Release International

Ma Van Bay, a prominent house church leader from the Hmong ethnic minority, has been freed from jail in a national prisoner amnesty.

His release, after only two years of an 11-year sentence, follows intense international lobbying, particularly by America. US Ambassador-at-large for Religious Freedom John Hanford had included Ma Van Bay's name on a list which he handed to the Vietnamese authorities during his visit last month.

More than 5,300 other prisoners were freed to mark Vietnam's National Day on September 2, says the BBC.
Ma Van Bay was arrested in 1997 on charges including illegally propagating Christianity. He escaped and fled to the Central Highlands where he became a well-known evangelist, and was rearrested in November 2003.
Vietnam may have an ulterior motive in backing down. It is trying to establish Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the US, one of the final hurdles before it can join the World Trade Organisation. US President George Bush is due to visit Vietnam later this year.

• Thank God for the unexpected early release of Ma Van Bay. Pray that he can have some quiet time with his family before re-engaging in church affairs.
• Praise God that Vietnam appears to be responding to international pressure to clean up its human rights act -- even if its motives are suspect. Pray that the pressure will continue.

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