On September 2, 2010 at approximately 8 am our Christian Brother Siu Phot reported to Vietnamese police from Ia Piar commune. Siu Phot was born in 1979 and from Ploi Robai, village, Ia Piar commune, Phu Thien district in Gia Lai province, Vietnam. Siu Phot was responding to a written summons he had received from the police a day before. When Siu Phot arrived at the police station, 9 security police were waiting for him outside of the building. He recognized 3 of them and their names are as follows:
Pham Minh Tuan (an ethnic Vietnamese)
Hai (an ethnic Vietnamese)
Nai Dien (an ethnic Degar)
When Siu Phot had arrived at the station, one of the security forces, Hai, grabbed him and pulled him into an interrogation room and began asking him questions as follows:
Police officer Hai: For what reason did you go to the village of Bon So Ama Hang?
Siu Phot: I went there to pray for our sick brothers and sisters.
Police officer Hai: Why did you do that and who allowed you to do that?
Siu Phot: That is what we do as Christian to help one another in praying and reading God’s words together. No one allows us to do it but this is the second commandment of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we ought to love others like ourselves.
Police officer Hai: I don’t want to hear you talk like that.
Beaten and Tortured: During his interrogation at approximately 10:00am the security officer named Hai, boxed Siu Phot simultaneously on both sides of his ears with his open hands which gave him concussion. Siu Phot fell to the ground and the police officer Hai kicked him repeatedly on the body with his military boots. Siu Phot cried helplessly and was tortured from 10 am to 12 mid-day. He was then released to go back to his village that afternoon. When he got home, he did not tell anyone about what had happened as the police had threatened him to remain quiet. For the next two days, Siu Phot could not eat or drink because of internal injuries he received from being beaten. His wife asked him what had happened but he remained silent about his ordeal.
Broken Ribs and Forced to Pay for Medical Services: On September 4, 2010, the security officer Hai who had tortured Siu Phot went to interrogate him again but seeing his condition, told him to go to hospital. The security officer Hai threatened Siu Phot however that he would torture him again if he told anyone about the torture. At the local hospital, Siu Phot was examined and was told he had a broken rib as noted in his x-ray. The physician told him that he must pay 700.000 VND if he wanted to get treated. Siu Phot’s family had to sell most of their personal belongings in order to pay for the medical treatment.
The Montagnard Foundation calls on the international community to do everything in their power to prevent Vietnam from retaliating against Siu Phot and ensure he gets proper medical treatment. We also call on Vietnam to cease persecuting Christians and to undertake dialogue in resolving the issue of our people. We also ask that the hundreds of Degar religious prisoners be released from prison.
