Thach Ve Sanal
Current Status: Sentenced to prison
Date of Birth: 1987
Gender:
Religion: Buddhist
Ethnicity: Khmer Krom
Occupation: Religious leader
Activist Focus:
- Indigenous rights
- Religious freedom
Details
Five Khmer Buddhist monks and four religious activists were sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison by a court in Vinh Long province on Nov. 26. The head monk Thach Chanh Da Ra, 34, received the longest sentence of six years. Thach Ve Sanal was sentenced to 2.5 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.
Profile photo: Cong an Vinh Long
Sentenced to 2 years 6 months in prison under Art. 157. Expected Release is September 26, 2026.
March 26, 2024
- Art. 157
District
None -- no legal representation
2 years 6 months in prison
September 26, 2026
Police arrested Thach Ve Sanal on March 26, 2024, on charges of “illegally arresting, holding, or detaining people" for an incident that occurred between monks and local police at Dai Tho pagoda in Nov. 2023.
Resources
Vietnam arrests Buddhist abbot from Khmer Krom indigenous group, Radio Free Asia, March 27, 2024
Vietnam's jailing of Khmer monks violated religious freedom, rights group says, Reuters, Nov. 28, 2024
Sentenced to prison those who take advantage of freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, Bao Hai Duong, Nov. 27, 2024
Condemnation of Unjust Sentencing of Khmer-Krom Buddhist Monks and Activists by Vietnamese Court, KKF, Nov. 26, 2024
USCIRF Alarmed over Escalating Crackdown in Vietnam, US Comission on International Religious Freedom, Dec. 12, 2024
Profile last updated: 2024-12-27 23:20:07