Vietnamese Catholic activist arrived in the US for asylum
A Vietnamese Catholic activist, who joined a protest against the Nghe An police for harassment of students organising religious activities was arrested and later released, has arrived in the US and is seeking political asylum.
Tran Huu Duc, who was one of fourteen young Catholics imprisoned by the Nghe An government, left Vietnam on the 12th of November and landed the next day.
Lawyer Nguyen Van Dai said that after Mr Duc was released from prison in 2014, he was harassed and pressured by the authorities, so in early 2019 he decided to apply for political asylum at the US Embassy in Hanoi.
Tran Huu Duc was sentenced to three years in prison from 2011 to 2014 on the charge of “conducting propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
Even after his release, he continued to be involved in the community. In late 2015, Tran Huu Duc and Dau Van Duong helped Lawyer Nguyen organise a human rights lesson for seventy Catholics in the Nam Dan district. The lawyer was arrested, and the authorities constantly harassed Mr Duc and his family after this lesson.
Source: persecution.org
