Vietnam’s jailing of five bloggers, all members of the minority Catholic community, has generated a fire storm of protest from media freedom and human rights groups.
Wire Service DPA reports tha: “in a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the press freedom groups expressed “deep concern over the unfounded arrest and detention” of Dang Xuan Dieu, Ho Duc Hoa, Nguyen Van Duyet, Nong Hung Anh and Paulus Le Son.
The five men were reportedly detained in July and August, although the government has yet to publicly confirm the arrests.
The Vietnamese Government has had an uneasy relationship with the Catholic Church. About ten percent of Vietnamese are Catholic, the largest population in Asia after the Phillipines.
They are wary of the church officials and priests routinely have their sermons monitored by the authorities who say they are on the look out for subversion.
DPA says “The bloggers are said to belong to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Catholic order which in recent years has organised prayer vigils against perceived government harassment.
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