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Vietnam

• Location of 11 Christian Prisoners Unknown

  

  Human rights organizations around the world are raising concerns about the fate of 11 Christian prisoners in Vietnam. The Christian men were all sentenced to prison at different times between 2011 and 2016. It has recently come to light that their whereabouts remain a mystery, and that the believers who should have completed their sentences by now were not yet released to return home.

• Christian Found Dead After Meeting with Police

  

  On March 8th, the body of Pastor Y Bum Bya was found hanging from a tree at a cemetery near his home in the Dak Lak Province of Vietnam. Though local authorities declared the Christian leader's death a suicide, reports indicate that his body showed signs of torture. The believer's death happened shortly after he had been summoned to meet with police.

• New Regulations Bring Tighter Restrictions

  

  With the release of Decree 95, which took effect on March 30th, Vietnamese governing officials declared that the new regulations they were instituting would ensure freedom of belief for all people within the country, enhancing the responsibilities of individual agencies and organizations. The decree expands on the "Law on Belief and Religion" that was implemented in 2018, which outlines additional policies and procedures regulating religious activities in Vietnam.

• Three Christians Detained

  

  Vietnamese police detained three members of an independent house church on March 6th. After being held for three days, the detained Christian men were eventually released. Although the three believers are from Dak Lak province, they had been arrested while working for a furniture manufacturer in Dong Xoai, which is located several hours away from their hometown.

• Christian Sentenced for Leading Prayer Meetings

  

  Nay Y Blang is a member of the Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ – a religious group that is not officially recognized by the Vietnamese Communist Party. In May 2023, the Christian leader was arrested and charged with taking advantage of "democratic freedom to infringe upon the interests of the state," as well as "the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals." These accusations arose from the prayer meetings he had been holding in his home.

• Christian Father Beaten by His Son

  

  In July of this year, Huu Dat (whose name has been changed for security reasons) became a follower of Jesus, leaving behind a tradition of tribal ancestor worship. His wife and four of his six children also chose to follow Christ.

• Imprisoned Pastor Faces Health Issues

  

  Vietnamese pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was imprisoned in 2011 on charges of "anti-state propaganda." He was rearrested in 2017 and convicted in April 2018 for "carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government." The Christian leader was sentenced to 12 years in prison. (To review previously published information on the pastor's sentencing, go to this page.)

• Christian Woman Slain by Husband

  

  After hearing the "Good News" of the Gospel about a month ago from missionaries visiting her local village, Nga, a 42-year-old Vietnamese woman, turned in faith to Christ. She was the first in her village to respond to God's message of salvation, which had been presented to her by the evangelizing Christians. However, unlike Nga, her husband Vu was not open to hearing the missionaries' message.

• New Restrictions Proposed

  

  According to Christian leaders in Vietnam, new religion-related decrees are set to be introduced in the country which would further restrict religious freedoms. The proposed ordinances are apparently intended to resolve shortcomings in previous guidelines. However, as one Vietnamese analyst explained, "If you start with something which is very bad at its core, any additions to it can only be bad too.... Tinkering with the margins will not change the rotten core."

• State Officials Interrupt Worship Service

  

  Worshippers at a Catholic church in Vu Ban, a rural district in northwestern Vietnam, were shocked when two governing officials rushed into the sanctuary on February 20th, interrupting a Sunday Mass being celebrated by the archbishop from Hanoi. Wearing helmets, the officials shouted loudly before taking the microphone and demanding that everyone disperse immediately, or "appropriate measures" would be taken. One of the officials was identified by witnesses as the head of the local branch of the Communist Party.