Vietnamese Christian Beaten to Death

Washington, D.C. (April 30, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that an imprisoned Vietnamese Christian died on March 11, 2010, after a long period of abuse and torture.

K’pa Lot was arrested on May 20th, 2007, for publicly expressing his Christian faith, and imprisoned in Phu Yen province. He was kept separate from other prisoners and relocated whenever community and international agencies visited to monitor prison conditions.

On March 9th, 2010, K’Pa was taken from the prison to a hospital in Pleiku. In the past Vietnamese authorities have released prisoners just prior to death in order to keep it off the official record.

Scott Johnson, spokesman for the Montagnard Foundation (a non-profit dedicated to protecting the Montagnard people of central Vietnam) described the state K’Pa Lot arrived in, “His family could not recognize him. He was swollen and had bruises all over his body and face. He could not move or eat, and could barely speak.”

“K’Pa whispered to his wife in his native language and told her about how he was regularly tortured inside prison, beaten on a daily basis by the authorities. He said they beat him with whatever they had in their hands as if they wanted him to die.”

K’Pa Lot died on March 11 from internal bleeding.

According to Montagnard Foundation, security officials forced the family to quickly bury his body. K’Pa Lot, 31 at the time of his death, is survived by his wife and two children.

ICC’s Regional Manager, Logan Maurer, stated, “K’Pa’s torture and death exposes the true state of religious freedom in Vietnam. In 2006 the US State Department removed Vietnam from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, citing progress in religious freedom. Clearly events like this show what really is happening behind closed doors; religious freedom in Vietnam is a convenient falsehood. We urge the US and other governments to exert influence all on Vietnam to improve its treatment of religious minorities. ”