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Notable Religious Events in February 2026:

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Expresses Concern Over the Criminalization of Speech Related to Freedom of Religion;

Government Prosecutes the Brother of Monk Thích Minh Tuệ;

New Provisions Expand Prisoners’ Rights to Freedom of Belief and Religion in Detention Facilities;

Permanent Units Established to Oversee and Manage Religious Affairs in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta;

Authorities Deny that the Case of Vietnamese Refugees in Thailand is Connected to Freedom of Religion.

HRW Expresses Concern Over the Criminalization of Speech Related to Freedom of Religion

On Feb. 4, HRW released a report stating that the Vietnamese government is increasingly applying Article 331 of the 2015 Penal Code to prosecute individuals who use social media to publicly address issues related to freedom of religion.

According to HRW, beyond matters of religious freedom, this provision has also been used against individuals expressing views on other social issues online, including land rights, the rights of indigenous communities, and corruption within the state apparatus.

The organization reported that in 2025 alone, at least 32 people were sentenced to prison under Article 331.

The report further noted that Việt Nam’s criminal justice system does not fully guarantee judicial independence or fair trial standards.

HRW stated that strict controls are imposed on fundamental freedoms, including freedom of association, freedom of religion, and freedom of movement.

It also highlighted the continued use of mobile public trials across various localities, with dozens of such proceedings carried out in 2025. A mobile public trial takes place in an open public space, rather than a courthouse, with the entire community present to witness the proceedings.

In recent months, HRW has repeatedly issued assessments regarding the state of religion in Việt Nam. In particular, in a report published in January 2025, the organization stated that under the leadership of Tô Lâm, the government has continued to maintain stringent restrictions on freedom of association, freedom of religion, and freedom of movement.

By June 2025, HRW had submitted another report to the European Union ahead of the EU–Việt Nam Human Rights Dialogue.

In this submission, the organization urged the EU to consider linking the implementation of trade agreements, including the EU–Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), with commitments to protect and promote human rights, including freedom of belief and religion.

The Authorities Prosecute the Brother of Monk Thích Minh Tuệ

On Feb. 6, the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Court held its first-instance trial and sentenced Lê Anh Tuấn to five years in prison for “abusing position and power while performing official duties” under Article 356 of the 2015 Penal Code. Lê Anh Tuấn is the older brother of the walking monk, Thích Minh Tuệ.

The indictment states that Tuấn, while serving as chairman, director, and party secretary of Ia Châm Coffee Company—a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe)—committed multiple violations in land management from March 2022 to March 2024.

Specifically, Tuấn was accused of constructing unauthorized structures on nearly 100 square meters of agricultural land and encroaching on more than 400 square meters of public land.

Prosecutors stated that these actions caused losses to the state exceeding 200 million đồng ($7,605) and infringed upon the lawful rights and interests of the enterprise.

Prior to the trial, Tuấn had been charged and placed in pretrial detention in June 2025. He was also disciplined by being stripped of all party positions and removed from his post as company director.

To date, there has been no publicly available evidence indicating that Tuấn’s arrest and prosecution are connected to his younger brother, the monk Thích Minh Tuệ. However, the case has raised questions among the public.

Earlier, from late March to early April 2024, social media widely circulated images of a man identifying himself as Thích Minh Tuệ, dressed in a patchwork robe and walking on foot across multiple provinces and cities nationwide. The phenomenon quickly drew widespread public attention.

As crowds increasingly gathered around him, both the authorities and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha issued statements asserting that Thích Minh Tuệ is not a monk affiliated with the organization. The statements also alleged that some individuals had exploited his image to misrepresent the monastic life of officially recognized Buddhist clergy.

Lê Anh Tuấn at his trial. Photo: Pháp Luật Newspaper.

New Provisions Expand Prisoners’ Rights to Freedom of Belief and Religion in Detention Facilities

A draft decree prepared by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to guide the implementation of several provisions of the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments—expected to take effect on July 1, 2026— proposes additional regulations to ensure prisoners’ rights to freedom of belief and religion in detention facilities.

