The following news excerpt is from Compass Direct and an example of an exception from the government of Vietnam. Please pray that Vietnam continues to show mercy to those they are holding without cause.
Government granting leave to Father Ly is said to be tightening control overall.
DUBLIN, March 30
(CDN) —
Vietnamese
officials have in recent months tightened control over those they regard
as dissidents, and the temporary release of Catholic priest Thadeus
Nguyen van Ly on March 15 was a rare exception, according to Amnesty
International (AI).
Officials on March 15 released Ly, now 63, from prison for one year so that he could receive medical treatment.
An outspoken advocate for religious freedom, Ly was sentenced to eight years in prison in March 2007 for “spreading propaganda” against the state. He had previously received 10- and 15-year sentences on similar charges.
“The release of Father Ly appears to be a one-off, related to his health,” Brittis Edman, Asia researcher for AI, told Compass by phone.
Human rights lawyer Le Thi Cong Nhan was released on March 6 after serving a three years in prison. Officials have sentenced 16 other “perceived dissidents” since last September.
“Those 16 are people whose names are in the public domain,” Edman added. “There are probably others we’re not aware of.”
Edman confirmed that Ly was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, although few details are available on the prognosis or the availability of treatment. Fellow priests told the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) that Ly had suffered three strokes in May, September and November of last year, partially paralyzing his right arm and leg and making it difficult for him to walk, write or feed himself.
Following urgent requests from diocesan priests and family members, officials on March 14 granted Ly one year’s reprieve from his jail sentence. On March 15 they transported him by ambulance from Ba Sao prison camp in northern Ha Nam province to a home for retired priests in Hue, central Vietnam.
Under pressure from international advocacy groups including AI, the government may have granted Ly’s release to ward off potential embarrassment should he die in prison, Edman said.
“He’s a very public figure, and the Vietnamese government is not comfortable with being criticized.”
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