Thich Dong Long

Current Status: At risk

Other Names: Thích Đồng Long

Date of Birth:

Gender: M

Religion: Buddhist

Ethnicity: Kinh

Occupation: Religious leader

Areas of Activism:

Religious freedom

Known Affiliations:

Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam

Details - Background, Family Situation.

Background

Thich Dong Long is a member of the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam, which is not recognized by authorities. As such, he has suffered harassment at his pagoda at Lien Tri 2, which is in Cu Chi district, including pressure to join the state-approved Buddhist sangha.

Profile photo source: Radio Free Asia Vietnamese

Family Situation

Tran Thi Ruoi, the mother of Thich Dong Long, a Buddhist monk, received an invitation from the People’s Committee of Trung Lap Ha Commune, to work on “some related issues.” The reason for this invitation was said to be because of Thich Dong Long’s religious activities. The authorities accused Thich Dong Long of “gathering the people” to celebrate Vesak (or Buddha’s Birthday), which Thich Dong Long said was not true, and that he practiced this rite alone. Thich Dong Long participated in the mass demonstration protesting against the bills on Special Economic Zones and Cybersecurity in June 2018. Since he refuses to be under the control of the authorities, Long is often harassed and surveilled by three cameras.

May 22, 2019: detained while protesting violations of religious freedom

Incident Type Detention

Date May 22-24, 2019

Perpetrator Public security

Location: Outside of Consulate General of the US (map)

Rights Violated

freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention
liberty and security of the person
freedom of peaceful assembly
freedom of belief and religion

Actions Taken By

Details

At 2:30 pm on May 22, 2019, the Public Security of Ho Chi Minh City arrested Thich Dong Long, a Buddhist monk, and took him away when he was alone protesting against Vietnamese violations of religious freedom and human rights in front of the Consulate General of the United States. As of May 23, authorities still held Long at the police station of Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, according to Facebooker Nguyen Khanh. After almost two days in detention, he was released.

Resources

Bị sách nhiễu tại cư gia, HT Thích Đồng Long ra trung tâm Saigon để biểu tình phải đối, và bị bắt giữ, Nha Nam Media, May 22, 2019

Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly Report for May 20-26, 2019: Prisoners in An Diem Conduct Hunger Strike after Imprisoned Blogger Nguyen Van Hoa Taken Away, Defend the Defenders, May 26, 2019

Nguyen Khanh Facebook

Profile last updated: 2019-08-23 23:34:35