Vietnam (MNN) — Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of 11 Christian men in Vietnam.

“The believers should have been released from prison by now as their sentences have expired. They should be at home, but they’re not,” says Greg Musselman with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

Six Protestant believers and five Catholics all began their prison terms at different times between 2011 and 2016. All of the missing Christians belonged to unregistered churches, and most believers were charged with “undermining national unity.”

“A lot of persecution is going on in some of the more remote places [where] access to lawyers and courts and things like that are not what it would be in the cities. It’s very, very difficult to get any information; they’re just stonewalled,” Musselman says.

“Can you imagine the families, their community, their friends, not knowing where they are? Are they alive? Have they been killed?” he continues.

“We continue to pray that they’ll be soon reunited with their families, but right now, it’s a total mystery.”

A prison in Vietnam.
(Photo courtesy of VOM Canada)

Even though Christianity is legal in Vietnam, the Communist government often views believers with suspicion. More about that here.

“They do see [Christians] as somewhat enemies of the state, if you want to use that terminology,” Musselman says. “[Believers are] not going along with the communist ideology, so that concerns the government.”

Pray for the safe return of all 11 missing Christians. Ask the Lord to surround family members with His peace and comfort.

“Continue to pray for these 11 missing prisoners. These are brothers and sisters in Christ; we need to lift them up,” Musselman says.

 

Header image is a representative stock photo depicting everyday life in rural Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of Tomáš Malík/Pexels)