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Ho Chi Minh City Court Upholds Sentences

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — The prison sentences of Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and Evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach were upheld by a superior court here on Tuesday morning, April 12.

Mrs. Le Thi Phu Dung, wife of Pastor Quang, and Thach's father were the only family members permitted to enter the courthouse. The appeal hearing lasted just over two hours.

More than 200 persons gathered in the street outside the court to demonstrate their support for the Mennonite leaders. These included leaders of the Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship, a house church association to which Quang had given legal help, and Mennonite church leaders, many of whom were ethnic minorities who came from the Central Highlands.

Father Chan Tin, a highly-respected Redemptorist priest who first criticized government abuses by the pre-revolution Saigon government more than forty years ago, was also there to show his support. He has circulated materials in support of Pastor Quang.

Quang and Thach were sentenced along with four others by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court on November 12 after being convicted of the crime of opposing persons carrying out official duties. Quang was given a 3-year term and Thach 2 years.

Attorney Nguyen Van Dai represented the two men in court. He argued that evidence of the case would warrant no more than fines for a summary offense.

Though Vietnamese law calls for an appeal hearing to be announced at least fifteen days before the court appearance, Mr. Dai was not authorized to represent Quang until April 1.

Mr. Dai met with Quang in Ho Chi Minh City's Chi Hoa prison on Friday, April 8. The attorney said that the two men had not yet been informed about the date of the hearing.

Asked by a reporter about the health and morale of Pastor Quang, the attorney replied that Quang is "in good health and in good spirits." Dai said Quang was prepared to accept any verdict.

According to Dai, Quang said: "I am content until I am released. I am a pastor. I have faith. God will take care of me."

Quang told his defense attorney that he was happy to daily help prisoners who were HIV positive.

The Vietnam Mennonite Church had called on Christians to fast and pray on April 11 and 12. On the 11th Mrs. Quang was summoned by the local authorities for interrogation for her part in writing this letter.

Asked for her reactions to the court decisions, Mrs. Quang said she was disheartened. She said that she is concerned that the local authorities will put more pressure on the church to curtail its activities.

Four other Mennonite leaders were sentenced to prison in November for the same incident. Three men have completed their terms and have been released. Ms. Le Thi Hong Lien, the sole woman, is suffering from severe mental illness and has been transferred to a mental hospital.

Vietnam regularly announces general amnesties for prisoners three times yearly. Unless granted amnesty, Pastor Quang could be imprisoned until June, 2007. Thach would be released in March 2006.