Hanoi - A court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced a Mennonite Christian pastor to three years in prison Thursday for failing to repay debts owed by the company of her late first husband.
Nguyen Thi Hong, 48, had been in jail awaiting trial since her arrest in November 2007. Her second husband is the pastor, lawyer and social activist Nguyen Hong Quang, head of the Mennonite church in Vietnam.
After holding Hong for 14 months, authorities Thursday tried her for failing to repay two debts incurred in 1999 by the company of her late first husband, who died in 2003. The debts totaled 25,000 dollars.