Authorities in Đồng Tháp Province, Vietnam arrested four Cao Dai clergy and lay leaders accused of sharing documentation of human rights abuses online on 12 May.
Trần Ngọc Sương, Nguyen Ngoc Dien, Nguyen Anh Phung and his wife Tran Thanh Tuyet stand accused of engaging in activities including providing interviews and sharing video clips and documentation of human rights abuses, including violations of freedom of religion or belief, via online platforms that the authorities claim contained content which distorts or misrepresents government policies and laws.
Mr Phung and Ms Tuyet were released on 13 May, however Mr Sương was charged under Article 117 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, which criminalises ‘Making, possessing, disseminating, and propagating information and documents aimed at opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’.
The authorities claim that Mr Sương had previously been approached by local authorities and law enforcement for similar activities and was pressured to stop. He is currently being held in pre-trial detention while the investigation continues. CSW sources have not received any information about Mr Dien being charged.
The group was also indicted for associating with Dr Nguyễn Đình Thắng, the president of Vietnamese-American human rights organisation Boat People SOS (BPSOS) who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in absentia in April on false terrorism charges for his alleged role in the 2023 Dak Lak uprising.
CSW’s CEO Scot Bower said: ‘Trần Ngọc Sương, Nguyen Ngoc Dien, Nguyen Anh Phung and Tran Thanh Tuyet have been targeted and detained for speaking the truth about the situation of human rights in Vietnam. While we welcome the release of Mr Phung and Ms Tuyet, we emphasise that they should never have been arrested in the first place, and call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Sương and Mr Dien. We also call on Vietnam to cease its harassment of the Cao Dai and all other religious groups in the country, and to release all those detained or imprisoned in connection with the peaceful exercise or defence of their fundamental human rights.’
Note to Editors:
- Cao Dai, founded in 1926, is a syncretistic modern Vietnamese religious movement with a strongly nationalist political character. Cao Dai draws upon ethical precepts from Confucianism, occult practices from Taoism, theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism, and a hierarchical organisation (including a pope) from Roman Catholicism. The Cao Dai have regularly had applications for festivals denied by authorities, and individuals associated with unregistered Cap Dai groups face harassment which can include disruption of their religious worship and confiscation of property.