Pastor Y Nuen Ayun was given seven and a half years, and four more after that

Ten months after he was taken from Dak Lak, Pastor Y Nuen Ayun was sentenced on 11 August 2026 to seven and a half years in prison, with four years of probation to follow.

Where things stand

Pastor Y Nuen Ayun led a congregation of the Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ in Dak Lak province. He was arrested in October 2025 and sentenced on 11 August 2026 to seven and a half years in prison, followed by four years of probation.

The grounds given were that he led an unregistered church, and that he organised religious activities and connected to enemies of the state overseas. The authorities have pointed to Pastor A Ga, who lives abroad and whom they have classified as a terrorist, as financing the church.

How this case has run

1. 8 October 2025Detained

   Taken by the Security Investigation Agency of the Dak Lak provincial police under Article 116, accused of spreading false information about religious practice in the Central Highlands.

2. 11 August 2026Sentenced

   Seven and a half years in prison and four years of probation.

What we are reporting, and what we are not

The arrest, the sentence and the stated grounds are reported and cited below. We have not seen the indictment or the judgment, and we cannot tell you whether he had counsel of his own choosing or whether his family was in the courtroom.

Why it matters

The probation is the part to read twice. Seven and a half years removes a pastor from his congregation; the four years after that keep him under supervision in the village he returns to, where everyone can see the terms he is living under. The sentence is addressed to the church as much as to the man.

Sources

• International Christian Concern, Montagnard Pastor Gets 7-Year Prison Sentence in Vietnam
• CIVICUS Monitor, Vietnam: Regime targets human rights defenders working on minority, indigenous, land and environmental rights despite UN review