In the latest in a series of official assaults against the Church in Vietnam, a Catholic layman was beaten to death by police for his protest against the seizure of his parish cemetery.

Nam Nguyen, a parishioner of Con Dau, died on July 3 after being beaten brutally by police in Da Nang. He was one of several parishioners arrest on May 4 when police stopped a funeral procession from entering the grounds of the parish cemetery—grounds that had been seized by the government. After being released, Nam was taken into custody again and asked to testify against fellow parishioners. He refused, and was beaten before being released. He died of injuries shortly after returning home.