Washington, D.C: August 28, 2010. International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned new details about recent religious persecution in Vietnam and the following brutal cover-up. Vietnamese authorities ordered the Christian Con Dau village, near the city of Da Nang, to be abandoned to build a resort on the site. When the people resisted water irrigation was shut off to the rice fields, cutting the main source of income and food. On May 4, 2010, Vietnamese police surrounded and attacked a funeral as it approached the cemetery. Police arrested and beat 62 persons including women that were stripped naked. One pregnant woman, Le Thi Van, was struck in her stomach until she had a miscarriage. After the initial incident, special police units have since returned to Con Dau multiple times, demanding information and forcing villagers to sign self-incriminating statements and to spy on each other. Those suspected of taking pictures and communicating to the outside world have been beaten. Some villagers have been forced to return to the local police station for further interrogation and torture. One of the funeral procession leaders, Thomas Nam Nguyen, refused to return to the police station after being recalled and beaten multiple times. On July 2, the police came to his house and caught him as he tried to escape. He was handcuffed and ordered to kneel with his head on the ground while the police kicked his back, chest and head. His wife was present and begged the police to stop. They continued to beat him for approximately four hours, and then released him in critical condition. On July 3, he died at home in the hands of his mother, surrounded by his wife and three children. “The people of Con Dau are living in desperate fear and confusion,” said Dr. Thang Nguyen in an interview with ICC. Dr. Nguyen is the Executive Director of Boat People SOS, the organization representing the Con Dau victims. “Hundreds of residents have been fined, and many have escaped to Thailand.” Eight individuals are still in police custody and are awaiting trial. To date no family members have been able to see them. Their names are Nguyen Huu Liem, Tran Thanh Viet, Doan Cang, Le Thanh Lam, Nguyen Thi The, Phan Thi Nhan, Nguyen Thi Lieu, and Nguyen Huu Minh. On August 18, Congress held a hearing on Vietnamese persecution, focusing on the Con Dau incident. Witnesses included the brother of Thomas Nam Nguyen, a brother of a villager who escaped to Thailand, and a sister of two who are currently imprisoned. It was noted that the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael W. Michalak, said that the incident was a land dispute and refused to become directly involved. ICC’s Regional Manager, Logan Maurer, stated, “The Vietnamese government has exposed its brutality and greed, torturing and killing Christians to make room for their ambition. The tourist resort they plan to build in Con Dau will have its foundation in blood. In 2006 the US State Department removed Vietnam from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, citing progress in religious freedom. This incident shows it could not be more wrong.”