On 26 January 2010 two Vietnamese government security police handcuffed and abducted a Degar Montagnard Christian named Ksor Ju (age 37) for unknown reasons and took him away to an unknown prison. The security police had tied him to their motorcycle and dragged him away while his teenage daughter watched in horror. The same day approximately 30 security police searched and ransacked his house and threatened his family.

At this time we do not know of his whereabouts or whether ksor Ju is alive.

It is suspected that Ksor Ju’s arrest is linked to issues of religious freedom as for many decades now the Vietnamese communist government has brutally suppressed house Church Christians and Ksor Ju himself was a committed Christian. We note that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the US International Commission for Religious Freedom have long acknowledged that hundreds of Degar Montagnards remain imprisoned in Vietnam for non violent activity including religious persecution. The US State Department has also confirmed a number of killings in recent years of Montagnards by Vietnamese authorities. Further details of the abduction of Ksor Ju are as follows:

In January 2010 Ksor Ju (age 37) was ordered to report to the police station in Song Hinh District, Phu Yen province for questioning. On 26 January 2010 at approximately 8 am our Christian Brother Ksor Ju with his 17 years old daughter, Nai H’Yam starting walking to the police station. Ksor Ju is from the village named Buon Sung, at commune Ea Bia, Song Hinh district, Phu Yen province, Vietnam. Half way there two Vietnamese security police riding on a motorcycle stopped and arrested Ksor Ju and handcuffed him. The police also tied him to their motorcycle with a rope and dragged him to the police station while his seventeen year old daughter watched in horror. His daughter cried and ran back to the village and told her mother. On this same day approximately 30 police men from Phu Yen province combined with police from Song Hinh district also ransacked Ksor Ju’s house. The police however, found nothing in his house and threatened his family. It is feared Ksor Ju will be tortured, falsely accused or even killed. To this date his family have no idea where he is or any details of his wellbeing and like the case of Puih H’Bat below the worst is feared.

The Disappearance of “Puih H’Bat” confirmed by the European Parliament

We also refer to the case of “Puih H’bat” a 44 year old Christian Degar Montagnard woman who was arrested and imprisoned in Vietnam in April 2008 for having Christian prayer services in her home. She has not been heard of since her arrest and it is feared that Vietnamese authorities murdered her. Details of her case are described below as quoted from a European Commission Parliamentary question.

Answer given by Mrs Ferrero-Waldner on behalf of the European Commission (20.01.2009): The information provided by the Honourable Member concurs with that collected by the commission. Indeed, according to reports by the Montagnard Foundation, Puih H´Bat was arrested on 11 April 2008 in her home a few days after she had been leading prayer services for Christians in her house in Ploi Bang village, Ia Chia commune, Ia Grai district, Gia Lai province. She has been detained since her arrest. She had refused to join the government-sanctioned Evangelical Church of Vietnam. According to other reliable sources contacted by the EU missions in Hanoi, Puih H´Bat was convicted of violating the law by “destruction of the unity of the people’s solidarity”. The accusation seems to refer to Article 87 of the Penal Code (in Chapter XI on “Crimes of infringing upon national security”) on “Undermining national unity policy”. According to these sources, Puih H´Bat has been sentenced to five years imprisonment in her home province. Representatives from the United States Embassy visited Puih H’Bat’s home commune on 15 October 2008. Following their visit, they wrote to the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ia Grai district to enquire about the whereabouts of Puih H´Bat. They are still waiting for a reply.

Puih Hbat is pictured left and to this date her family has not heard from her. It is feared she has been murdered in custody by Vietnamese authorities. Her father served with the US Army during the Vietnam War.

THE MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION URGENTLY CALLS ON:

• Concerned Embassies, US State Department, European Commission, United Nations, Red Cross and other international humanitarian agencies to investigate the situation facing Ksor Ju and Puih Hbat and do everything in their power to get them released and protected from persecution.
• Concerned Embassies, US State Department, European Commission, United Nations, Red Cross and other international humanitarian agencies demand Vietnam release and account for all the hundreds of other Degar prisoners imprisoned in Vietnam.
• The US State Department including Ambassador Michael Michalak seriously review the hundreds of Degar Montagnards imprisoned in Vietnam and place Vietnam back on the ‘Country of Particular Concern’ watch list as recommended by the US International Commission of Religious Freedom.