Notably, the draft for the first time introduces the organization of religious activities for prisoners as an official regime within prisons.

Under the draft, prisoners who follow a religion are allowed to use legally published religious texts and may express their beliefs at locations and times designated by the prison.

However, such practices must be registered in advance with prison officials and carried out under the supervision of detention authorities.

This proposal can be considered a step toward concretizing the principle of guaranteeing freedom of belief and religion as enshrined in Article 24 of the 2013 Constitution. Accordingly, serving a prison sentence does not mean that an individual is entirely deprived of fundamental rights.

In April 2022, the Ministry of Public Security introduced 17 religious-related titles into 54 prisons nationwide. However, the list revealed several notable limitations.

The People's Public Security Publishing House issued eight research works or academic publications on religion out of the 17 titles. These materials are academic and not religious texts that prisoners would normally use to practice their faith.

Regarding the use of religious scriptures in detention facilities, current regulations allow the circulation of Buddhist sutras and the Bible in Vietnamese or English.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam officially recognizes 16 religions, and some scriptures in the languages of ethnic minority groups have been legally published by the Religious Publishing House, yet their use in detention facilities has not been clearly regulated.

Permanent Units Established to Oversee and Manage Religious Affairs in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta

An article published in VnExpress reported that the Department of Communications on Ethnic and Religious Affairs under the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs currently maintains two permanent units based in Đắk Lắk and Cần Thơ.

The establishment of these two units may reflect region-specific factors and sensitivities related to religion.

Đắk Lắk serves as the center of the Central Highlands, an area with a high concentration of ethnic minorities and diverse religious life. Meanwhile, Cần Thơ is the hub of the Mekong Delta, where multiple religious and ethnic minority communities are significantly present, most notably Khmer Buddhism.

This arrangement may be intended to strengthen monitoring, implement policies, and gather information to support governance tailored to the demographic, religious, and social sensitivities of these regions.

In June 2023, in Ea Tiêu and Ea Ktur communes, a group attacked local People’s Committee offices, resulting in nine deaths, including four police officers, two commune leaders, and three civilians.

The incident raised notable concerns regarding public security, the management of belief and religion, and relations between the government and ethnic minority communities in the region.

Meanwhile, in the Mekong Delta, the government has adopted specific policies toward the Khmer community, amid a history of protests over land rights and broader advocacy for indigenous rights.

Việt Nam Denies Religious Basis for Vietnamese Refugees in Thailand

An article published in Công an Nhân dân asserts that Vietnamese individuals residing illegally in Thailand are not victims of ethnic or religious persecution. The article claims that overseas anti-government groups deceived or incited most of them.

It also cited data indicating that 390 ethnic minority individuals from Đắk Lắk Province alone are currently living illegally in Thailand. Of these, 244 are ethnic minorities from the Central Highlands, and 146 are H’mong.

However, independent sources offer a different account. According to Radio Free Asia, among approximately 1,500 Vietnamese currently seeking asylum in Thailand and awaiting resettlement, many are Montagnards from the Central Highlands and Hmong from the northern mountainous provinces.

Most of these individuals follow Protestantism in various independent denominations. According to testimonies reported by the BBC, many said they had faced pressure to renounce their faith, and leaving Việt Nam was a means of avoiding harassment related to their religious practices.

Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, individuals who flee their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion or ethnicity may apply for refugee status.

As such, many Vietnamese have submitted asylum applications in Thailand through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and are awaiting review for potential resettlement in third countries.

The data and accounts from different sources highlight continuing discrepancies between official narratives and independent reporting regarding the reasons why Vietnamese individuals seek asylum in Thailand.

Thiện Trường wrote this Religion Bulletin in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on Mar. 16, 2026. The Vietnamese owns the copyright for this English translation.

Religion Bulletin—February 2026: HRW Raises Alarm Over Criminalization of Religious Speech; Government Denies Religious Grounds for Vietnamese Refugees in Thailand

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