HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) - Religious rights in Communist Vietnam were put under the spotlight again on Sunday when an overseas group said the elderly head of a banned Buddhist sect, his deputy and 16 supporters had been detained.
The Maryland-based Overseas Hoa Hao Buddhist Association said in a statement that 82-year-old Hoa Hao chairman Le Quang Liem had been arrested early on Saturday near Ho Chi Minh City's La Van Tam Park.
It said about 100 supporters went to demand his release from a police station, of whom nine were detained and two women, Do Thi Chung and Le Thi Phuong Mai, were "beaten until they collapsed" by police armed with batons and stun guns.
The statement said the deputy chairman of the Hoa Hao, Nguyen Van Dien, was arrested with seven supporters and taken to another police station.
Police officers declined to comment on Sunday to a Reuters reporter who visited the station where Liem was said to have been detained and referred enquiries to police headquarters.
The city police headquarters referred Reuters to the external relations department and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said she had no information about the case.
However, a worker at Le Van Tam park said there had been some "unusual activity" at about 5 a.m. on Saturday, the time the statement said Liem was arrested.
The Hoa Hao report comes at a highly sensitive time for Vietnam, whose religious rights record has been under heightened scrutiny in the United States since the two former enemies signed an historic trade pact that has still to be ratified.
REPORT FOLLOWS CATHOLIC DETENTION
The Hoa Hao did not give any reason for the arrests, but an earlier Hoa Hao statement said Liem planned to lead a peaceful protest on Saturday in support of Catholic priest Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, detained earlier this month after urging the U.S. Congress not to ratify the trade pact because of rights abuses.
Last month, Liem joined Ly and two other dissident religious leaders to form the Vietnam Interfaith Council to promote religious freedom.
U.S. officials have warned Vietnam that ratification of the trade pact could be complicated by lobbyists focusing on rights issues in what is one of the world's few remaining communist states.
The overseas association said the arrests came ahead of the 54th anniversary of the abduction of Hoa Hao prophet Huynh Phu So by communist independence forces in 1947, and were an attempt to prevent celebration of this day.
"Once again the government of Vietnam has shown the world its concept of 'religious freedom'," it said.
Foreign journalists were recently allowed to visit two provinces of the central highlands for the first time since ethnic protests broke out there last month. Local authorities stressed that religious rights played no role in the protests.
HOA HAO OPPOSED COMMUNISM
The Hoa Hao, who claim about four million adherents in Vietnam, have long complained of persecution stemming from their previous armed opposition to communism during the Vietnam War.
In January, their secretary-general Ha Hai was jailed for five years for violating a restriction order and "abusing democratic rights" and in September five members were jailed for one to three years on similar charges.
Hanoi denies restricting religious rights but permits only six official religions.
The most recent U.S. State Department human rights report on Vietnam criticised its religious record and said unrecognised groups like the Hoa Hao were harassed and restricted.
Analysts expect the trade agreement will eventually go through, but say Vietnam will face long-term scrutiny on rights because its 'normal trade relations' status with the United States will have to be renewed once a year.