Nguyen Manh Hung
Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng
Current Status: Pre-trial detention
Date of Birth:
Gender: M
Religion: Christian (Protestant)
Occupation: Religious leader
Military Status: Has served in the military, police forces, or other security services.
Citizen: Y
Citizenship Status: Citizen (by birth, descent)
Human Rights Defender: Y
Activist Focus:
- Religious freedom
Organizational/Political Party Affiliation:
Details
Nguyen Manh Hung has a long history of activism, in which he has advocated for religious freedom in international settings and as a member of the Interfaith Council of Vietnam.
He is from Hai Phong and served in the Northern Vietnam Army during the war. He later entered a monastery, Then, in 2011, he become a pastor with a Protestant church.
He and his congregation have alleged government harassment, which he shared with international media and mechanisms. This harassment reportedly led to the church disbanding and Hung moving to Lam Dong.
Nguyen Manh Hung has attended international events and participated in international mechanisms to educate others about the repression faced by religious minorities in Vietnam. He appeared before the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee in 2015, and his case is included in the US’s report on violations of religious freedom in that year.
Charged under Art. 117 (2015 Code).
Le Manh Hung was arrested on January 16, 2025, at his home in Ho Chi Minh City, but by Lam Dong police, after power was cut to his home. Police confiscated phones and a laptop. They also interrogated his son, Nguyen Tran Hien, for several hours after Hung was arrested.
Hung’s most recent Facebook post prior to his arrest, dated Jan 14., said that VCP members who buy land were once referred to as “cruel landlords,” while these days, “those who abuse power to acquire land are called ‘outstanding cadres.’” He had also posted on Jan. 9 about multi-party democracy.
Note: he was arrested by Lam Dong police. He had been living there with a woman identified only as NTT for the past two years, according to Hien, and it is believed that NTT may have also been arrested.
Resources
Vietnam arrests Protestant pastor for ‘anti-state propaganda’, RFA, Jan. 21, 2025
Mục sư Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng bị bắt theo cáo buộc “tuyên truyền chống Nhà nước”, RFA Vietnamese, Jan. 21, 2025
Protestant pastor arrested and charged with spreading 'anti-state propaganda', CSW, Jan. 27, 2025
Mục sư Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng bị chính quyền cộng sản bắt với cáo buộc “tuyên truyền chống nhà nước”, Dat Viet, Jan. 28, 2025
Việt Nam bắt giữ mục sư Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng với cáo buộc ‘tuyên truyền chống nhà nước’, VOA Vietnamese, Jan. 28, 2025
Profile last updated: 2025-05-05 20:22:48