PERSECUTION WATCH!

Priest beaten into a coma by police. Catholics Protest throughout Vietnam
by J.B. An Dang

Thousands of the faithful take part in demonstrations and prayer vigils in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The priest in a coma was beaten and then hurled from the 2nd floor of a hospital. Another was savagely beaten while 30 policemen stood by watching. The Diocese of Vinh publicly denounces the episode.

Hanoi (AsiaNews)-Two priests are in serious condition after they were savagely beaten by Vietnamese police and thugs, who tried in vain to stop the demonstrations held last July 26 in Vinh (300 km south of Hanoi) to demand justice for the violence used against the Christian community of the parish of Tam Toa (see AsiaNews 21/07/09 - Beatings and arrests of priests and faithful in the historic church of Tam Toa). As news of the priests conditions spread, a series of new demonstrations have been launched in several cities of Vietnam.

The diocesan office in Vinh issued a statement last night in condemning the attacks by police and gangs of thugs acting on police orders, on the two priests, Fr Paul Nguyen Dinh Phu and Fr. Peter Nguyen The Binh, whose conditions are very critical. Both have been admitted to hospital in Dong Hoi, the first with broken ribs and head injuries, the second was beaten into a coma and then hurled from the 2nd floor of the building.

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