A Protestant pastor in Vietnam has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail for “undermining the national unity policy”, a move condemned by rights group.
Pastor Y Nuen Ayun is from the Ede ethnic group, which itself is placed under the umbrella term “Montagnard”, meaning “mountain-dweller”. The term is often used to describe the various ethnic minority groups in the mountainous region of central Vietnam.
Christianity is a major religion in Montagnard areas, accounting for at least 40 per cent of the population and, in some parts, almost 80 per cent. By contrast, the Christian population of Vietnam as a whole is around seven per cent.
Vietnamese authorities have been accused of trying to “politicise and demonise” worshippers by linking them with FULRO, a defunct militia group who fought for the interests of ethnic minorities and whose last armed group was disarmed in 1992.
In Pastor Y Nuen Ayun’s case, he was accused of organising and leading unregistered Protestant activities and of associating with a person in the USA responsible for organising separatist movements in the Montagnard regions. The pastor was also accused of receiving 7.7 million Vietnamese dong (around £215) to fund his activities and of reporting to foreign human rights organisations.
The conviction of Pastor Y Nuen Ayun was condemned by rights groups Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and International Christian Concern (ICC).
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said Vietnam continued “to flagrantly flaunt international standards of human rights law in its targeted campaign against freedom of religion or belief”.
An ICC statement said Vietnam often resorted to “fabricated or vague criminal charges to silence Christians, particularly Montagnard Christians, who share Christ’s love under a government threatened by the gospel”.
In a related development, the EU has taken the unusual step of challenging Vietnam on its human rights record. Following a “human rights dialogue” with Vietnam in July, the EU issued a statement in which it raised “serious concerns regarding reports of transnational repression, including affecting individuals in the EU territory”.
The EU said it had also raised the issues of prison visits, prison conditions and the use of the death penalty.
CSW welcomed the EU’s statement, saying it had urged the EU to make such a move and added that it hoped in future statements the EU would raise the cases of specific individuals, as it currently does with China.
