Dak Lak: Police arrest three worshippers from a Protestant house church

There has been no definite news about their fate since 4 March. The arrest took place without a warrant or explanation of the reasons. They are relatives of Pastor Y Khen Bdap, who was also sentenced in 2004 to four years for 'disturbing public order' for religious activities. The community had already been subjected to sectarian violence and persecution in the past.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) - Vietnamese police have stopped and taken three members of an independent Protestant house church in the province of Dak Lak, in the Central Highlands, without providing information on their fate to their families and community.

The arrests occurred in an area already the scene of sectarian tensions in the past and date back to March 4th but, to date, there is no official communication from the authorities as confirmed by a family member.

Pastor Y Khen Bdap explained to Radio Free Asia (Rfa) that the detainees are members of his family: his younger brother Y Qui Bdap, his son Y Nam Bkrong and his nephew Y Kic Bkrong.

All three people arrested belong to the Ede ethnic minority and permanently reside in the village of Ea Khit, in the municipality of Ea Bhok, in the district of Cu Kuin. For many years they have worked for Kuka Home Vietnam, an upholstered furniture manufacturing company in Dong Xoai city, Binh Phuoc province, and live in a rented apartment nearby near the factory.

Police from Dak Lak and Binh Phuoc provinces visited their home on the evening of March 3 to check their documents and search the place. The following day, the officers went to their company while they were working and picked them up. The police "arrested and detained them - says the pastor - without any explanation or warrant".

The Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ and the Independent Protestant Church are two religious groups in Dak Lak province that Hanoi has not recognized, making it difficult to carry out activities.

Members are often subjected to harassment and arrest by communist authorities. Y Khen Bdap said that in recent days his family went to the People's Committee and the police headquarters in the municipality of Ea Bhok to ask for information on the fate of the detainees, without receiving answers. As of noon on March 8, the family had not received any official notification. “We are anxious and worrying” concludes the pastor.

Rfa tried to contact managers and workers of Kuka Home, without receiving a response, and also the Cu Kuin district police and the Dak Lak provincial police to confirm the arrests, in vain. The Rev. Y Khen Bdap is convinced that the raid is linked to the religious practice professed by the family, because the three - like the rest of the family and other members of the community - often participate in annual events dedicated to human rights.

These include the United Nations International Day for the Commemoration of Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, on 22 August, and Human Rights Day, on 10 December.

His brother, Y Qui Bdap, also a preacher, met with US embassy officials in Hanoi in 2020 to report local authorities' repeated harassment of his independent house church. Pastor Y Khen Bdap, who was sentenced to four years in prison for “disturbing public order” for his religious activities in 2004, confirmed that authorities have frequently harassed him and other community leaders since its founding in 2017 Security officials have repeatedly summoned him and other leaders in the past to demand information about their religious activities and, ultimately, to prevent churchgoers from holding events to celebrate Christmas.