VIETNAM: Government Wages Brutal Attack on House Church

The Voice of the Martyrs

VOM contacts report a violent government raid against a Vietnamese house church on May 22nd at 2:30 p.m. Fifty law enforcement officers, secret police, officials and their hired thugs attacked Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang’s Mennonite house church at C5H1 Tran Nao Street in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. Believers were making repairs to the house where they meet for worship when attackers mercilessly stormed the building. Christians were seriously beaten with nightsticks, numchucks and electric cattle prods. Among those attacked were 10 pastors, youth group members, and other house-church members.

During the attack, Pastor Quang was shocked with an electric prod and clubbed with a nightstick. Nguyen Hieu Nghia, a church worker, was also struck with a nightstick and kicked in the chest, and Tran Minh Hoa was beaten and forcibly pulled down from the roof. The repairs done to the house church were torn down and authorities confiscated all of the construction materials. As neighbors looked on, eleven of the Christians?including former prisoners Pastor Quang, Pham Ngoc Thach, Nguyen Huu Nghia and Le Thi Hong Lien?were arrested, handcuffed and dragged to the Binh Khanh Ward Office in District 2, where they were beaten and interrogated for hours. While some of the Christians were released from custody after several hours of interrogation, others were not set free until midnight. Pastor Quang was not released until 6:30 p.m. the next day.

In 2004 Pastor Quang served nearly 15 months in prison under the false charge of obstructing police officers. While he was in prison, police tore down 12 feet of home’s roof (July 19, 2005), claiming it didn’t meet building codes. The true reasoning behind the destruction, however, was the continued use of his home as a house church and Pastor Quang’s Internet disclosures of the Vietnamese government’s injustices inflicted upon Christians. After his release from prison, Pastor Quang was granted a building permit to repair his roof and floor to stop water damage on May 8, 2006, but authorities argued his repairs exceeded the allowance of his permit. This was the excuse authorities used to wage their vicious attack. Throughout Ho Chi Minh City and all of Vietnam, there are no official buildings for Mennonite Christians to safely gather or worship. Pastor Quang faithfully continues to lead worship services and meetings in his house church. Further details and additional photos of this attack will appear in The Voice of the Martyr’s August 2006 newsletter.