Nguyen Van Duc
Current Status: At risk
Other Names: Nguyễn Huyền Đức
Date of Birth: 1972
Gender: M
Religion: Christian (Catholic)
Ethnicity: Kinh
Occupation: Religious leader
Details - Background, History of Activism, Contact Information.
Nguyen Van Duc was born and raised in Nghi Loc, Nghe An. He entered Thien An monastery in 1993. In 2007, he went abroad to study in France. In 2014, he was made head of Thien An Monastery.
The 107-acre piece of land that belongs to Thien An Monastery has been a target of government land grab for decades. Local authorities have been confiscating parts of it to build tourist resorts. Ever since Fr Duc became its leader, the pressure has only increased, and he’s been subjected to multiple smear campaigns, as well as physical threats.
Thien An Monastery Facebook page
State-run FB page smears Nguyen van Duc, Facebook, February 9, 2019
Letters sent by monastery authority requesting relief from harassment. Thien An Monastery, October 29, 2017
2020: denied re-entry into Vietnam after alleged poisoning and car attack
freedom of movement
Father Anthony Nguyen Huyen Duc, head of Thien An Monastery in Hue, still has not been allowed to return to Vietnam from Germany where he’d gone to have medical treatment. In a letter to his superior, Father Anthony said his illness started after he was given some tea at the police station in Vietnam, which caused him great pains in his teeth and bones and caused his hair to start falling out. He believes that he was poisoned. The local government has been trying for decades to take over the land where the monastery currently sits.
Father Nguyen van Duc describes vandalization of the cross, Youtube, July, 2017 (profile photo source taken from this video)
Detailed accounts of poisoning and other incidents against Nguyen Van Duc, Tin Mung Cho Nguoi Ngheo, March 10, 2018
Profile last updated: 2021-01-31 17:52:54