Imprisoned human rights defender and Protestant pastor denied medical treatment

A Vietnamese Protestant pastor and human rights defender has again been denied medical treatment at Gia Trung Prison, in Vietnam’s Gia Lai Province, despite his deteriorating health condition.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) informes that Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton is suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19 and an eye disease which has caused a near total loss of vision, however authorities at the prison have not allowed Pastor Ton to be examined or treated and have prevented his family from sending medicine to him or paying for medical care.

Experts have previously voiced concerns regarding Pastor Ton’s treatment and conditions in prison, including informes of a lack of clean water and failure to treat a leg injury sustained from an attack by state agents in February 2017. Mr Ton’s wife, Nguyen Thi Lanh, told RFA that she is worried for her husband’s life.

Pastor Ton has advocated for the right to freedom of religion or belief and spoken out against social injustices. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 5 April 2018 on charges of ‘carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government’ under Article 79 of the Vietnamese penal code.

Inhumane treatment and lack of medical care in Vietnam’s prisons are thought to have caused the deaths of several political prisoners in recent years, including Dinh Diem, a Lutheran pastor, in January 2023, Phan Van Thu, the founder of the Buddhist An Dan Dai Dao religious group, in November 2022, and Doan Dinh Nam, a Buddhist An Dan Dai Dao religious adherent, in October 2019.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘We are deeply concerned for Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton’s health and call on the Vietnamese government to ensure that he has access to the urgent medical attention that he requires. We urge the authorities to immediately release him and other human rights defenders detained unjustly, including Nguyen Bac Truyen, Pham Van Troi and Truong Minh Duc, all of whomstood trial on the same day as Pastor Ton in April 2018.’

In a separate development, RFA has also Reportado the release of Hoa Hao Buddhists Bui Van Trung and Bui Van Tham upon completion of their six-year sentences. The father and son were charged with ‘disrupting public order’ under Article 245 of the penal code, and Bui Van Tham was also charged with ‘resisting officials performing their duty’ (Article 257), in relation to a peaceful demonstration held in April 2017 after police prevented Hoa Hao Buddhists from commemorating the death of another member of the community at Bui Van Trung’s home.

RFA reported that Trung appeared ‘very weak’ upon his release, having been transferred to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City earlier in June for colon cancer treatment. A prisoner of conscience identified as Nam told RFA that Trung’s tumour was discovered in mid-2022, but prison authorities did not allow him to seek treatment until it became significantly worse.

Nam said: ‘If he had received timely treatment, his health wouldn’t have become that bad. As they wanted to harm Hoa Hao Buddhism adherents, the prison did not send him to the hospital [right away].’

Mervyn Thomas added: ‘CSW welcomes news of the release of Bui Van Trung and Bui Van Tham, however we reiterate that they should never have been forced to serve these sentences when their only ‘crime’ was to gather in peaceful protest, as is their fundamental human right. We are also concerned that authorities reportedly delayed allowing Trung to receive the medical treatment he needed, which is yet another indicator of the cruelty with which the Vietnamese government treats prisoners of conscience.’