Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation Calls on Vietnam for the Unjust Sentencing of Khmer-Krom Buddhist Monks and Activists by Vietnamese Court

The Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) expresses their concerns and resounding condemnation of the recent verdict delivered by the Vietnamese court in Vinh Long Province against Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks and activists. A court in the southern province of Long An has delivered the verdict on November 26, 2024, disregarding the fair trial principles.

The defendants, unjustly detained, are Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks and activists: Venerable Thach Chanh Da Ra, Venerable Duong Khai, Mr. Kim Khiem, Mr. Thach Nha, Venerable Thach Quy Lay, Venerable Kim Sa Ruong, Venerable Thach Chop, Mr. Thach Ve Sanal, and Mr. Kim Khu. The arrests started in March 2024 and KKF has since consistently called out the injustice faced by these individuals, issuing statements highlighting their illegal detention. According to the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation, these Buddhist monks and activists have been denied the most basic rights: access to legal counsel, visits from family members, and the opportunity to defend themselves freely. Reports indicate that they were subjected to coercive tactics, including threats and intimidation, aimed at forcing them to confess to crimes they did not commit. Despite their families’ and communities’ attempts to attend the trial, the Vietnamese government deployed police forces to prevent many from witnessing the proceedings. Those who managed to participate described the defendants as appearing mentally distressed, a clear sign of the psychological pressure they endured during their lengthy detention. This is especially true for Venerable Thach Chanh Da Ra, whose mental state appeared abnormal, suggesting he suffered from prolonged intimidation and forced confessions. Shockingly, the Vietnamese government broadcasted a coerced confession from Venerable Thach Chanh Da Ra immediately following the trial, a move that only underscores the trial’s unfairness.

The verdict handed down by the court is as followed:

• Venerable Thach Chanh Da Ra: 6 years imprisonment. According to the police, Venerable Thach Chanh Da Ra has instructed his followers to illegally detain and attack local authorities when they tried to search the temple, where the resided, in November 2023. However, the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation said the monks were defending themselves against the attack by non-uniformed Vietnamese officials. The officials, accompanied by local gang members, had disrupted a Khmer language class at the temple, KKF said. There was another conflict at the same temple in 2022, the authorities tried to cut a sacred 700-years-old tree.
• Venerable Duong Khai: 5 years, 9 months imprisonment.
• Mr. Kim Khiem: 3 years imprisonment.
• Mr. Thach Nha: 2 years, 6 months imprisonment
• Venerable Thach Quy Lay, Venerable Kim Sa Ruong, Venerable Thach Chop, Mr. Thach Ve Sanal, and Mr. Kim Khu: 2 years imprisonment each.

Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation states: “This unjust trial is clear evidence that the Vietnamese government continues to suppress the Khmer-Krom for peacefully practicing their Theravada Buddhism and asserting their religious rights. As members of the indigenous Khmer-Krom community, these individuals have committed no crime other than to stand up for their right to practice their faith in their own temples freely.”

Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation urges the international community to take the following
actions:

1. Demand Independent Monitoring: KKF urges foreign embassies in Vietnam to ask the
   Vietnamese government to permit independent observers to visit these imprisoned Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks and activists. This is crucial to ensure that they are not suffering from the psychological consequences of their forced confessions and
   prolonged intimidation.
2. Place Vietnam on the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) List: The United States government is urged to designate Vietnam as a “Country of Particular Concern” due to its ongoing and systematic violations of religious freedom, particularly against the KhmerKrom community.
3. Urge the United Nations to Remove Vietnam from the Human Rights Council: The global community should ask the United Nations to reconsider Vietnam’s status as a member of the Human Rights Council. A country that conducts “Kangaroo Courts” to unjustly imprisoned peaceful religious figures and activists contradicts the very principles of the UN.
4. Issue Public Statements of Solidarity: Governments committed to justice, democracy,
   and human rights should publicly denounce this latest injustice. They must call for the immediate release of the imprisoned Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks and activists, whose lives are directly impacted by these actions, and demand that Vietnam adhere to the fundamental human rights enshrined in international treaties that Vietnam ratified, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Global Human Rights Defence stands in solidarity with the victims and their families as well as the whole Khmer-Krom community