VIETNAM: Unregistered pastors face harsh sentences of four and six years 01/12/2010
CSW calls for the release of Pastors Y Du and Y Co who were tried improperly but given harsh six and four year jail terms respectively for ‘undermining national unity’.
Unlawful detentions
Contrary to Vietnamese law, arrest papers were not given to the pastors’ families when they were taken into custody in late January 2010, nor were they formally charged for ten months. CSW’s Advocacy Director, Andrew Johnston, said “CSW calls upon the Vietnamese government to respect the rights of all Vietnamese to religious freedom by releasing Pastor Y Du and Pastor Y Co, whose cases did not follow due procedure in domestic or international law.”
Why were the pastors arrested?
Both pastors were serving with the Vietnam Good News Mission (VGM), a denomination that is not recognised by the Vietnamese government. The men were arrested because it was suspected that they were using their church meetings for political separatist activity. They were accused of being part of an overseas-funded political group that calls for an independent state in the Central Highlands region, where they live. Vietnamese authorities sometimes erroneously believe that unregistered church groups are a front for separatist activity, which is considered a threat to national security and stability. It was on this charge that pastors Y Du and Y Co were jailed on 15 November this year.
Pastor Y Du’s wife reported that the presiding judge at the trial addressed the matter of their faith directly, asking her husband, “Do you still insist on following the religion?” and, “After serving in prison already do you still insist on staying with the denomination?” Pastor Y Du replied saying he would not give up his faith, even if it meant death.
Registration: not that easy
The root problem is that all religious congregations are required to register their meeting places in order to be considered legal, but when VGM members apply for registration, their applications are routinely rejected, even though there is provision within the law for them to register. Instead, local officials pressurise them to become part of the state-registered Evangelical Church of Vietnam – South (ECVN).
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