by Church

CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE

For immediate release

July 23 2002

DETAINED VIETNAMESE CHURCH LEADER RELEASED AFTER SIT DOWN PROTEST BY CHURCH

A Vietnamese church leader arrested for his religious activities, was released after a sit down protest in a police station by members of his church.

Pastor Nguyen Dang Chi, 39, who leads a church in Phu Ly, Tri An, in Vietnam, was arrested on July 6.

He was held in a cell for 24 hours, with his feet shackled and was denied water, a blanket, and the use of a toilet. Despite the conditions, he sang hymns and prayed through the night.

The following day, more than 20 of his congregation went to the offices of the Phu Ly Commune security police and demanded to be allowed to visit their leader.

When this request was denied, they staged a sit down protest until midnight when the security forces eventually released Pastor Chi.

Pastor Chi and his church, which grew rapidly from a few people in 1995 to more than 800 today, have faced harassment from the Communist authorities from the outset.

The authorities questioned the validity of Pastor Chi’s ordination certificate and ordered him to ask permission to preach. When he submitted the forms as requested, he was forbidden from preaching as he did not have written permission. His ID papers were repeatedly confiscated and this was followed by frequent fines. He was repeatedly summoned for interrogation, and when he insisted on asserting the right to religious freedom and his responsibility to preach the gospel, he was arrested.

A statement from believers in Vietnam says: “The lives of religious believers in Vietnam are still suffering an epidemic of abuse.

“Even to quietly preach the Gospel is like a thorn in the face of the regime. Why? Because the Communist regime wants to implement the policy of keeping its citizens ignorant, prevent them from becoming moral and educated, and from exploring the basis for religious faith. For as long as citizens have faith, and as long as citizens have a basis for morality in religious faith, the Communists will not be able to force people into their atheistic ideology.”

Earlier this month, CSW urged the UN Human Rights Committee to raise concern about the frequent abuses of Protestant Christians in Vietnam and the country’s breaches of its obligations to respect religious freedom under the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

CSW cited numerous incidents of abuse, violence, restrictions and harassment instigated by the Vietnamese authorities against the Protestant community in Vietnam. CSW also submitted a list of 12 evangelical pastors currently in prison in Vietnam.

The Committee raised concern over religious freedom with the Vietnamese authorities, specifically highlighting refusal to recognise religious groups, misuse of laws on religion and restrictions on religious activities, including training of religious personnel.”

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW, said: “The mistreatment of Pastor Chi, including how he was held with his feet shackled and without water, a blanket or even the use of a toilet, is a disgrace. It is the height of duplicity for Vietnam to come before the UN claiming it practises religious freedom while it is carrying out such flagrant abuses of this right.

“We commend the bravery of the congregation in taking a stance, but sadly believe the report from inside the country suggesting that Pastor Chi and his congregation will surely face more serious abuse in the future. We call on Vietnam to honour its international commitments and truly protect the right to religious freedom.”

For more information, contact Richard Chilvers at Christian Solidarity Worldwide or go to http://www.csw.org.uk