Anti-Christian Fundimentalists and Free Speech
TRIAL OF VIETNAMESE ACTIVIST PASTOR BELIEVED TO BE ON FAST TRACK
25th August 2004
Reliable sources in Vietnam have informed Christian Solidarity Worldwide that authorities are working hard to put activist Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang on trial as soon as possible.
A court decision to prosecute is expected in early September 2004. This would then be followed by publication of the indictment and the trial.
Based on previous human rights cases, it is believed that the goal of the authorities will be to convict Quang of “possessing and distributing materials harmful to the State”, based on the evidence he has compiled on numerous human rights infractions by State officials. This crime, if deemed to be in the severest category, carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Those close to the case say authorities have admitted that they are surprised and upset at the unprecedented amount of negative international attention the arrests of Quang and his fellow Mennonites have attracted.
Quang was arrested on June 8, 2004 and originally charged with “inciting others to interfere with officers doing their official duty”. Five other workers of the Vietnam Mennonite Church, of which the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang is General Secretary, are also incarcerated on related charges, some having been held since March 2, 2004.
At the time of Quang’s arrest, authorities seized all of the documents and files belonging to the Mennonite Church. They also removed many files that Quang and his colleagues had compiled which expose official corruption, religious liberty violations and other human rights abuses.
Read The Rest Of The Story http://www.csw.org.uk/Latestnews.asp?item=493
25th August 2004
Reliable sources in Vietnam have informed Christian Solidarity Worldwide that authorities are working hard to put activist Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang on trial as soon as possible.
A court decision to prosecute is expected in early September 2004. This would then be followed by publication of the indictment and the trial.
Based on previous human rights cases, it is believed that the goal of the authorities will be to convict Quang of “possessing and distributing materials harmful to the State”, based on the evidence he has compiled on numerous human rights infractions by State officials. This crime, if deemed to be in the severest category, carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Those close to the case say authorities have admitted that they are surprised and upset at the unprecedented amount of negative international attention the arrests of Quang and his fellow Mennonites have attracted.
Quang was arrested on June 8, 2004 and originally charged with “inciting others to interfere with officers doing their official duty”. Five other workers of the Vietnam Mennonite Church, of which the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang is General Secretary, are also incarcerated on related charges, some having been held since March 2, 2004.
At the time of Quang’s arrest, authorities seized all of the documents and files belonging to the Mennonite Church. They also removed many files that Quang and his colleagues had compiled which expose official corruption, religious liberty violations and other human rights abuses.
Read The Rest Of The Story http://www.csw.org.uk/Latestnews.asp?item=493
posted by LD at 3:58 PM
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