Vietnamese authorities have arrested 71-year-old Pastor Nguyen Manh Hung in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, charging him with spreading “anti-state propaganda.” Officers additionally detained his son throughout the identical raid however later launched him after a number of hours of interrogation.
Pastor Nguyen was taken into custody throughout a raid on his residence, the place police reportedly reduce off electrical energy earlier than getting into the premises, in line with Radio Free Asia, which stated they handcuffed him as quickly as he opened the door, citing an arrest warrant below Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
The regulation prohibits the distribution of content material deemed to be towards the state, with penalties of as much as 20 years in jail. Officers additionally seized cell phones, laptops and a few paperwork from the scene, the U.Okay.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported.
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The pastor’s son, recognized as Nguyen Tran Hien, was taken to the Ministry of Public Safety’s Institute for Legal Sciences on the identical day. He was questioned about his father’s actions, together with alleged financial institution transactions, earlier than being launched at midnight. He was not charged however needed to give up his telephone and laptop computer in the course of the interrogation course of, in line with witness accounts.
Pastor Nguyen was taken to a detention facility to be held for 4 months pending additional investigation, primarily based on statements from his household.
Authorities declare that Pastor Nguyen’s use of social media amounted to “anti-state propaganda,” reported the U.S.-based persecution watchdog Worldwide Christian Concern.
Investigators famous a Fb submit from Jan. 14 wherein the pastor steered that whereas Vietnam’s Communist Celebration as soon as known as land purchasers “merciless landlords,” it now refers to those that allegedly purchase land by abuse of energy as “excellent.”
Pastor Nguyen is the primary particular person arrested on such costs for the reason that begin of this yr and the second since To Lam took workplace as Vietnam’s common secretary in August 2024.
Nguyen Manh Hung was beforehand related to the Chuong Bo Protestant Church, an unbiased Mennonite congregation, and he stays a member of the Interfaith Council of Vietnam. The council advocates for non secular freedom throughout the nation. Neither the church nor the council are formally registered with Vietnamese authorities, which is required below regulation.
Though lots of those that have encountered authorized bother in related circumstances come from minority ethnic teams in Vietnam’s central highlands, Pastor Nguyen belongs to the Kinh majority group.
The pastor has confronted repeated harassment from the authorities over the previous 15 years. He has spoken out towards reported cases of corruption and human rights violations within the nation.
In 2015, he appeared earlier than a U.S. Home of Representatives International Affairs Sub-Committee investigating alleged non secular freedom violations in Vietnam.
His present detention is a part of an ongoing clampdown on critics of the nation’s one-party system. Instances involving criticism of the Communist Celebration or allegations of corruption typically obtain heightened scrutiny in Vietnam.
Earlier than his ministry, Nguyen served as a soldier within the Northern Vietnam Military in the course of the Vietnam Warfare. He later labored in administration roles and briefly entered a monastery earlier than turning into a pastor in 2011.
