Father
Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, a Vietnamese Roman Catholic priest received
a sentence of 15 years imprisonment and 5 years house arrest for allegedly
undermining state unity and violating a previously issued detention
order by providing testimony to the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom. Father Ly has been in prison since May of 2001.
He has never been given access to an attorney.
Father Ly was formally invited to
testify before the Commission on International Religious Freedom but
could not attend personally because he was denied permission to leave
Vietnam. Instead he submitted written testimony which urged the United
States to place pressure on Vietnam and to reject a U.S.-Vietnamese
trade pact as a result of ongoing human rights abuses in Vietnam.
On 26 February 2001, in response
to Father Ly's testimony, the Government issued an order for the administrative
detention of Father Ly in which the Government alleged that Father
Ly "committed actions in violation of the laws and harmful to
the national security." On 5 March 2001, the Government publicly
stated that it had placed Father Ly under administrative detention
for "slandering" the Communist party and "distorting"
the Government's policy on religion. Also in March, the Government
banned him from operating his church.
In May 2001, a large number of policemen, possibly up to 600, surrounded
and then stormed An Truyen church to arrest Father Ly. After the arrest,
Father Ly was denied access to legal counsel. On 19 October 2001,
the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Court convicted Father Ly after
a two-hour, closed trial. Father Ly was sentenced to two years in
prison for violating the terms of his administrative detention, thirteen
years in prison for "damaging the Government's unity policy,"
and five years of administrative probation upon release from prison.
While reports are limited, Vietnamese
human rights organizations report that Father Ly is being held in
a small, isolated cell at a hard labor camp in the Nam Ha province.
Furthermore, the Government denies Father Ly contact with other prisoners
and the Government prohibits guards from speaking with him. The Government
severely limits time provided to Father Ly outside his cell, generally
denies him the use of pen and paper, except for allowing a monthly
correspondence, and refuses to give him items brought to him in prison,
including Christian books and some food items.
This is not Father Ly's first brush
with the Government of Vietnam. Since 1977, the Government of Vietnam
has repeatedly arrested, harassed, and jailed Father Ly for his advocacy
of religious freedom. In August 1982 Father Ly organized a pilgrimage
to La Vang, a site holy to the Vietnamese Catholics dating back to
1800, despite having been denied permission by the Government. Soon
after, in November of 1982, he was charged with leading the illegal
pilgrimage and the Government order him expelled from his Doc So parish.
Father Ly refused insisting he would only leave if the Roman Catholic
leadership asked him to. This incident culminated in the police surrounding
his parish and attempting to physically remove him. Father Ly used
a voice amplifier and instructed the citizens to demand religious
freedom. He remained within the parish until hundreds of police were
used to arrest him. As a result of his actions he was sentenced to
10 years imprisonment.
Father Ly remained in prison until the end of his sentence in July
1992. Upon his release, Father Ly was banned from conducting religious
activities and was placed under governmental surveillance. Since his
release, Father Ly has continued to voice dissent and champion the
call for full realization of human rights in Vietnam. For example,
in 1994 he released a "10-Point Statement of the State of the
Catholic Church in Hue Diocese," which is critical of the Government.
Freedom Now has recently begun its
advocacy efforts on behalf of Father Ly, who has been recognized by
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other international
human rights groups as a prisoner of conscience. Please contact Freedom
Now for more information on how to become involved in this new campaign.
On September 25, 2003, Freedom Now
filed a Petition to the United Nations Human
Rights Commission Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of
Father Ly's sister Quy Nguyen. This Petition calls for the immediate
release of Father Ly. It also calls for a new trial to be conducted
in accordance with the internationally-recognized rights and freedoms
embodied in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and other international human rights instruments.
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