Trial date set for Nguyen Hong Quang; persecution continues for Mennonite Christians

Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, general secretary of the Mennonite Church in Vietnam and prominent rights activist, was scheduled be tried Nov. 12.

Quang was arrested June 8 on the charge of “inciting others to resist officers of the law doing their duty.” Unprecedented character attacks on Quang by Vietnam’s official media occurred shortly thereafter.

His arrest came three months after the arrest of four Mennonite church workers following an incident at the Mennonite church, office and home of Quang in Ho Chi Minh City. The four have been held without formal charges. A sixth arrest of a woman evangelist connected to the incident occurred in early July.

On November 2, authorities told family members on a scheduled visit to the prisoners that the other five Mennonite leaders are also to be tried at the same time as Quang.

Larry Miller, executive secretary of the Mennonite World Conference, plans to travel to Vietnam later this month to convey to the Mennonite churches there the support of the worldwide MWC community and to seek conversation with Vietnamese authorities about the situation of the Mennonite churches and of the imprisoned Mennonite leaders.

The Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship (VEF), an association of approximately 50 house church organizations, reportedly is preparing a united statement of support and action for Pastor Quang. When they did this last January for house church Pastor Bui Van Ba, they succeeded in getting an indefinite postponement of his trial. This time the stakes are higher. Quang’s case has attracted international attention.

In late August the VEF called on their churches to fast and pray for three days at the beginning of each month (Sept. 5–7, Oct. 3–5 and Nov. 7–9) that the government will withdraw the Ordinance on Religion, scheduled to come into effect Nov. 15, that they believe will further restrict their activities.

Meanwhile, constant heavy pressure has been placed on ethnic minority Mennonites in the Central Highlands. On September 24, the Mennonite church building, office and home of Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh were destroyed.

Seven Jarai minority Christians baptized by Pastor Chinh on September 19 were summoned by the police chief a week later and were “tied, tortured and beaten” for three days in an attempt to get them to recant their faith. They were told to have nothing further to do with the Mennonite church leaders.

On October 23, four Mennonite pastors and leaders of the Monu church in Chu A Commune of Pleiku City, Gia Lai province, were summoned for interrogation by police and security officials. During four days of detention, they were pressured by threats and abuse to sign a form letter giving up Christianity and promising not to have anything further to do with the Mennonite church. Two of them succumbed to the pressure and signed but have since reaffirmed their commitment to their faith.

Mennonite Church leaders in Vietnam invite their Anabaptist brothers and sisters around the world to join them in praying that Pastor Quang and the others will be released without a trial.

—Mennonite World Conference release