My Yen incident, September 2013

Executive Summary

The following information concerns a protest by Catholic citizens from My Yen parish which took place in Nghi Phuong Commune, Nghi Loc District in the province of Nghe An on 4 September 2013. The information about the case which emerged soon after the incident has now been cross-referenced with other testimonies gathered in October 2013.

Sources agree that the demonstrators who gathered on 4 September were protesting the arrest of Nguyen Van Hai, 43, and Ngo Van Khoi, 53, also from My Yen parish, who were detained after being involved in a previous incident on 22 May 2013. On that date the two men were part of a crowd of Catholics visiting a shrine and attending Mass at a church in Nghi Phuong Commune.1 Three men later revealed to be plainclothes police officers were stopping and searching people on the road to the church. The men did not show any identification, and there was confusion among the crowd as to their identity. According to some sources, some people in the crowd believed they were robbers. Arguments broke out as a result of the tension and confusion.

According to some sources, the three plainclothes police officers, apparently intimidated by the angry crowd, fled to the home of the District Police Officer. The other people present felt they had been wronged because they had been searched without reason, and followed the three officers. However, the situation was not resolved, and further arguments broke out.

Nguyen Van Hai and Ngo Van Khoi were formally arrested on 27 June 2013 and were accused of coordinating the gathering of Catholics at the home of the District Police Officer on 22 May. Some sources believe that the two men were selected as “scapegoats” because they are “easy-going” and police believed they could easily extract a confession. Other sources believe they were arrested because they had told the three police officers to let people into the church. The two men’s families were later informed that they had been charged with “disturbing public order”.

Members of the Catholic community in Nghe An appealed for their release. Bishop Paul Nguyen Thai Hop, the Bishop of Vinh and an influential figure known for speaking out against injustices, also petitioned for their release, claiming the men were innocent. Those calling for their release hoped the two men would be set free under the annual national amnesty on 2 September. When this did not happen, a large number of Catholics demonstrated peacefully in front of the Peoples’ Committee District Office in Nghi Phuong the following day (3 September). In response, the local district chief issued a paper promising that the two men would be released on the afternoon of 4 September. This has been verified by three separate sources.

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