Village sealed, phones taken
Police took Pastor Y-Khen Buondap and confiscated the mobile phones of everyone present, which is why so little is known about what followed.
On the morning of 16 February 2022 around 300 police entered Buôn Ea Khit, arrested the village’s pastor, and took phones from anyone who had one.
Where Buôn Ea Khit village
When Morning of 16 February 2022
Police present Around 300
Arrested Pastor Y-Khen Buondap; further arrests unknown
Who is affected
The whole village. Around 300 police came into Buôn Ea Khit that morning. They arrested Pastor Y-Khen Buondap, and they took the mobile phones of the people who were there.
How many others from the village were arrested, we do not know. Taking the phones is the reason we do not: it removed the village’s means of telling anyone what was happening while it happened.
What we are reporting, and what we are not
The number of police, the arrest of the pastor and the confiscation of phones are as villagers reported them to us. We cannot give a figure for total arrests and we will not estimate one. This report is deliberately short, because at the time of writing it is the whole of what we know.
Why it matters
Dega Christians in the Central Highlands are not permitted to hold their own worship services, and human rights organisations are not permitted into the region to see what follows. An operation of this size against one village church shows what that policy looks like on the ground, and taking the phones shows how carefully it is kept from view.
We will add to this as we learn more
If you are from Buôn Ea Khit, or you know what happened after 16 February 2022, please contact the Dega Central Highlands Organization.
