THE TRIAL OF PASTOR NGUYEN THI HONG

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000065 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH AND DRL/IRF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV PREL VM SUBJECT: THE TRIAL OF PASTOR NGUYEN THI HONG REF: A) 08 HCMC 1035 B) 07 HCMC 776 AND PREVIOUS C) 08 HCMC 815 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The HCMC People's Court sentenced Mennonite pastor Nguyen Thi Hong to three years in jail on charges related to outstanding debts owed by her deceased first husband on January 15, 2009. Pastor Hong, a long time political dissident married to democracy activist Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang of the unrecognized Mennonite church, was arrested in November 2007. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has requested a meeting with Hong during their proposed February visit. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On November 2, 2007, Mennonite pastor Nguyen Thi Hong was arrested and detained on a warrant issued in 1999 alleging Ms. Hong was responsible for debts of approximately 450 million VND in loans taken out by her first husband to finance their property development business. In 1996, the company went bankrupt and Pastor Hong was forced to sell her assets to repay some of their debts. Pastor Hong's husband was then killed in a traffic accident, leaving her with five children to raise. Pastor Hong moved in with her cousin, who introduced her to the Mennonite faith. ¶3. (SBU) According to her lawyer, Mr. Tran Vu Hai, and her second husband, Mennonite Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, Hong's former company owed outstanding debts to a construction company in Vinh Long and to a private citizen, Mr. Cong. Pastor Hong paid a portion of the debt to Mr. Cong's family, but was never able to settle all debts to the Vinh Long-based company. Mr. Cong's family eventually signed a request to waive Pastor Hong of criminal charges. As Mr. Hai pointed out during Hong's January 15 trial, Vietnamese law during the late 1990s also waived criminal liabilities for businesses that went bankrupt due to the Asian financial crisis. Pastor Hong's family members and ten supporters attended her trial, which ended with prosecutors sentencing her to three years in prison. When asked why the police decided to charge Hong on an eight-year old warrant after plaintiffs had already dropped the charges, Hai speculated that police used the warrant as an excuse to prosecute Pastor Hong after she was arrested in November 2007 as a result of her political activism. Hong's Arrest Politically Motivated -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Pastor Hong's current husband, Pastor Quang, is a well-known political activist who broke with the mainstream Vietnam Mennonite Church in 2004. Quang, who was jailed briefly in 2004 for public disorder and resisting arrest, is a Bloc 8406 manifesto signatory and close associate of Dr. Nguyen Dan Que (ref A). Quang said prior to her arrest, Pastor Hong was active in the land rights movement, including supplying food and water to HCMC land protestors during their month-long demonstration in front of the Southern National Assembly Office (ref B). Quang also said that Hong spend time preaching to factory workers in Binh Duong provinces and visiting political prisoners like PalTalk activist Truong Quoc Huy and United Workers Farmers Organization (UWFO) spokesman Tran Quoc Hien in jail. During the trial, prosecutors also said Pastor Hong's participation in the "illegal Mennonite church" was under investigation. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Hong's conviction on long-expired charges recalls the September 2008 trial of blogger Dieu Cay, who was convicted of tax evasion despite legal evidence of his innocence (ref C). Both cases are examples of how authorities in Vietnam appear to be turning away from using national security provisions in favor of more subtle, yet equally effective, means to silence dissenters. End comment. ¶6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. FAIRFAX