Police in Vietnam have finally launched an investigation into the cause of a Christian who was lynched earlier this year.
Relatives of Y Bum Bya, a member of the Evangelical Church of Christ of the Western Highlands (ECCWH), found him hanging from a tree with a noose around his neck earlier this year on March 8.
According to reports, Y Bum Bya had been badly beaten before he was hung.
Though freedom for Christians has greatly increased in Vietnam, there is still a legacy of persecution from the Communist Party. Police had first arrested Y Bum Bya in August 2023 for “destroying the great national unity,” a law often used in Communist countries against Christians.
As in the early days of Communism, Y Bum Bya was humiliated in the main assembly area of his village and then badly beaten. After he was beaten, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison to be followed by five years of house arrest.
Several months later, Y Bum Bya’s body was found hanging from a tree.
The church recruited 31 congregations to sign a petition demanding a full and transparent government investigation of the murder of Y Bum Bya. The investigation is currently ongoing.
