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Religious and Human Rights Groups of the Viet Diaspora Protest Pastor’s Nguyen Cong Chinh’s 11-Year Prison sentence
VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK MẠng LưỚI Nhân QuyỀn ViỆt Nam 8971 Colchester Ave, Westminster, CA 92683 Tel.: (714) 657-9488 Email: vnhrnet@vietnamhumanrights.net
Press Release March 28, 2012 In a joint statement on March 27, 2912, the Vietnamese Interfaith Council of America, the Evangelical Lutheran Community Church America & Vietnam, and the Vietnam Human Rights Network unanimously pointed out the wrongdoings of the Vietnamese communist government in detaining and sentencing Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh to 11 years in prison for “undermining national unity policy” under Article 87 of the Penal Code on March 26, 2012 in Gia Lai province. Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh is Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Vietnam. He is also a member of the 8406 Bloc and of the Vietnamese Political and Religious Prisoners Friendship Association. He was presented with the Vietnam Human Rights Award in 2009 for his outstanding contributions to the cause of human rights and freedom of religion for the ethnic minority in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. He has been a human rights and religious freedom activist since 2001 until his arrest in April 2011. Pastor Nguyen has lived closely to the ethnic community in the Central Highlands since his childhood; therefore, he is intimately familiar with those people, resulting in whenever his ethnic neighbors suffer religious oppression, he always stands up to advocate for them regardless of incurred violence and intimidation. No defense lawyers, even court-appointed ones, were present at the March 26 court trial; and all defendant’s requests for witnesses and evidence were rejected by the court. The Joint Statement also condemns Vietnamese authorities’ constant abuse of the ambiguous terms of the Criminal Code to stifle freedoms, violate human rights, and launch reprisals against those who dare stand up to fight for basic rights, especially freedom of religion. The signatory organizations, represented by Rev Pham Van Kham, Bishop Tran Thanh van, and Dr Nguyen Ba Tung, asked Hanoi government to release immediately and unconditionally Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh; international community to pressure Vietnam to respect religious freedom and immediately set free Pastor Nguyen; especially the US States Department to put Vietnam back on the list of Countries of Particular Concerns for seriously violating religious freedom. Finally, the Joint Statement calls on Vietnamese around the world to continue supporting the struggle for human rights for their compatriots in Vietnam. [The joint statement enclosed]
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Joint Statement on the Court Trial of Pastor NguyEN CONG CHINH
Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Vietnam and a recipient of Vietnam Human Rights Award 2009 was sentenced to 11 years in prison by the People's Court of Gia Lai Province for “undermining national unity” based on Article 87 of the Penal Code on March 26, 2012. Vietnamese public security illegally arrested him in April 2011, and has held him in isolation from his relatives and defense lawyers since then. The hasty trial was strictly under the control of hundreds of public security agents, and in the total absence of defense lawyers, even the designated ones. The court rejected the defendant’s every request for witnesses and evidence. In response to such events, the Vietnamese Interfaith Council of America, the Evangelical Lutheran Community Church America & Vietnam, and the Vietnam Human Rights Network, state that: - The illegitimate detention, the unfair trial, and the predetermined 11-year prison sentence for Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh are not only a serious violation of his basic rights but also a substantial evidence showing that Hanoi authorities are increasingly violating their citizens’ human rights, especially their freedom of faith. - The continued abuse of the vague articles of the Penal Code to punish Vietnamese citizens’ legitimate civic activities is a scheme to maintain the totalitarian dictatorship in violation of the basic and universal human rights that Vietnam has pledged to respect. Therefore, we call for and make the following recommendations: - The Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally free Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh; - The Vietnamese authorities to stop at once the criminalization of their citizens’ legitimate activities; - Governments and international human rights organizations to pressure the Vietnamese authorities to release Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh immediately and unconditionally; - The US State Department to re-designate Vietnam on the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for its egregious violations of the freedom of religion; and - The Vietnamese people around the world to keep pushing the struggle for human rights for their compatriots in Vietnam.
Little Saigon, March 27, 2012
Vietnam Human Rights Network |