A pastor who leads an independent house church in the Dak Lak province of Vietnam’s Central Highlands region was shot with a rubber bullet, in what he described as a warning attack.
Pastor Y Hung Ayun, 62 years old, whose house church is in Tara Puor village, was shot in the left knee while riding a motorbike home on Sunday 1 December.
Two men with faces covered rode a motorbike alongside the pastor’s. The passenger shot Y Hung twice before the attackers made their escape.
Pastor Y Hung’s knee was bruised and swollen after the shooting on Sunday 1 December [Image credit: Montagnards Stand for Justice]
Y Hung believes that the attack was a warning for him to stop his work as a house church pastor.
In an earlier incident in the same province, Pastor Y Pho Eban, 57, leader of a house church in Cue village, was shot in the leg on 25 September.
Pastor Y Pho was left with a small fracture and other injuries. The bullet was removed in hospital but weeks later he is unable to walk properly.
Y Pho also believes he was shot because of his position as leader of a 200-strong independent house church in his village.
The pastor explained his reluctance to report the incident to the authorities at the time. “They hate me because I worship at a house church, which they absolutely forbid,” he said. “They said we were not allowed to gather. Every time they summon me to the commune [headquarters], they threaten to ‘handle’ me and my family.”
In November district police summoned five church members and warned them against attending worship at Y Pho’s home, saying, “He is a bad person and is about to be arrested.”
Persecution of Christians in Vietnam, who make up around 7% of the population, largely comes from local or provincial authorities and varies across the country. The government often fails to intervene to stop it.
Vietnam’s constitution states that citizens “can follow any religion or follow none”. The 2018 Law on Belief and Religion requires authorities to protect religious freedom but bans any religious activity that could “harm social order and/or national unity”. Authorities closely monitor unregistered independent house churches and target their leaders for harassment and intimidation.
Pray that both pastors will make a full physical and psychological recovery from the incidents and be able to pursue their leadership roles unhindered. Pray that local authorities in Vietnam will no longer view unofficial house churches as a threat to social order, and that they will refrain from harassment of their leaders and members.
