Short records of highland people imprisoned for their faith, their organizing or their testimony, as documented by independent monitors. Each entry gives what the record shows and where it comes from. Many more names are in our prisoner records; this page profiles those whose cases are best documented.
How to read these entries
Statuses are as last reported by the sources named. Prisoners are moved, released early, or re-arrested without public notice, and news can take months to reach us. If you have more recent information about anyone here, please send it safely.
Profiles
- A Đảo (A Ma Dũng)
- Pastor of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ, born 1981. Arrested on August 18, 2016, after returning from a religious-freedom conference in East Timor; his family was not told for five days. Sentenced in April 2017 to five years, accused of helping people flee to Thailand, which he denied. USCIRF reports allegations that he was tortured into confessing. Released early, on September 18, 2020. Amnesty International gives his people as Halang and says he was held incommunicado for six months; sources differ on whether his home is in Gia Lai or Kon Tum. Sources: USCIRF; The 88 Project; CSW; Amnesty International.
- Y Yich
- Bahnar pastor of the Dega Protestant church, Gia Lai. Imprisoned for four years from December 2006. Re-arrested May 13, 2013, and sentenced that November to twelve years for “undermining national unity,” for spreading Dega Protestantism and contact with Montagnards abroad. Reported torture and denial of medical care. Released in May 2025, on probation. Sources: USCIRF; Church in Chains.
- Rơ Mah Đaih
- Jarai, Dega Protestant church. Arrested September 2016; sentenced in April 2017 to ten years for “undermining national unity,” accused of using religion to revive an insurgent group. Not reported released. Source: USCIRF.
- Y Pum Byă
- Rhade, of the Good News Mission church. Sentenced to eight years in 2002. Re-arrested April 10, 2018, reportedly tortured at the commune police station, and sentenced on January 31, 2019, to fourteen years plus probation. Named by the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. Sources: USCIRF; IRFBA.
- Ksor Ruk
- Jarai Protestant missionary from Krông Pa, Gia Lai, born 1975. Imprisoned for six years from 2007. Re-arrested October 30, 2018; sentenced on March 15, 2019, to ten years under Article 116, accused of reviving “Dega Protestantism” and links with FULRO. Due for release in October 2028. Sources: The 88 Project; USCIRF.
- Nay Y Blang
- Rhade, of the unrecognized Evangelical Church of Christ of the Central Highlands. Served five and a half years from 2005 and two years in a re-education camp from 2012. Arrested again in May 2023 and sentenced in January 2024 to four and a half years for “abusing democratic freedoms,” over the church and meetings with foreign diplomats. Source: Human Rights Watch (2025).
- Y Krếc Byă
- Rhade, of the Evangelical Church of Christ of the Central Highlands, Đắk Lắk. Served eight years after a 2004 sentence. Re-arrested April 8, 2023; sentenced on March 28, 2024, to thirteen years plus five years’ probation under Article 116, accused of collecting and spreading “distorted information.” Sources: The 88 Project; ISHR.
- Y Nuen Ayun
- Rhade pastor, born 1967, of Krông Pắc, Đắk Lắk; vice-president of the Evangelical Church of Christ of the Central Highlands from 2020, who documented abuses by local officials. Arrested October 7, 2025, under Article 116; sentenced in August 2026 to seven and a half years plus four years’ probation, with his links to a pastor living abroad cited against him. Sources: Human Rights Watch; USCIRF; Church in Chains.
- Siu Hlom and Rmah Bloanh
- Jarai Dega Protestants from Gia Lai. Siu Hlom was sentenced in April 2011 to twelve years; Rmah Bloanh in September 2014 to eight years; both for “undermining national unity.” Current status unknown. Source: USCIRF.
- Siu Yúi and Siu Dok
- A pastor aged 68 and a church member aged 40, from Gia Lai, detained on June 1, 2026, under Article 116, accused of using religious teaching to push for “secession and independence.” Source: CSW.
Those who died
- Y Ben Hđơk, 29 — died in custody on May 1, 2008, three days after his arrest. His family reported a broken skull, ribs and leg. See The years between.
- Y Bŭm Byă — an evangelist of the Evangelical Church of Christ, found hanged from a tree on March 8, 2024, after local officials called him to a meeting; villagers reported signs of torture, and UN experts later listed him as a detainee who died in custody.
The mass trial and the extradition
In January 2024 a court in Đắk Lắk convicted 100 people, 93 of them from minorities, over the attacks of June 2023; ten were sentenced to life. UN experts condemned what they called the discriminatory misuse of counter-terrorism law against Montagnard Indigenous Peoples and Christian religious minorities. Among those convicted in absentia was Y Quynh Bđăp, extradited from Thailand in November 2025. See Cư Kuin, 2023.
See also: The memorial register.
Sources
- USCIRF, Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List — entries for A Đảo, Y Yich, Rơ Mah Đaih, Y Pum Byă, Ksor Ruk, Siu Hlom, Rmah Bloanh, Y Nuen Ayun
- The 88 Project, political prisoner database — A Đảo, Ksor Ruk, Y Krếc Byă, Y Nuen Ayun
- Human Rights Watch, “We’ll All Be Arrested Soon” (2025) and “Vietnam: Former Political Prisoner Rearrested” (2025)
- Christian Solidarity Worldwide, on A Đảo’s release (2020), on Y Bŭm Byă (2024) and on Siu Yúi and Siu Dok (2026)
- Church in Chains, Y Yich released and Y Nuen Ayun sentenced
- ISHR, on Y Krếc Byă
- OHCHR, “Experts condemn misuse of counter-terrorism law against Montagnards” (August 2024)
- Human Rights Watch, Montagnard Christians in Vietnam (2011)
Compiled September 2026. Profiles are added only when an independent source documents the case.