Believers stand praying during Mass at Hanoi's cathedral in this file photo. Vietnamese authorities broke up a Bible meeting in Hanoi recently, detaining dozens of Bible students and expelling a foreign missionary, according to reports. (Photo by Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP)
A foreign missionary was expelled and Bible students detained by security forces in what activists said was increased persecution of Christians in communist Vietnam.
Students gathered for a Bible class in Hanoi last week were detained by security forces, according to the BosNewsLife website.A local pastor who did not wish to be named said an unidentified foreign missionary leading the class was charged U$1,000 and expelled from the country.
The law comes into effect in January 2018.
"Historically Christian communities are often subject to arrests and land grabbing by the authorities. Converts to Christianity from Buddhist or ethnic-animist backgrounds face the strongest persecution, however, not only from the authorities, but also from families, friends and neighbors," Open Doors said. Protestant Christian believers are especially targeted as they "tend to gather in house-churches for fellowship" outside the official churches, Open Doors explained.
