Release International

A grieving widow asked to pay a bribe to retrieve her husband's body from jail has now been told he must remain buried in prison 'until he has served his sentence'.

As 7x7 reported on May 23, Siu Lul died in Ha Nam prison in April after being tortured and starved. At the time, we reported that his widow was too poor to claim his body and had had to agree to her husband being buried at the jail.

RI sources now say Siu's widow has since approached the authorities with the money they had demanded in return for the body, hoping she could give him a 'Christian burial' in his home village, Ploi Kueng. But the authorities allegedly refused to allow the body to be exhumed until Siu had 'served his sentence', according to AsiaNews.

Siu, 62, a Montagnard from Gai Lai province, was sentenced to an unknown prison term in 2004, apparently for 'activities relating to his Christian faith', according to BosNewsLife.

Meanwhile, a second Montagnard, Siu Dolel from Ploi Oi village, has also died in Ha Nam prison. He was allegedly tortured to death with electric batons. After his death on June 25, officials visited his widow and demanded money if she wanted to see the body before burial. Unable to pay, she was forced to hand over an identity card, says AsiaNews.

• Pray for the grieving widows of both Siu Lul and Siu Dolel. Both women have suffered a double injustice -- and are apparently powerless to act in the face of brutal authorities. Pray that God, who has a particular heart for orphans and widows, would comfort and protect these women.
• Continue to pray for the plight of Vietnam's minority ethnic groups such as the Montagnards whose religious rights are severely repressed.

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