Vietnamese police has just announced that seven Catholics who have been detained after the violent police raid at Tam Toa church will have to face criminal charges.
At the news conference held at Hanoi’s office of the Ministry of Information and Communications on Tuesday, July 28, Major General Hoang Cong Tu, Deputy General Director of the General Security Department under the Ministry of Public Security had announced the decision of Vietnam government to prosecute seven Catholics who have been detained without bail since the earlier attack of police at Tam Toa.
Bishop’s Office of the diocese of Vinh immediately denounced the decision. Fr. Anthony Pham Dinh Phung, the chief secretary of the Bishopric Office disclosed that Vietnam government had called Bishop’s Office to ask Vinh Catholics to help calm down the public outrage over police misconduct. Now, the tide is turning and they are going to prosecute the arrested Catholics. “We will not calm down until they release the seven people they arrested,” he said on Wednesday apparently being really upset at the turn.
On July 20, 2009 police in Quang Binh province launched a surprised attack on the unarmed parishioners of Tam Toa - a struggling parish of the diocese of Vinh in Central Vietnam - when these Catholics were erecting a makeshift tent as a temporary place for worshiping services. The assault resulted in hundreds being injured, and 18 were taken away in police vehicles. 11 Catholics were released after that but 7 are still behind bars and now going to be tried in criminal court.
Charges filed by police in Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh province had accused the group of seven of committing “counter-revolutionary” crimes, violating state policies on Americans’ War Crimes Memorial Sites, disturbing public order, and attacking officials-on-duty. They, if convicted, would face severe punishment under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
The police General said that the accused Catholics “confessed their guilt and pleaded for clemency”, noting that most of them are Quang Binh residents. “They also acknowledged several others, including Father Le Thanh Hong and Vo Thi Thu Thuy, 52, who were involved in the illegal building of a house on the site,” Vietnam Net, a state media of Vietnam government quoted Tu.
Fr. Le Thanh Hong, the parish priest of Tam Toa, has been accused by state media of inciting the arrested Catholics who have been portrayed by state media as Catholics leaders deceiving other Catholics into “illegal building a house on the site”. However, all arrested Catholics are not even belonging to his parish and -as a matter of fact- most were just handy men coming from other parishes to help building the makeshift tent.
Sister Marie Tan of the Cross Lovers Congregation of Huong Phuong in Quang Binh province, herself was beaten brutally and was taken away to be thrown into police van but the crowd managed to rescue her revealed that “the victims were grabbed at random during the chaos” noting that police had fired tear gas into Catholics before jumping to them to beat and arrest 18 of them at random.
Local sources have reported that on Wednesday night gangs acting on the police’s behest roamed the streets yelling anti-Catholic slogans suggesting the death of Fr. Hong whose whereabouts remains unknown as Catholics in Dong Hoi had to flee the city in search for their safety.
Doctors caring for Fr. Peter Nguyen The Binh who was beaten into a coma, then dropped from the second floor of a hospital in Dong Hoi said on Wednesday that he had escaped death but his condition would need further treatment. Fr. Paul Nguyen Dinh Phu with broken ribs and head injuries seems to be in better shape but still in need of medical treatments in Xa Doai hospital.
Tu denied attacks on the said priests but Bishop’s Office of the diocese of Vinh has just released photos showing serious injuries on the priests.
 |
| Surgery on Fr. Peter Nguyen The Binh's lips |
 |
| Doctors giving surgery for Fr. Binh at Xa Doai hospital |
 |
| Police and pro-government thugs roaming on the streets of Dong Hoi |
Bishop’s Office of the diocese of Vinh immediately denounced the decision. Fr. Anthony Pham Dinh Phung, the chief secretary of the Bishopric Office disclosed that Vietnam government had called Bishop’s Office to ask Vinh Catholics to help calm down the public outrage over police misconduct. Now, the tide is turning and they are going to prosecute the arrested Catholics. “We will not calm down until they release the seven people they arrested,” he said on Wednesday apparently being really upset at the turn.
On July 20, 2009 police in Quang Binh province launched a surprised attack on the unarmed parishioners of Tam Toa - a struggling parish of the diocese of Vinh in Central Vietnam - when these Catholics were erecting a makeshift tent as a temporary place for worshiping services. The assault resulted in hundreds being injured, and 18 were taken away in police vehicles. 11 Catholics were released after that but 7 are still behind bars and now going to be tried in criminal court.
Charges filed by police in Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh province had accused the group of seven of committing “counter-revolutionary” crimes, violating state policies on Americans’ War Crimes Memorial Sites, disturbing public order, and attacking officials-on-duty. They, if convicted, would face severe punishment under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
The police General said that the accused Catholics “confessed their guilt and pleaded for clemency”, noting that most of them are Quang Binh residents. “They also acknowledged several others, including Father Le Thanh Hong and Vo Thi Thu Thuy, 52, who were involved in the illegal building of a house on the site,” Vietnam Net, a state media of Vietnam government quoted Tu.
Fr. Le Thanh Hong, the parish priest of Tam Toa, has been accused by state media of inciting the arrested Catholics who have been portrayed by state media as Catholics leaders deceiving other Catholics into “illegal building a house on the site”. However, all arrested Catholics are not even belonging to his parish and -as a matter of fact- most were just handy men coming from other parishes to help building the makeshift tent.
Sister Marie Tan of the Cross Lovers Congregation of Huong Phuong in Quang Binh province, herself was beaten brutally and was taken away to be thrown into police van but the crowd managed to rescue her revealed that “the victims were grabbed at random during the chaos” noting that police had fired tear gas into Catholics before jumping to them to beat and arrest 18 of them at random.
Local sources have reported that on Wednesday night gangs acting on the police’s behest roamed the streets yelling anti-Catholic slogans suggesting the death of Fr. Hong whose whereabouts remains unknown as Catholics in Dong Hoi had to flee the city in search for their safety.
Doctors caring for Fr. Peter Nguyen The Binh who was beaten into a coma, then dropped from the second floor of a hospital in Dong Hoi said on Wednesday that he had escaped death but his condition would need further treatment. Fr. Paul Nguyen Dinh Phu with broken ribs and head injuries seems to be in better shape but still in need of medical treatments in Xa Doai hospital.
Tu denied attacks on the said priests but Bishop’s Office of the diocese of Vinh has just released photos showing serious injuries on the priests.