[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17239-17240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE, PASTOR DUONG KIM KHAI

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2014

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Pastor Duong Kim Khai, a prisoner held 
in Vietnam, has nurtured the spiritual lives of his parishioners and 
helped those of all faiths that have

[[Page 17240]]

been victims of injustice in Ben Tre and Dong Thap. He has also served 
as an advocate for Vietnamese farmers whose land was confiscated by the 
government. If he is guilty of anything it is of living to serve others 
and stand up to an oppressive government. I call on the Vietnamese 
government to release him immediately.
  During the 1990s, the Pastor was detained thirteen times, often for 
organizing prayer sessions. Soon after, he turned his home into a place 
of worship, as well as a community center where farmers could seek 
assistance in petitioning authorities. Because he did not have the 
government's permission to worship, his home was seized by the local 
government, and he was imprisoned for two years.
  On August 16, 2010, he was arrested for supposedly trying to 
overthrow the Vietnamese government, a convenient charge from a 
government bent on silencing him. For the next two months, his place of 
detention and his condition of health were kept secret from his family.
  Denied legal representation and with diplomats denied access to his 
trial, Pastor Duong Kim Khai was sentenced to 2-8 years in prison and 
3-5 probation. Unfortunately, his wife, who was never able to visit her 
husband in prison, has since passed away.
  Pastor Duong Kim Khai's trial was a sham and his imprisonment is 
unacceptable. Freedom to worship is a human right, and the Vietnamese 
government should immediately release him. Furthermore, I call on the 
State Department to finally recognize Vietnam as a Country of 
Particular Concern.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________