Release International

As Vietnam releases leading Christian Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang the campaign continues to free the last of the Mennonite Six and 100 other Christian leaders in jail for their faith in Vietnam.

Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, the former General Secretary of the Mennonite Church, has been released following an international campaign of prayer and pressure on the Vietnam government.

Pastor Quang (45) was set free 20 months early as part of Vietnam’s National Day Amnesty. Earlier he was told he would only be released if he produced a signed confession.

The pastor and leading human rights campaigner had been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for allegedly inciting other Mennonites to resist arrest – charges he has always denied.

Health damaged

Mennonite sources say his health was badly affected by the harsh conditions and hard labour in jail and the beatings he endured. Over 14 months Pastor Quang was moved to five different prisons, his bible was confiscated and he was punished for sharing his faith with his fellow inmates.

At one point he was put in a cell full of prisoners with diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Observers believe Pastor Quang was targeted by the authorities because he has repeatedly spoken out against human rights abuses in Vietnam and stood up for religious freedoms. Several times he was attacked by people on motorcycles. Once he was severely hurt, and the rider who drove at him was killed.

Five of the original six Mennonites arrested in last year’s clampdown have now been released. But evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach is still behind bars. He was sentenced in November to two year’s imprisonment – and like many of the Mennonite prisoners he has been severely beaten.

22-year-old evangelist Nguyen Thanh Nhan was beaten repeatedly until he lost consciousness and is now crippled. 21-year-old female Sunday school teacher Le The Hong Lien was brutalised until she lost her mind. She became doubly incontinent and was beaten all the more for that. She has since been released and is now recovering.

Pastor Quang was reunited with his wife Le Thi Phu Dung on August 30. His family home in the church building was partially demolished by the authorities on July 19 while he was still in prison.

Pastor Quang’s church has been targeted by the authorities more than 80 times. According to the Vietnam Mennonite Church General Office: ‘Official charges were written up virtually every time Mennonite Christians met for worship or prayer… proving the authorities are resolutely determined to stop all activities of the Vietnam Mennonite Church.’

Release International, which serves the persecuted church in 30 nations, has been campaigning for the release of all the Mennonites. Chief Executive Eddie Lyle says: ‘We rejoice with our brothers and sisters in the Mennonite Church and thank God for this wonderful answer to prayer.

Three vital questions

‘But three vital questions remain: Will Pastor Quang be given the freedom to lead his church or will the authorities place him under virtual house arrest and continue their campaign of harassment? When will the authorities release the last of the Mennonite Six, evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach? And when will Vietnam stop its brutal persecution of Christians and grant its people that most basic of human rights – freedom of religion?’

Around 100 Christian leaders remain behind bars in Vietnam. And three days before Pastor Quang’s release the authorities closed down the 500-member New Life Fellowship in Ho Chi Minh City. They shut them down for failing to have a permit. However, the New Life Fellowship has been trying in vain since it was set up eight years ago to get official permission.

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