By Khoa Doan / GICJ

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese authorities tend to tighten their grip on religious communities, whether in any region, mountainous or plain, registered or unregistered, orthodox or traditional. In May 2022, the People's Court of Ham Yen district, Tuyen Quang province, sentenced 15 Hmong followers of Duong Van Minh with two to four years in jail. They had a conflict with the police because the government did not return the body of the founder of the religion Duong Van Minh, whom they respected so much. They told the U.S. State Department that they had been severely tortured by the police and forced to renounce their religion. 

In July 2022, six  Tinh That Bong Lai members were sentenced to between 3 and 5 years in prison for abusing freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organisations and individuals under Article 331 of the Penal Code. Before deciding their judgments, the police and state media consistently show evidence of incest before showing their judgments, but this is a false claim. 

In the same month, a Montagnard Baptist claimed that he was threatened by government officials to "handle and persecute" him if he continued to live. As long as the state remains strong, he won't be able to do this. The Vietnamese Catholic Church said the authorities no longer recognise religious groups as before, and it is increasingly difficult to register activities in the Central Highlands and northern provinces. The Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha struggles with the government over a draft on the management of merit money. 

Currently, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs is carrying out activities related to amending the ordinances guiding the implementation of the Law on Belief and Religion and preparing to issue a decree on administrative sanctions in the field of religion and beliefs. Both ordinances would further restrict religious freedom in Vietnam.

In early 2022, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang, who used to hold the position of Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, made public the directives on religious management. He emphasised, "[...] fight against activities that take advantage of religion to cause trouble, destabilise politics, security and order; grasp the security situation in religion, especially among ethnic minorities; struggle with religious extremist groups and individuals who take advantage of freedom of religion to conduct activities against the Party and State [...]".

Six months later, Interior Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra instructed all provinces and cities to strengthen the "state management" of religion, including human resources. "The authorities must proactively plan, select personnel of religious organisations before every congress, and not allow loudmouths with extreme views to hold leadership positions in the church; resolutely criticise and handle violations".

On December 2, 2022, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced that Vietnam was on the Special Watch List (SWL) for religious freedom. The latest reports from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom emphasise that the religious freedom situation is getting increasingly tense in Vietnam. The government has continuously adopted violent methods, taken advantage of the provisions of the 2016 Law on Belief and Religion, and employed various methods of harassment to suppress religious freedom.

Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) expresses serious concern over the increasing restrictions on freedom of religion in Vietnam. For years, the police have used violence to suppress religious freedom and arbitrarily imprison followers of all religions. We urge the government of Vietnam to amend the Law on Belief and Religion to respect the right of every individual to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.

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