Nguyen Trong Tong, Vietnamese prisoner of faith.

NGUYEN TRUNG TON​

VIETNAM​

Charged With​

‘Carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government’

Family Situation​

Pastor Nguyen is married with children

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(Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, VOM Canada, Geneva Summit)
Protestant pastor and freedom of religion activist Nguyen Trung Ton, was arrested on July 30, 2017 at his home in Thanh Hoa. On April 5, 2018 Pastor Ton, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for ‘carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government’ under Article 79 of the Vietnamese penal code. On June 4, 2018, Pastor Ton and four other defenders had their sentences upheld at an appeal trial. In July 2018 Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was transferred from a detention centre in Hanoi, to a prison camp in Dak Lak province, about 1,000 km from his home
Pastor Ton has been imprisoned before. In 2011 he was sentenced to two years in prison, on charges of ‘anti-state propaganda’ under Article 88 of the penal code. His real crime was that he had advocated for the right to freedom of religion or belief and had spoken out against social injustices in Vietnam. After his release from prison, he faced numerous instances of harassment from security officials.
In February 2018, Pastor Ton’s son, Nguyen Trung Trong Nghia, addressed the 10th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy to tell the story of the ongoing harassment against his father, his mother’s struggle to sustain the family, and the persecution against independent church leaders. He told the audience: “While in jail, my father has been denied a lawyer. And it was only a few weeks ago, after 6 months, that my mother was able to see my dad. Everybody burst out in tears as my 10-year-old brother started crying because he sees dad. My mom couldn’t hold her tears, thinking of what has been happening for our family for the past 16 years. Ever since we started to be different, ever since we started to stand for what is right, ever since we started to say, ‘enough is enough’.

Ton has various serious health problems. When his wife took a difficult trip to visit him, prison officials blocked her.

Prison Address:​

Gia Trung Prison,
Mang Yang district,
Gia Lai Province
Vietnam

SAMPLE LETTERS TO PRISONERS


Please DO

Write in English and write as neatly as you are able to. Your letter must be legible to be translated (Many people study English, so there will often be someone to translate your letter).

• Express your Christian love and tell them that you are praying for them (then do!) They, in turn, will be praying for you!
• Keep your letter brief and loving – one page is enough.
• Include Bible verses.
• Hand write the address on envelopes accurately and mark it AIRMAIL; make sure the postage is correct.
• You may include a snapshot of yourself, your family or your prayer group if you want to make your letter even more personal and special.

Please DON'T

Do not write about politics or criticise the government.

• Never mention the source of your information or the name of any organisation such as Voice of the Martyrs. It is not dangerous for a prisoner to receive letters from an individual, but if an organisation is mentioned, they may be accused of links with “foreign organisations” and receive even harsher sentences.
• Use words that might imply some kind of hidden activity e.g. “thank you for the Christian work that you have done in Vietnam” might imply that the prisoner had done some covert work for a foreign organisation to subvert the government.
• Build up hopes and expectations of prisoners – and likewise, don’t make any offer of help unless you intend to act on it!
• Use religious jargon, sermonize, or be presumptuous about the prisoner’s situation, needs or feelings.
• Quote verses which refer to war, fighting, armour, weapons (eg ‘the sword of the spirit’, ‘fighting the good fight of faith’, ‘the armour of God’ etc).