Le Tung Van

Extra Bio Info:

Le Tung Van is under house arrest for his religious activity.

On January 4, 2022, authorities searched the THIÊN AM BÊN BỜ VŨ TRỤ (TABBVT) Buddhist Monastery (also known as Tinh That Bong Lai and Thien Am at the Edge of the Universe), an independent Buddhist community, taking into custody several individuals for questioning, including Van, a leader of the monastery. Following questioning, Van was released but placed under house arrest pending trial.  

On January 7, 2022, authorities announced that Van and other monks were officially charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” (Art. 331/2015 VCC) after accusing the monastery of taking advantage of religion and philanthropy for their own personal benefit. At the time of their arrests, authorities had reportedly charged them with incest and fraud as well, but these charges were later dropped.  A complaint against the monastery was reportedly submitted by the Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the state-backed religious entity, and Thich Nhat Tu, a member of the Buddhist Church of Vietnam’s board of directors.

On June 9, 2022, Van was formally indicted, with authorities accused him of directing the other defendants to create videos and author an article insulting the Duc Hoa District Police, the Buddhist Church of Vietnam in Long An province, and Thich Nhat Tu.

Van has reportedly been denied proper access to counsel. 

On July 21, 2022, the Duc Hoa District People's Court sentenced Van to five years in prison. He reportedly remains under house arrest pending appeal.

In late 2022, an appeals court reportedly upheld Van's sentence.

In January 2023, Van was reportedly summoned to undergo a health screening in response to an application to stay the execution of his sentence due to health concerns. Van is in his 90s and reportedly suffers from various ailments, including hypertension, diabetes, and chronic anemia.

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