Vietnam Caucus Co-Chair Lofgren Welcomes Release of Vietnamese Religious Prisoner of Conscience Nguyen Bac Truyen
Photo: Nguyen Bac Truyen and his wife after landing safely in Germany in September 2023 | Provided by Mr. Truyen
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) – a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Vietnam Caucus, as well as a member of the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights – welcomed the release of Nguyen Bac Truyen, a Hòa Hảo Buddhist, religious freedom advocate, and human rights defender. Vietnamese authorities had detained him since July 30, 2017 on spurious charges. He was released on September 8, 2023.
Lofgren adopted Mr. Truyen through the Defending Freedoms Project in 2020 and has been advocating for his release. She most recently led a letter sent to President Joe Biden ahead of his G20 trip to Vietnam calling for the release of prisoners of conscience, including Mr. Truyen, who was mentioned explicitly.
The letter said, “Many of the prisoners of conscience in Vietnam have been dealt overly harsh sentences after trials that lack any semblance of due process, and some have been imprisoned more than once. One such example is Nguyen Bac Truyen, a Hòa Hảo Buddhist, and religious freedom advocate who is currently serving an eleven-year sentence for ‘carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration.’ Truyen founded the Vietnamese Political and Religious Prisoners Friendship Association, which aims to assist other prisoners of conscience and their families. He was first arrested on November 17, 2006, and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison under Article 88 (1999 Code) on charges of ‘conducting propaganda’ against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He was released in May 2010. After his second arrest in 2017, Truyen was denied access to legal counsel, visits from family, and deliveries of food and medicine, and he was eventually sentenced following a trial that only lasted one day.”
Leading up to Mr. Truyen’s release, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published a country update on Vietnam and held a hearing on challenges and opportunities for religious freedom. Lofgren provided remarksduring USCIRF’s hearing on Vietnam and avowed that “my colleagues and I will not stop fighting for human rights.”
“It is with great joy that we celebrate the release of Nguyen Bac Truyen, who served more than six years of unjust imprisonment,” saidUSCIRF Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie. “When USCIRF visited Vietnam in May, we had the privilege to meet with his wife, Bui Thi Kim Phuong, herself a champion of religious freedom. We are elated that he is safely with her now.”
“USCIRF is grateful to the U.S. Department of State and the German government for their efforts in facilitating Nguyen Bac Truyen’s release and safe departure. We are also pleased to see President Biden raised the importance of freedom of religion or belief while he was on an official state visit in Vietnam,” added USCIRF Commissioner Eric Ueland. “We continue to call on the Vietnamese government to release all remaining religious prisoners of conscience still imprisoned, and to stop targeting religious freedom advocates and believers. The Vietnamese government communicated during USCIRF’s visit that the religious diversity of Vietnam is an asset to celebrate, but this celebration must enable, not preclude, independent advocates and followers.”
In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF called upon the State Department to designate Vietnam a Country of Particular Concern in part for its detention of religious freedom advocates.
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