Violence against Christians is increasing in Vietnam, yet the Church is growing among ethnic minorities. Christians who come from a Buddhist or animist background experience the strongest pressure, both from their communities and the authorities. Christian ethnic minorities, such as the Montagnards, also face fierce opposition. All Christian groups are monitored by the government, registering churches is difficult, and a new law on religion and belief limits religious groups by controlling meetings.
Vietnam’s bishops say new religion law ‘not considered a human right’
Senior Catholics in Vietnam have issued a statement to high-ranking communist officials criticising the country’s new religion law, due to come into effect in January 2018, reports UCANews. The Law on Belief and Religion – the first ever law on religions since Vietnam was re-unified under communist rule in 1975 […]
No solution for Vietnam’s persecuted Montagnard-people
The number of Montagnard-people fleeing their native Vietnam, because of persecution of their Christian faith, is growing, reports Al Jazeera. They initially end up in surrounding nations like Cambodia and Thailand, where they face a stateless future as their refugee status is not recognized. Thailand and Cambodia are not signatories […]
Vietnamese pastor beaten and left naked on road
A Vietnamese pastor and his colleague were abducted and violently attacked on 27 February during a visit to meet fellow activists in central Vietnam. Nguyễn Trung Tôn and his colleague Nguyễn Viết Tứ were beaten, stripped, tied up and left naked beside a mountain road in a remote area of […]
New arrest of Vietnamese Christian rights activist
Vietnamese Christian rights activist Nguyen Van Oai was arrested last month for “resisting officials on duty” and violating his probation. Police arrested Van Oai on 19 January and accused him of breaking his probation terms when he left his locality for a fishing trip, according to the website of the […]
Vietnam Religion Law causes concerns
Vietnam’s new Law on Belief and Religion is causing concern among Christians, particularly in rural areas, reports The Diplomat. The legislation, passed in November last year, has been widely criticised by rights groups, who say the government is trying to exert greater control over religious practice in the country. Human […]
Vietnam’s Law on Belief and Religion ‘deeply flawed’
Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn (centre), Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi, takes part in a procession in January 2015. Vietnam’s National Assembly finally ratified (on 18 Nov.) its Law on Belief and Religion amid extensive criticism from parliamentarians, human rights and religious groups, who deem it to be […]
UN urges Vietnam to stop ‘torture’ of Christian
The UN has criticised Vietnam’s “repeated arrest and torture” of a female Christian activist whose husband, a pastor, is in jail “for peaceful religious activities”. Tran Thi Hong was targeted for “informing the international community of human rights violations against her husband”, says a statement from the UN High Commissioner […]
Vietnam Christian woman’s ‘intolerable’ harassment
The harassment of a Vietnamese Christian human rights activist, whose husband, pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence, has become “intolerable” . Tran Thi Hong was recently questioned by the authorities about interviews with the foreign press, her “unauthorized, unapproved and illegal” Lutheran faith and her […]
Vietnam’s Religion Law ‘created to repress, control’
Vietnam’s new “Law on Belief and Religion,” scheduled to come into effect this year, will add another layer of governmental repression and control to an already pressurised Church, says Vo Tran Nhat, Executive Secretary of the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights. “They’re going to adopt a new law, a law […]
Vietnam: appeal for lawyers’ release
Human rights groups have called for the release of Vietnamese Christian lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his colleague, Le Thu Ha. The lawyers were arrested in Hanoi on 16 December and accused of propaganda against the state, punishable by up to 20 years in jail. “We appeal to the Vietnamese […]