Gender: Male

Current Location: Soc Trang Province

Perpetrator: Vietnam

Ethnic Group: Khmer Krom

Religion or Belief: Buddhist – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 3 Years, 6 Months' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: July/31/2023

Date of Sentencing: February//2024

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Civil Rights Work for Religious Communities Ethnoreligious Identity Human Rights Work for Religious Communities

Nature of Charges: Subversion

Dahn Minh Quang

Extra Bio Info:

Danh Minh Quang is imprisoned for his human rights advocacy for religious communities. 

On or around July 31, 2023, Vietnamese authorities in Soc Trang province arrested Dahn Minh Quang and charged him with “abusing democratic freedoms” (Art. 331/2015 VCC). Dahn Minh Quang, a Khmer Krom Buddhist activist, was reportedly targeted because he distributed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and participated in various UN events to promote human rights. He also advocates for the rights of Khmer Krom Buddhists to practice their religion as informed by their ethnic and cultural background and independent from state interference.

In February 2024, a court in Soc Trang Province sentenced Danh Minh Quang to three years and six months' imprisonment.

USCIRF met with Danh Minh Quang during its May 2023 country visit to Vietnam. 

Related Cases: Thach Cuong, To Hoang Chuong

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Additional Name(s): Vyacheslav Yuryevich Reznichenko, Вячеслав Резниченко

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Russia

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: 2 Years, 6 Months' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: September/18/2023

Date of Sentencing: June/15/2023

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Conscientious Objection

Nature of Charges: Refusing & Absconding Military Service

Vyacheslav Reznichenko

Extra Bio Info:

Vyacheslav Reznichenko is imprisoned for conscientious objection.

On June 15, 2023, the Vladivostok Garrison Military Court sentenced Reznichenko to two years and six months in prison for "failure by a subordinate to comply with an order from a superior...during a period of martial law, in wartime, or in conditions of an armed conflict or hostilities, as well as refusal to participate in military or hostilities" (Art. 332-2.1 RCC). Reznichenko had refused to participate in Russia's invasion of Ukraine due to his religious beliefs. 

On August 21, 2023, the Pacific Fleet Military Court upheld Reznichenko's sentence.

On September 18, 2023, Reznichenko reported to prison to begin serving his sentence. 

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Additional Name(s): Andrey Andreyevich Kapatsyna, Андрея Капацыну

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Russia

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: 2 Years, 10 Months' Imprisonment

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Conscientious Objection

Nature of Charges: Refusing & Absconding Military Service

Andrey Kapatsyna

Extra Bio Info:

Andrey Kapatsyna is imprisoned for conscientious objection.

On September 23, 2022, Kapatsyna was sent to a military unit in Vladivostok after he received a military summons to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine. 

On October 20, 2022, Kapatsyna refused to fulfill his superior's orders to deploy to Ukraine citing his religious beliefs.

On June 29, 2023, the Vladivostok Garrison Military Court sentenced Kapatsyna to two years and 10 months in prison for "failure by a subordinate to comply with an order from a superior...during a period of martial law, in wartime, or in conditions of an armed conflict or hostilities, as well as refusal to participate in military or hostilities" (Art. 332-2.1 RCC).

On August 17, 2023, the Pacific Fleet Military Court upheld Kapatsyna's sentence.

Kapatsyna was transferred to the Magadan region to serve his sentence.

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