusing to shut down their "illegal" churches and recant their faith. 

In a devastating step backward for religious freedom in Vietnam, the countries prime minister has issued "Decree 92" which further enforces vague laws allowing the government to crack down on religious groups, including Christians, who are not registered with the government. The registration process itself is extremely difficult and not impossible to complete. For instance if a church wished to legally register it must prove that it has been operating for at least 20 years without breaking the law, yet operating without being registered is breaking the law. This catch-22 and other language in the legislation has been used by Vietnamese authorities to intimidate and arrest dozens of Christian pastors. 

Four more ethnic Hmong Christians have been sentenced to several years in prison for participating in a large gathering of Hmong Christians last year. They join eight other Hmong Christians who were arrested for participating in the event. Vietnamese authorities have long been working to discourage the growth of Christianity among the Hmong ethnic group, which has experienced something of a revival over the past thirty years. Tactics include arresting or intimidating new converts and pressuring them to renounce their faith in Christ. 

An upcoming visit by the president of the European Union to Vietnam has provided another opportunity for Western governments to bring up the issue of Vietnam’s treatment of religious minorities, including Christians. The government of Vietnam receives relatively little scrutiny despite the unending arrest and harassment of Christians around the country by both local and federal officials.