Amnesty backing imprisoned priest

Sydney
4 November 2001

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Amnesty backing imprisoned priest

By Chris Hook

Veteran Vietnamese religious freedom campaigner, Fr Tadeus Nguyen Ly, has been sentenced to 15 years prison, according to news reports.

The sentence was handed down in a closed court. Nor was Fr Ly given any legal representation, according to Associated Press.

Vietnamese television showed a gaunt Fr Ly listening to the verdict with his eyes closed, before being led from the courtroom.

Fr Ly is accused of undermining the unity of the Vietnamese nation and of breaching an administrative detention order. He had been placed under administrative detention in February after appealing to the United States’ Congress to delay ratification of a bilateral trade agreement because of human rights abuses in Vietnam.

After ignoring a ban imposed by the country’s Communist government on his conducting parish activities, Fr Ly was arrested in dramatic fashion in May, when 600 government agents broke into his parish church while he was celebrating Mass. Parishioners were beaten and threatened in the process.

Fr Ly is no stranger to prison. He was imprisoned for nine years between 1983-92 for breaching a previous ban on religious activities.

The US Government has stepped in and requested that the priest be released, but the Vietnamese Government has rejected the plea, saying the matter is an internal affair.

However, Fr Ly’s imprisonment could speed the passing of a bill by the US Senate that would halt future non-humanitarian aid to Vietnam unless it improves its human rights record. The bill has already been passed by the US House of Representatives.

Amnesty International has adopted Fr Ly as a prisoner of conscience. To help in the campaign for his release, write to: Ambassador Vu Chi Cong, Vietnamese Embassy, 6 Timbarra Crescent, O’Malley ACT 2606, or to Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Office of the Prime Minister, Hoang Hoa Tham, Ha Noi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Letters requesting the release of prisoners have been very successful in the past.