Asia News Vietnam’s jailing of Khmer monks violates religious freedom, human rights group says

Human rights activists have accused Vietnam of violating religious freedom after a court this week sentenced five ethnic Khmer Buddhist monks and four religious activists to prison.

A court in the southern province of Long An sentenced the men to two to six years in prison after finding them guilty of “abusing democratic freedoms in violation of state interests” and illegally detaining people, according to a police statement.

Among them, Khmer Krom Buddhist monk Thach Chanh Da Ra was given the longest prison sentence of six years during a hearing on Tuesday (November 26), Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

Asian Human Rights and Labor Advocates (AHRLA) said late Wednesday that the sentences handed down to the monks were “outrageous and unacceptable”.

Police said Thach Chanh Da Ra instructed his followers to illegally detain and attack local officials when they tried to search the temple where he lived.

It was not immediately clear why the temple was ransacked and the reasons for the monks’ resistance.

Reuters could not immediately contact the monks’ lawyers.

“What was actually on trial was the right of the Khmer Krom people to practice their religion, language and culture without interference from Vietnam’s ruling Communist party,” said AHRLA director Phil Robertson, referring to the Khmer ethnic group, most of whom live in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. They are Buddhists.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He said the sentences showed that the government was intolerant of freedom of religion and belief outside tightly controlled official structures.

“The international community must unequivocally condemn these blatant violations of rights and demand the immediate and unconditional release of these monks and activists,” Robertson said. he said.

The U.S. State Department included restrictions on religious freedom in a long list of “significant human rights issues” in a 2023 report on communist-ruled Vietnam.

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