An international Buddhist group says police in Vietnam have arrested a monk as he was visiting the head of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.
Thich Quang Do, 77, is the deputy leader of the Church, which was outlawed in 1981.
The International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB), based in France, says he was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City along with another monk and a lay Buddhist.
The men were trying to visit the church’s patriarch, Thich Huyen Quang, 87, who is currently under house arrest in central Vietnam’s Binh Dinh province.
The Vietnamese foreign ministry has denied that Mr Do has been detained.
“Thich Quang Do has not been arrested at all. He is now living in the place where he normally goes about his Buddhist activities,” Spokesman Le Dung said.
ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio Australia