ICC Note: On Wednesday judges in Vietnam’s Nghe An Province sentenced two Catholic men to several months in prison. The men were detained four months ago after campaigning for human rights and their arrest sparked large protests by the Catholic community. On September 4th one of those protests was violently broken up by riot police. Dozens of Christians were injured and reports at the time said authorities prevented many from receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. The sentence demonstrates just how resolved Vietnam remains to control and contain the growth of Christianity, despite the negative publicity and protests that such control generates. 
10/25/2013 Vietnam (AsiaNews) – Disappointment, anger, dismay: this is the reaction of family, priests and parishioners in My yen following the sentence imposed on two Vietnamese Catholics in prison for months, for having fought in favor of human rights and religious freedom. The entire Vietnamese Catholic community had fought for their release and their story, thanks to the commitment and testimony of the Bishop of Vinh Msgr. Paul Nguyen Thai Hop, had garnered international interest. However, a court in the coastal region in north-central Vietnam issued the verdict on charges of “disturbing” public order. A specious charge frequently used by judges and by the communist authorities to silence dissent and free voices in the country.
On 23 October, the judges of the Court of Vinh , capital of the province of Nghe An, sentenced 53 year old Ngo Van Khoi to seven months in prison and Nguyen Van Hai , 43, to six months in jail (pictured a time of trial ) . The hearing lasted about three hours in a closed-door trial that not even the family were informed of.
The two were arrested last June, in the weeks after the authorities had announced their release on several occasions but never carried out their promise. Their failure to release the two sparked animated protests violently repressed by Vietnamese police, as happened on September 4 with numerous injuries and several arrests. In response to the faithful – steadfast in supporting priests and diocesan leaders in the fight for the freedom of the parishioners – celebrated Masses and prayer vigils, attended by tens of thousands of people.
Vietnamese media also launched a heavy smear campaign against the bishop, while the Nghe An provincial authorities sought to isolate the prelate from the Conference of Bishops and obtain his expulsion . A position that united the Vietnamese bishops even more and gave rise to demonstrations of solidarity, respect and closeness from the prelates nationwide, including the Bishop of Kontum.
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