Vietnam: Police lead violent attack on Mennonite centre

A Christian centre in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam, was violently attacked by unknown assailants on 12 November.

The unknown assailants, who are believed to have been hired by the government, arrived at the centre just before midnight on 12 November and broke into the centre using hammers and metal cutters, according to a report from Morning Star News. They attempted to intimidate the Christians staying at the centre, which belongs to a Vietnamese Mennonite church, while police filmed the incident. Nine of the Christians at the centre were arrested by the police and charged with not having identification cards and temporary residence papers. These documents were reportedly confiscated by police on a previous occasion.

This is the most recent in a series of attacks on the centre which began in June 2014, when 76 Christians at the centre were kicked, punched and detained by a crowd of 300 to 500 people, led by the local police chief. The attack occurred one month prior to a visit to Vietnam by the UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion or belief, Professor Heiner Bielefeldt. The visit was cut short when some individuals he planned to meet were “intimidated, harassed or prevented from travelling by the police”. In a press statement at the end of the visit, Professor Bielefeldt concluded that “serious violations of freedom of religion or belief are a reality in Vietnam”.

A report by the Mennonite church in Binh Duong says that hired thugs and police continue to harass Christians at the centre day and night, including during religious meetings, by pelting them with rotten eggs and using bricks and stones to damage the building. Church members have also been harassed at their homes or workplaces, and some have had money confiscated by officials. The report claims that 34 people have been injured in the attacks.

The church’s leader, Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, whose son was one of the nine people arrested on 12 November, has appealed for assistance from “all governments concerned about human rights, and to UN organizations concerned with protecting human rights, to help end the evil being perpetrated by the Binh Duong police and government officials”.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Chief Operating Officer Andy Dipper said: “The attacks on Christians at this centre between June and November underscore the UN Special Rapporteur’s remarks at the conclusion of his visit in July 2014. We share the Special Rapporteur’s concerns about the situation of independent or unregistered religious groups, including the unregistered Mennonite church in Binh Duong. CSW condemns the excessive use of force by the police and security agents in the attacks on the Christian centre, and the continued disruption of their peaceful religious activities: we call on the Vietnamese Government to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief of all religious minorities in Vietnam, both registered and unregistered.”

Source: CSW/Mennonites