Phu Yen man jailed for abusing democratic freedoms

Phu Yen (VNA) – Nay Y Blang, born in 1976 in Song Hinh district, the south-central province of Phu Yen, on January 26 got four years six months in prison for “taking advantage of democratic freedom to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organisations and individuals”.

At the first instance trial of the Phu Yen province People’s Court, Nay Y Blang admitted to his crime and asked for leniency.

According to the indictment, Nay Y Blang engaged in the foreigners-led Central Highlands Protestant Church of the Christ (CHPC) – a reactionary organisation that has abused the religious affairs to incite followers and people to erode the national solidarity bloc, trigger secession, and promote the establishment of a “separate state” of the ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands and areas in the vicinity.

Despite local authorities’ communications and education efforts, Nay Y Blang ignored the law and used his house to organise prayers for CHPC followers and provide them with false information on Vietnam’s freedom of belief and religion, infringing upon the State interests and negatively impacting the locality’s security and order.

The Phu Yen police’s investigation security agency began legal proceedings and arrested Nay Y Blang on May 18, 2023, for further investigation.

Earlier, the man also got administrative punishments for violating the law on religious activities./.