Arrest after death of church elder

A police officer who was involved in the death in police custody of church elder Hoang Van Ngai has been arrested.

According to the Vietnamese media, the local authorities in Dak Nong Province are conducting an investigation into possible acts of “irresponsibility” by the police which may have had “serious consequences” which contributed to the death of Hoang Van Ngai. The officer arrested, Le Manh Nam, was the Deputy Chief of Police in the town where Hoang Van Ngai died in March 2013.

Hoang Van Ngai was an elder of Bui Tre Church, which belongs to the legally recognised Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South). According to his relatives, Ngai defended the church when the authorities tried to force it to close, stood up against abuses of power and refused to pay bribes. On 15 March 2013, he and his brother Hoang Van Pa were arrested without formal documentation. Ngai’s brother, who was detained in an adjacent room, heard the sound of violent beating just before his brother’s limp body was removed from the cell on 17 March. Photographs of Ngai’s corpse show severe bruising which was not there before he was detained.

Ngai’s family members rejected the police’s explanation that Ngai had committed suicide, and filed several complaints about his death. However, in mid-May 2013, after two months of petitioning, the authorities finallynotified the family that their investigation had confirmed the original finding of suicide by self-electrocution.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “The death of Hoang Van Ngai in police custody in March 2013 was a tragedy for his family, his church, and the community which loved and respected him. The authorities’ failure to address the questions raised by Ngai’s death casts serious doubt on the government’s commitment to the protection of human rights in Vietnam. We hope that the arrest of this officer is a sign that the authorities are looking afresh at the case. We urge the authorities to take this opportunity to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into Ngai’s death, and to hold to account those found to be responsible.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visitwww.csw.org.uk.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.