completing a two-year sentence at Z30A Prison in Xuan Loc, Dong Nai province.
Thach and the Reverend Nguyen Hong Quang were arrested in March 2004, after they reported two undercover police agents watching Quang’s house to city officials.
When Thach and a teacher surnamed Hien went to take a picture of the police motorbike for evidence, the policemen attacked them and a scuffle ensued, Christians said. While Thach was in police custody, officers allegedly beat him until he passed out, Compass Direct, a Christian news agency said.
A delegation of 15 Mennonite church members, led by the Reverend Nguyen Hong Quang, reportedly traveled to the prison to greet Thach and take him home.
MENNONITE SIX
Thach and five other Mennonites who eventually came to be known as the "Mennonite Six" were charged with "resisting officers of the law while doing their duty." But church officials have denied the charges, saying the men had only insisted that policemen investigating them follow correct legal procedures.
Vietnamese Mennonite church officials have reportedly said they believed the release of the six, two before their sentences were complete, happened "because of international attention" including from human rights organizations, media and religious freedom advocates.
Mennonite church leaders said they thanked all those who had “prayed … and supported our workers imprisoned because of their faith,” Compass Direct reported.
RELIGIOUS RIGHTS "VIOLATED"
Thach was an assistant to Quang and worked with the legal committee of the Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship. He was seen as an advocate for individuals and organizations who alleged complained that the Communist-run state violated their right to religious freedom.
The initial trial of the Mennonite Six was held on November 12, 2004. Thach and co-defendant Quang later appealed to the Supreme People’s Court to overturn their sentences of two and three years respectively, but a judge ruled on April 12, 2005 that their sentences be upheld.
Christians have alleged that when the appeal hearing was scheduled, the court did not send "the legally required announcements and invitations" to family members. Thach’s father, Pham Van Khanh, was only able to attend the trial after apparent pressure from Quang’s lawyer, Nguyen Van Dai.
During his imprisonment, Thach was held in multiple prisons, including a police lockup, a prison in Ho Chi Minh City, Bo La prison in Binh Duong province, and finally Z30A prison in Dong Nai province, Compass Direct said, citing sources in the region.
ABUSED AND TORTURED
Church officials say prison guards occasionally abused and tortured Thach because he continued to protest his innocence. On several occasions the guards allegedly encouraged other prisoners to beat him and forced him to carry out heavy manual labor.
As a result of these conditions, his health seriously declined, human rights watchers said. When his family visited the prison in January, Thach told them he was suffering from "serious spinal pain and had lost some vision in one eye," news reports said. He also claimed he was forbidden to speak of his faith or pray with fellow prisoners, Compass Direct reported.
Analyst say Thach may still face opposition from the authorities as the other five Mennonites have reported frequent harassment from police, who allegedly employed methods to harass them and make their lives difficult.
The Vietnamese Mennonite church has urged the authorities to "cease their abusive and oppressive actions toward religious organizations in general and the Mennonite church in particular, and to respect our church’s freedom to worship." (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Vietnam).
