Recent Persecution Updates from Uzbekistan, China and Vietnam
by Staff
May 24, 2007
Uzbekistan:
Pastor Salavat Serikbayev, who was arrested in the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan for his religious activities on April 18 (see www.persecution.net/news/uzbekistan32.html for more details), received a suspended sentence of two years imprisonment for "violating the procedure for teaching religion" on May 10. According to a May 10 report from Forum 18, the court banned Serikbayev from traveling abroad during the two-year period. It was also ordered that twenty per cent of any salary he earns be taken from him. Serikbayev denied the charges, claiming that the police officers who testified that they had seen him teaching religion were lying.China:
Hua Huiqi, (www.persecution.net/news/china160.html) the house church activist who was arrested along with his mother, Shuang Shuying, in late January, will likely be tried in two weeks at Chaoyang District People's Court. According to a May 14 report from China Aid Association, Huiqi's case was transferred to the court on May 10. The court has not allowed Huiqi's lawyer to meet with him. Shuying, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment, has been held in an emergency medical center since her sentence. She suffers from a heart problem and diabetes and her doctors said her health was too poor for her to be sent to a formal prison.
Vietnam:
After a four-hour trial on May 11, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Chong Nhan, two Christian Lawyers facing accusations relating to their defense of religious freedom (see www.persecution.net/news/vietnam56.html for more info), were convicted of "propagandizing against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." According to a May 16 report from Compass Direct, Dai received a sentence of five years in prison and four years of house arrest. Nhan was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of house arrest. Both of them are expected to appeal to the People's Supreme Court, which is the last court of appeal in Vietnam.
In the weeks leading up to the trial, the state media made several accusations against the lawyers, including allegations that they compiled "evidence of Vietnam's suppressi on of the Protestant religion" and cooperated with terrorists in their efforts to promote human rights. These and other accusations were posted on the Vietnam News Agency website one day prior to the trial date.
