E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1 Page 94 Viet Nam Communication sent on 25 November 2004 jointly with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders 448. The mandate holders had received information related to the Mennonite Church, concerning in particular Reverend Nguyen Hong Quang, General Secretary of the Mennonite Church in Ho Chi Minh City and an activist who defended land rights cases of impoverished farmers, who has already been the subject of an urgent appeal by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the situation of Human Rights Defenders and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on 7 September 2004 and an allegation of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion on 10 November 2004 (See E/CN.4/2005/61/Add.1, at paragraphs 366 to 370). 449. According to new information received, Nguyen Hong Quang, after a trial that took only four hours and was marred by some procedural shortcomings, was convicted to three years of imprisonment on 12 November 2004 by the people’s court of Ho Chi Minh City in connection with his religious convictions and related activities for “resisting persons doing official duty”. It was also reported that several of his collaborators, Pham Ngoc Thach, Le Thi Hong Lien, Nguyen Van Phuong, Nguyen Huu Nghia, Nguyen Thanh Nhan received sentences of between 9 and 36 months for the same offense. Response from the Government dated 6 December 2004 450. The Government indicated that the information and allegations were false. In Vietnam, the rights to freedom of religion or belief and freedom of non-religion or belief are clearly enshrined in the Constitution and laws and are guaranteed in practice. No one shall be arrested or detained merely for religious reasons. Only violators of the law will be punished in accordance with the laws. 451. According to the Government’s response, on 25 July 2002, the People’s Committee of Binh Khanh Commune, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City took administrative measures against Nguyen Hong Quang as he breached local construction management regulations by illegally building on public property for his personal benefit. Thus, on 8 July 2003, the People’s Committee of District 2 issued an order of administrative enforcement to compel Quang to dismantle his non-permitted building. Quang blatantly refused to comply wit h the order. 452. During the South East Asia Games 22 (SEAGAMES 22) organized in Vietnam from 5 to 14 December 2003, Quang, together with friends and collaborators in Ho Chi Minh City, with money received from Pastor Phan Minh Hoi (an overseas Vietnamese now living in the USA) illegally printed and disseminated publications using the logo of the SEAGAMES 22, breaching the trademark and patent rules and regulations of Vietnam. When detected and duly intervened by the police, Quang instigated his followers to cause public unrest in front of the police station of Nguyen Thai Binh Commune, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.