Radio Free Asia, 2013-09-05
Vietnamese authorities have released all 15 Catholics detained in a bloody crackdown on protests in a North Central Coast province but are still refusing to free two parishioners whose arrest in June triggered the demonstrations, sources said Thursday.
Security remained tight in Nghi Phuong village in Nghe An province one day after police opened fire in front of the My Yen church as they moved to break up a demonstration by hundreds demanding the freedom of parishioners Ngo Van Khoi and Nguyen Van Hai, who had been held without trial for nearly three months.
A parishioner told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that five of those detained during the crackdown were freed by the police shortly after being held on Wednesday while the others were released “after our priest talked to them.”
On Thursday morning, “many police and soldiers were still in Nghi Phuong,” the parishioner said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
At least seven people were injured in the crackdown, one seriously, according to the source.
A man identified only as Van, 35 years old, is in “critical” condition after being “beaten at home” by security forces, the source said. “At this moment, three people are still in hospital.”
Read more: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/crackdown-09052013165543.html
