teacher Le Thi Hong Lien was briefly re-arrested for attending a Bible study group with other believers at the home of their imprisoned Mennonite Church pastor, BosNewsLife monitored, Wednesday May 4.
Lien, who human rights group Amnesty International recognized as a "prisoner of conscience", was detained with several other Mennonite Christians Sunday, May 1, when about 30 police officials raided the meeting at the Ho Chi Minh City residence of jailed Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, reported Compass Direct, a Christian news agency.
The Christians were ordered to the local police station for interrogation and Compass Direct said a "particularly abusive officer" told them he had orders to harass the believers until they no longer went to the Quang house to worship.
Lien, who church sources say is still recovering from torture in prison, apparently remained silent throughout the interrogation, "even though she was threatened with force." She was released the same evening with the group, however church officials claimed Lien returned to the Quang home "exhausted and terrified."
PSALM READING
Sunday’s troubles reportedly began when imprisoned Pastor Quang’s wife, Le Thi Phu Dung, had just begun conducting a quiet prayer session and Bible study on Psalm 103. The agenda included giving thanks to God for the release of Lien on April 28, after months of intense international advocacy, Compass Direct said.
"The officers loudly demanded that all religious activity cease and ordered everyone to the ward police station for interrogation, asserting that religious activity was forbidden at the Quang’s address," the news agency reported.
Among others briefly detained were reportedly Nguyen Thanh Nhan, who spent nine months in prison last year, and Quang’s mother, Le Thi Phuoc Hien, who had come for the day to visit the family. When Hien objected, saying she had done nothing deserving of arrest, four female officers apparently grabbed her and escorted her to a police vehicle.
CHRISTIANS SEPARATED
At the police station, the Christians were said to have been separated for individual interrogation and one officer allegedly threatened evangelist Nhan with a beating "in the same ward office" where his nine-month prison ordeal began in March 2004.
Human rights watchers say the latest incident is prove that persecution of the Vietnam Mennonite Church continues despite the prime minister’s special instructions on Protestantism in early February, which would allow unregistered groups to worship at home.
Analysts believe Communist authorities remain concerned about especially the growing number of evangelical Christians, although they currently comprise only 1% of the population, according to estimates. Seven out of ten Vietnamese people are Buddhists, although ancestor worship and animism permeate Vietnamese life and society, said Open Doors, a group investigating the plight of persecuted Christians. (With reports from Vietnam and BosNewsLife Research)
