Vietnam penalized 119 Christians accused of alleged separatist activities: reports
Vietnamese authorities have said that 119 Christians in Gia Lai province, in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, faced “enforcement action” in the first half of 2026 over alleged ties to groups that press for self-determination for religious and ethnic minorities.
Vietnam police identified, investigated and “handled” the 119 Christians and opened two criminal cases naming four defendants, according to the United Kingdom-based persecution watchdog organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), citing the Vietnamese daily newspaper Tuổi Trẻ.
The alleged conduct involved two named movements: the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, known as FULRO, and what the government terms “De Ga Protestantism.”
The figures came from remarks by Maj. Gen. Le Quang Nhan, who heads the Gia Lai Provincial Police, at a meeting Sunday with Luong Tam Quang, the minister of public security.
State media treat activity tied to the two movements as an effort to push separatism in the Central Highlands, according to CSW.
Founded in the 1960s, FULRO took up arms to win greater autonomy for ethnic minority peoples, chiefly the Montagnard community of the region. Its military campaign wound down decades ago. Still, the government points to FULRO and what it calls successor networks whenever it raises national security and separatism concerns.
De Ga Protestantism, or Tin Lanh De Ga, is the term the government applies to a movement it accuses of fusing Protestant worship with political goals connected to FULRO and to minority self-determination demands. Hanoi withholds recognition of the group as a lawful religious body and treats it as a danger to national unity.
Many rights groups view the term as a slur intended to deny legitimacy to the worship of ethnic and religious minorities, CSW said. In the official account, the minorities are cast as a security threat.
The announcement came while the security minister was on an official visit to the province. Officials reportedly said a provincial resolution on managing and re-educating people tied to FULRO had taken effect.
The measures follow a separate case that state media reported in April. Police in the province said at the time that they had broken up a network they linked to FULRO within the Ba Na ethnic community.
Authorities claimed the network had formed six cells with more than 200 members, and prosecutors were advised to charge four of them, according to the police account. Officers accused the group of trying to revive FULRO and spread De Ga Protestantism.
CSW President Mervyn Thomas said Vietnam was becoming one of the harshest states in its handling of religious groups. Tagging communities as De Ga or FULRO amounted to an attempt to politicize and demonize lawful worship, he said, adding, “we are not fooled.”
"The Vietnamese government must be held to account for its ongoing assault on the right to freedom of religion or belief and other fundamental freedoms," Thomas stressed.
Protestant Christians make up most of Vietnam’s Montagnard population. Tension with the government runs deep for the community, which has faced harassment and intimidation since an assault in June 2023 on Communist Party offices in Dak Lak province. Nine people died in that attack, among them local party officials and police.
Pressure on Christians in Vietnam has "increased slightly" in the last year, the global persecution monitor Open Doors reports.
"In particular, local authorities target non-traditional Protestants and ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands," the organization stated in a January report. "Meanwhile the Communist government remains silent on local issues of persecution and continues to control all registered churches and religious activities through its Committee on Religious Affairs."
