Imprisoned Vietnamese Church Leaders Report on Abusive Treatment

Two Vietnamese church leaders arrested in March 2004 have reported on the treatment they received in prison after their early release last month.

 

The Christian Post.

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005

Two Vietnamese church leaders arrested in March 2004 have reported on the treatment they received in prison after their early release last month, according to a global community of Christian churches.

Since their release from prison, brothers Nguyen Huu Nghia, 24, and Nguyen Thanh Nhan, 22, have spoken out about the battering they suffered, both at the hands of corrections officers and of other prisoners who received food and cigarettes as rewards for beating up the young Mennonites.

“Both men reported savage beatings and kicking over all parts of their bodies from the moment of their arrests,” the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) said in a statement released last week. “The abuse often continued until they fainted or lapsed into convulsions. Splashes of cold water revived them, and the beatings continued. They were denied adequate food and water and did not receive the warm clothes their families brought for them.”

“The men also suffered humiliation and pain from verbal abuse and from being forced to squat motionless in tight places for long periods of time with only their toes touching the ground,” MWC added. “They were not given sleeping mats, but were forced to lie on the rough cement floor.”

According to the organization, the two men were moved to three different prisons, each of which they were subjected to abuse. “Their cries reverberated through the cell blocks, causing other prisoners to wonder what heinous crimes they had committed to deserve such brutal treatment,” MWC reported.

Often when they were at the point of exhaustion, officers reportedly brought documents for them to sign, admitting to crimes or implicating Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, an outspoken leader of the Vietnam Mennonite Church. The two brothers refused, but sometimes their signatures were forged, MWC said.

The organization also reported that medical examinations since their release have identified severe physical trauma, including potentially life-threatening damage to their bodies. However, the organization said despite their ordeal, the faith of both men remains strong.

"I am not only suffering in my body, but also in my spirit and soul.... But I always believe that the Lord of Heaven will keep and preserve me and that the Lord will bring a revival to our country," said Nhan.

The two brothers were two of six Mennonite church workers convicted last November of “inciting people to obstruct officials from carrying out their duties.” According to Compass News, those close to the situation say the charges and trial were an artifice to take out of circulation Pastor Quang, who had actively campaigned against religious freedom and human rights abuses.

Sources say that currently the sentences of Pastor Quang and Pham Ngoc Thach, for three and two years respectively, are being appealed, while the appeal of the one-year sentence of Nguyen Van Phuong has been denied. Meanwhile, the appeal of the one-year sentence of Le Thi Hong Lien, the sole woman among six Mennonite church workers, cannot proceed after she reportedly suffered a mental breakdown because of the treatment she had received in prison.

In a recent letter sent to the Chairman of the Committee of Religious Affairs in Hanoi, Mennonite World Conference officials expressed serious concern regarding the harsh treatment of the "Mennonite Six" and asked authorities to end the mistreatment and to provide the best possible medical treatment for Le.

MWC says that further responses to the situation Mennonites face in Vietnam will be on the Asia Committee agenda when the Council of International Anabaptist Ministries meets in Pittsburgh late in January.

 

Kenneth Chan
kenneth@christianpost.com