"I was there and I saw them using stun guns to give electrical shocks to our church members," Phong said, according to the Associated Press. "I could see the guns flare. They also beat people. Their denial once again shows that they never respect the truth."
The victims of police brutality include a Redemptorist brother was severely beaten by at least six men and was in serious condition.
One parishioner spoke with the Associated Press shortly after the incident near the police station, which is about 300 yards from the church.
Her face and shirt showing blood, parishioner Thi Phuc had sought refuge in the church.
"They beat me on my face and used a stun gun to shock my daughter," Nguyen Thi Phuc said.
Church leaders filed a complaint on Friday protesting the behavior of the police while demonstrators in Hanoi continued to camp on the disputed land.
Vu Hong Khanh, vice chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, said at a press conference that the parishioners had no legal claim to the disputed land, which is about 172,000 square feet and presently occupied by a textile factory.
“If they need more land for their religious practice they have to apply to authorities to be granted land in accordance with the law,” he said.
Also occurring on Thursday was a prayer vigil held by more than 3,000 Catholics at the Saigon Redemptorist Monastery, according to Fr. J.B. An Dang. The demonstrators asked for the restoration of confiscated monastery lands they say were illegally seized by the local government and made professions of solidarity with the demonstrators in Hanoi. The vigil was likely one of the largest protests assembled since the Communist takeover in 1975.
At the vigil, a Mass was concelebrated by priests from various religious orders in Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) and nearby provinces to pray for the Church in Vietnam and for Catholics in Hanoi.
Father Vincent Nguyen Trung Thanh, the provincial superior of the Redemptorists in Vietnam, asked the congregation to thank God for all the graces poured abundantly on them and even for the sufferings and the persecutions.
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“Through events in Thai Ha, we understand the Gospel more clearly…We stand more clearly on the side of the poor, the weak, the marginal, the persecuted, and those suffering injustice…We see more clearly the true face of a world dominated by lies, trickery, and tyranny,” said Father Vincent Nguyen.
Hundreds of police were sent to the Mass to take photos and film.
There are about 6 million Catholics in Vietnam, making them the country’s second-largest group of religious adherents after Buddhists.