three years in jail Thursday, April 14, after they lost an appeal hearing at a Vietnamese court, news reports said. Presiding Judge Nguyen Xuan Phat reportedly upheld the three-year sentence of Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and the two-year prison term of Evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach this week, but observers claimed the Christians were not allowed to speak in their own defense.
Although various police units dressed in riot gear were stationed at the courthouse compound, about 200 Christians were holding a silent prayer vigil nearby during Tuesday’s procedure, said Compass Direct, a Christian news agency covering the plight of persecuted believers.
MENNONITE LEADERS
About half of those who came for the vigil were Mennonite leaders and Christians of Vietnam’s
ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands, while others included officials from the Vietnam
Mennonite Church and the Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship of house churches. They had to
overcome "much harassment" by officials to make the long trip, Compass Direct claimed.
In addition Catholic activists Father Chan Tin and Professor Nguyen Chinh Ket as well as two nephews of recently released Father Nguyen Van Ly reportedly participated in the vigil. Pastor Quang and Evangelist Thach are part of what became known as the ‘Mennonite Six,’ a group of Christians human rights workers say were persecuted and tortured for their faith in Christ.
They were charged with "resisting officers of the law while doing their duty" on March 2, last year, when two undercover government agents were apparently posted to keep the pastor’s home and church under surveillance.
SERVING SENTENCES
Three of the "Mennonite Six" have been released after serving their sentences, and one young woman, 21-year old Bible Teacher Le Thi Hong Lien was send to a mental hospital recently because she suffered "severe emotional trauma" in prison where she was tortured and abused, human rights watchers say.
Her parents claim she "has lost control over bodily functions," and prison officials have reportedly told the couple their daughter "is mentally deranged."
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have expressed concern about the situation of several Christians in Vietnam, a Communist-run Asian nation. In addition this week’s court proceedings violated Vietnam’s own appeal regulations, Compass Direct quoted unidentified legal observers as saying.
VIOLATING REQUIREMENTS
The analysts reportedly said the court "did not send the legally required announcements and invitation to the families." Quang’s wife, Le Thi Phu Dung and Thach’s father, Pham Van Khanh, were able to attend the trial but "only after strong advocacy by Quang’s lawyer…" the news agency reported.
"According to Article 242 of the appeal court rules, the court is required to notify the defendants by official letter at least 15 days before the trial. However, the official notification was not provided to Quang’s lawyer until April 4, only a week before the trial date," observers reportedly said.
At the same time the intimidation of Mennonite Christians continues with reports that local officials raided Pastor Quang’s home and church office and gave an ultimatum to his wife to shut down church office operations by April 11.
WIFE SUMMONED
"On April 11, Mrs. Quang was summoned to the District 2 police station and scolded for writing and circulating an urgent appeal to Christians everywhere to fast and pray for justice to be done for her husband and the other Mennonite prisoners," said Compass Direct.
Other church leaders were allegedly also summoned for questioning and followed by undercover police in the run up to this week’s trial. "It is very clear that this was intended to intimidate Christians who were close to Pastor Quang," one local church leader was quoted as saying, apparently on condition of anonymity.
The United States State Department has said that Vietnam continues to restrict freedom of religion and the operation of religious organizations other than those approved by the government.
NATIONWIDE DECREE
"The government failed to issue a nationwide decree banning forced renunciations of faith. [The government] did not end the physical abuse of religious believers, continued to hold a significant number of religious prisoners, and although it permitted the re-opening of some churches closed in the Central Highlands in 2001, it refused to allow the re-opening and registration of hundreds of others," it added.
Open Doors, which supports persecuted Christians, estimates that 400 churches have been closed by the Communist Party since 2002 and that at least over 50 church leaders ‘disappeared’ in Dak Lak province and the Central Highlands. Also "two Christians died after being beaten by the police and being forced to sign a document renouncing their faith," said Open Doors and other well informed human rights activists recently.
Recently the government promised it would allow Christians in Vietnam’s restive Central Highlands, known as Montagnards, to operate "house churches", if they end their support for groups that allegedly supported the United States during the Vietnam war. However analysts say the Communist authorities remain concerned about especially the growing number of evangelical Christians, although they currently comprise only 1% of the population, according to estimates.
Vietnam’s government has denied it violates religious rights. Communist media have accused the US of "cheating those who do not have objective information" about Vietnam. "The US often makes biased assessments of issues associated with human rights and freedom of religion in Vietnam," Radio The Voice of Vietnam said last month. (With BosNewsLife Research, Stefan J. Bos, Compass Direct and reports from Vietnam)
