Democratic Voice of Vietnam

In an attempt to stop the harassment of their members and the infiltration of their services by the government, the Vietnam-U.S. Lutheran Alliance Church (VN-US LAC) applied to register as a religious organisation. In May 2010, 12 representatives meet with the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA). At the meeting, a GCRA official informed the representatives that new religious groups must operate for at least 20 years and be “positively regarded by the government” before they can register, and must then undergo a 2-year probation period. According to one church member, the meeting seemed ‘normal’ and there was no indication of the events which were to follow. However, a month later, those who had attended the meeting were summoned to a “working session” (interrogation). Other pastors in the Southwest and Central provinces told the central leaders that their local public security officers had labelled the Lutheran Christians as “reactionary elements” who conspired to “agitate against the government”. The Lutheran leaders believe GCRA had provided the identity of local pastors using the information submitted for the application.

Protestant Lutheran – Summary Notes
Vietnam Government’s Persecution of the Vietnam-U.S., July 25, 2014
Persecution against Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, May 2014Incident Report – Tran Thi Hong – April 14 2016
Len tieng ve viec cong an hanh hung Ba Tran Thi Hong
Incident Report – supplemental information – Tran Thi Hong – April 17 2016Tran Thi Hong – Don To Cao 15-06-2016, PHỤ LỤC A – B – C
PHỤ LỤC A – B – CTran Thi Hong Denunciation Letter June-15-2016, Appendices A – B – C
http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20054&LangID=E
Summary Report on Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh (April 4, 2017)
– Denunciation letter of Mrs. Tran Thi Hong – Vietnamese (June 15, 2016)
– BPSOS-01 Global Magnitsky Act – Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh & Mrs. Tran Thi Hong
– BPSOS-03 Global Magnitsky Act – Central High Churches 03-16-2017