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Wife of Jailed Vietnamese Pastor Briefly Sees Husband

HO CHI MINH CITY — Le Thi Phu Dung, Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang's wife, briefly saw her husband in prison seven weeks after his arrest in a police raid on their home here. The meeting occurred after Quang's wife wrote a letter to senior Vietnamese officials seeking permission to see her husband. But there is no indication that local authorities allowed the visit in response to the request of Mrs. Dung (Mrs. Quang).

Mrs. Dung, a university student and the mother of three small children, explained in the letter that the confiscation of all the family's money in the June 8 police raid when her husband was arrested has placed her in very difficult straits.

The following day, local officials summoned Le Thi Phu Dung and Mennonite evangelist Nguyen Thanh Tam to the police station to open the sealed containers of documents and other items confiscated at Quang's home and church center on June 8, the day he was arrested. When Mrs. Dung declined to do this without first speaking to her husband, the police took her and Tam on the surprise visit to Pastor Quang's cell. They were unable to have a private conversation since police officers remained with them during the brief visit.

The jailed pastor looked thinner, said his wife. Sources in Vietnam say that authorities are trying to build a legal case against Quang for possessing and distributing materials harmful to the state. This crime, if classified as severe, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Meanwhile, four Mennonite evangelists arrested on March 2 have not been allowed visitors in nearly five months of detention.

In other news, from the Hoi An Church in Central Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Sang reported that two women were baptized on August 1 and that members of the church visit each other regularly to offer comfort and encouragement in the faith.