Thach Chanh Da Ra

Five Khmer Buddhist monks and four religious activists were sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison for “abusing democratic freedoms” by a court in Long An province on Nov. 27. The head monk Thach Chanh Da Ra, 34, received the longest sentence of six years. The monks did not have lawyers at the trial. For years, Da Ra has been resisting pressure from the government to merge his ethnic congregation into the state-run Buddhist Church, including harassment, destruction of temple buildings, and cutting down of a 700-year-old tree that’s believed to be part of the Khmer-Krom community’s historical identity. Soon after Da Ra’s arrest, the state appointed a government-friendly monk to replace him.