NEW YORK — The Vietnamese government should immediately release Roman Catholics arrested for holding peaceful prayer vigils in Hà N?i and hold accountable police and others responsible for attacking Catholic parishioners, Human Rights Watch said. The protesters have been calling for the return of church properties confiscated by the government.

Human Rights Watch also urged the government to end the harassment, threats, and restrictions on the movement of the Archbishop of Hà N?i, Joseph Ngô Quang Ki?t, who has publicly defended the rights of the Catholic protesters and visited the families of arrested parishioners.

'"This is the harshest crackdown on Catholics in Vi?t Nam in decades,"' said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. '"Sadly, religious repression and violent crackdowns by the Vietnamese authorities against peaceful protesters are nothing new."'

Vi?t Nam has not seen such large numbers of Catholics participating in mass public protests since the 1950s, nor has the government responded to Catholics so violently as in recent decades.

Vietnamese authorities recently have used tear gas and electric batons to disband the peaceful Catholic prayer vigils in Hà N?i, and bulldozed properties considered sacred to Vietnamese Catholics. Hundreds of unidentified people, some in the blue shirts of the Communist Youth League, have harassed, cursed, and spit at parishioners and destroyed church statues. On Sept. 19, authorities detained and beat an American reporter covering these events. At least eight Catholic parishioners have been arrested for participating in the vigils since the latest round of protests began in mid-August.

'"Silencing the voices of Catholic parishioners by beating, harassing and arresting them is yet another demonstration of Vi?t Nam’s intolerance of dissent and freedom of religion,"' Pearson said. '"Even senior religious figures of officially recognized chur-ches are severely harassed."'

The two Hà N?i properties in dispute are the site of the former Nunciature (a Vatican diplomatic mission), and the Thái Hà Church of the Re-demptorists, both of which were confiscated in the mid-1950s. Construction workers, backed by hundreds of police officers, bulldozed the Nun-ciature building last month.

Public expression of land grievances are escalating throughout Vi?t Nam, from the Mekong Delta to the northern highlands, with religious leaders and their adherents at times involved in the peaceful protests.

Prayer vigils conducted in December 2007 and January 2008 by Catholic parishioners in Hà N?i seeking the return of the disputed properties died down earlier this year when government authorities reportedly promised to return the properties. Months went by, however, without any action, spurring thousands of Catholics to join fresh prayer vigils in August and September to press for return of government-confiscated church land.

On Sept. 21, 10,000 Catholics gathered in prayer outside Hà N?i’s main St. Joseph Cathedral to protest the demolition of the nearby Nunciature. It was the largest public protest by Catholics since 1954.

Hà N?i authorities targeted for harassment Archbishop Ki?t after he publicly defended the prayer vigils. Catholic sources in Vi?t Nam report that Vietnamese authorities have placed surveillance cameras outside his residence and are monitoring his phone line. Government-orchestrated mobs have assembled outside his gate shouting anti-Catholic slogans and calling for him to be removed from his position. The archbishop has limited his activities outside his residence due to security concerns.

On Sept. 23, the president of the Hà N?i People’s Committee a governmental authority answerable to the Vietnamese Communist Party sent a letter to the Vi?t Nam Conference of Catholic Bishops calling for the '"severe punishment"' and transfer of Archbishop Ki?t and accusing him and four priests at Thái Hà parish of '"inciting riots, falsely accusing the government, disrespecting the nation, breaking and ridiculing the law and instigating others to violate it."'

In response, the Vi?t Nam Conference of Bishops issued public statements in defense of the archbishop and priests, raising concerns about religious freedom, the right to property, the government’s monopoly over the media and other human rights issues in Vi?t Nam.