Two Catholics whose arrest sparked mass protests in Vietnam’s Nghe An province last month have been jailed, reports Ucanews.
Nguyen Van Hai and Ngo Van Khoi were sentenced to six and seven
months respectively for “disturbing public order,” Christian Solidarity
Worldwide (CSW) said.
The two were arrested on June 27 following an incident on May 22 when
Catholics visiting a shrine and attending Mass at a church in Nghi
Phuong commune were stopped and searched, apparently by plain clothes
police.
The searchers did not show any identification and many in the crowd
thought they were robbers.
It is thought Nguyen and Ngo argued with the
officers. Others say the two were merely scapegoats.
Their arrests
brought a petition for their release from Bishop Paul Nguyen Thai Hop of
Vinh diocese and a number of local Catholics.
The district chief promised that they would be freed on September 4.
When that failed to happen, several hundred protesters surrounded the
district office and were dispersed by military personnel with guns,
batons, tear gas and dogs.
Sources in Vietnam told CSW that between 21 and 40 people were hurt
when police and troops beat demonstrators with electric batons.
Religious icons were also smashed, they said.
After the crackdown Bishop
Nguyen appealed on the VietCatholic website for the authorities to
“respect people’s dignity and right to religious belief.” He described
the attack as “barbaric.”