Seventeen Lao Christians Imprisoned, Tortured in Recent Wave of Arrests
An apparent government crackdown on Christians in southern Laos has led to the arrest and torture of 17 Christian men, according to a Virginia-based mission agency.
An apparent government crackdown on Christians in southern Laos has led to the arrest and torture of 17 Christian men, according to a Virginia-based mission agency.
In the Phin district of Laos’s Savannakhet province, Mr. Khamthan, age 59, and Mr. Vangthong, age 31, were arrested on Mar.27, Christian Aid Mission reported Monday. The next day, eight more believers were arrested, including Mr. Donkham, Mr. Lakorn, Mr. Thongnak, Mr. Thongla, Mr. Kuey, Mr. A- kum, Mr. Par-Takim and Mr. Khampuang. All except for Mr. Khampuang, who was a resident of Pa-long village, were from Hueyhoy Nua village in Phin district.
According to Christian Aid, Muang Phin district police made the arrests after warning the group of believers on Mar. 10 that they were to stop all evangelism. When the men refused to heed the warning, they were confined to their villages for 14 days, after which time they were all arrested and charged with "possessing illegal weapons"—a charge often levied at Christians to divert attention from the real reasons for arrests, Christian Aid reported.
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“While the first two men were taken directly to Muang Phin district prison, the other eight were made to endure a severe torture,” Christian Aid stated. “Bound together with rope, they were forced into a rice field in Hueyhoy Nua village and left in the hot sun for two days with no food or water.”
Christian Aid reported that it had received word that on Mar. 30, Phin district authorities imprisoned seven more Christian men: Mr. A-ya, Mr. Lee, Mr. Suaydon, Mr. Tamin and Mr. Tai-giam, all from Hueyhoy Nua village; Mr. Par-sa-om, from Kong-aluang village; and Mr. A- sing, from Nonsung village.
According to Christian Aid's contacts in Laos, what awaits these believers in prison is “incomprehensible suffering.”
“In a common scenario, they are stripped naked and bound hand and foot, left exposed to animals, insects and snakes for one week with only water to drink as their initiation into the Laotian prison system,” the mission agency reported. “After suffering all forms of humiliating abuse by prison guards, they are untied and lowered into a dark hole in the ground big enough for one person. They are kept there in utter darkness and filth for a month before being brought up to join other prisoners in jail cells. Regular beatings, little nourishment and disease during the typical 3-year prison sentence often lead to death.”
Though prison guards' goals in their treatment of Christians is to break them down and force them to deny their faith, often believers' presence in prison leads to the spread of the gospel, Christian Aid reported.
“Many non-Christian inmates have noted how Christians, instead of hoarding their daily ration of a handful of rotten rice, share food with other prisoners,” the mission agency added. “In multiple cases, non-Christian inmates released from prison immediately seek out believers and ask to know about the God of the Christians.”
"They do so knowing very well the consequences,” the agency continued.
According to Christian Aid, persecution of Christians by certain district authorities is rampant despite the federal government's official policy of religious freedom and tolerance.
Christians in Laos are asking for the continued prayers of believers for their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
