(VIETNAM)
Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News) [Hong Kong]
August 7, 2026
By UCA News
Defense lawyer says prosecutors failed to prove specific acts that constituted a crime under Vietnamese law
An Ede Protestant pastor from an ethnic minority in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for allegedly undermining the policy of national unity, in a case his lawyer says failed to establish specific acts constituting a crime.
The People’s Court of Dak Lak province sentenced Pastor Y Nuen Ayun, 59, on Aug. 5 and ordered him to serve four years of probation after his release.
His wife and children attended the trial, which lasted just over two hours, according to his lawyer, Ha Huy Son.
Nuen Ayun was arrested at his home Oct. 7, 2025. Authorities accused him of using the Central Highlands Protestant Church of Christ as a cover for activities that violated national security.
Prosecutors alleged that he received more than 7.7 million dong (US$290) from Pastor A Ga to support the organization, with the aim of establishing a separate religious organization for ethnic minorities outside government control and eventually creating a separate state.
A Ga, founder of the Central Highlands Protestant Church of Christ, is now a refugee in the United States. Dak Lak authorities prosecuted him in absentia in 2023 on the same charge of undermining the policy of national unity.
Son disputed the allegations against Nuen Ayun, saying the indictment failed to identify specific actions that divided people from the government, armed forces or political and social organizations, as required under Article 116 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code.
The defendant participated in the Central Highlands Protestant Church of Christ without the motive or purpose of opposing the government, Son wrote on Facebook after the trial.
He said Nuen Ayun understood that the church had registered with authorities but had not been officially recognized, and that Vietnamese law does not prohibit such activity.
Son also challenged prosecutors’ description of the church as a reactionary organization, saying they provided no evidence to support the claim. He argued that establishing and running a church, preaching, developing followers, and organizing worship online and at meeting places do not in themselves demonstrate an intention to oppose the government.
He also said materials seized by investigators had not been examined by specialized agencies and that the evidence did not establish all the elements required for a criminal offense.
The Central Highlands is home to dozens of ethnic groups that have lived in the region for centuries. Many communities remain economically disadvantaged, while religious activities by groups not officially recognized by the state face particular restrictions, according to international religious-freedom monitors.
The Central Highlands Protestant Church of Christ, an independent Protestant community, is not recognized by the Vietnamese government. Nuen Ayun has previously been detained and questioned several times.
The church said his imprisonment was intended to intimidate its members and force them to abandon their faith. It said members have faced police harassment and questioning since the church was founded and seek only to practice their faith under Vietnam’s Constitution and Law on Belief and Religion.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has for five consecutive years recommended designating Vietnam a Country of Particular Concern. Its 2026 report said authorities continued to pressure unregistered religious groups and those operating outside the state-recognized system.
Vietnam has been on the U.S. State Department’s Special Watch List since 2022. Freedom House >
Vietnamese authorities reject such assessments, saying freedom of religion is guaranteed by law and that people prosecuted in such cases are punished for violating the law, not for their religious beliefs.
In April, police in neighboring Gia Lai province prosecuted four ethnic Bahnar people, ages 34 to 85, on the same charge. Authorities accused them of using religion to recruit hundreds of followers and revive FULRO and Dega Protestantism, which are regarded as reactionary movements by the communist government.