Council for a Community of Democracies

Vietnamese Prisoner of Conscience Released for Medical Reasons
March 22, 2010
By Paul Larson

A Vietnamese Priest has been released from prison for medical reasons, according to the AFP. The Rev. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly was freed after serving three years of his eight year sentence for propaganda and founding pro-democracy group Bloc 8406. The European Union, many U.S. lawmakers, Human Rights Watch and others consider Ly to be a prisoner of conscience.

Ly has a one-inch tumor in his brain that was discovered four months ago. He is partially paralyzed on the right side of his body and suffered three strokes last year. He spent one month in a hospital and returned to prison in December 2009. Ly explained that after he recovers with his family, he will return to prison to finish his sentence.

Ly has been convicted three times in the past three decades and served a total of 14 years in prison. Human rights activists warn that Ly’s release should not distract from the deplorable human rights of Vietnam. In the past month, 16 more democracy activists were jailed according to BBC News.

According to the U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report, the 2007 election in Vietnam was neither free nor fair, newspaper editors and reporters were fired for reporting on corruption cases, anti-government bloggers were detained and civil liberties were blatantly violated across the country.

Sources:

AFP - Dissident Vietnam priest freed on medical grounds

AP - Vietnam releases leading dissident from prison

BBC News - Vietnam releases dissident priest Nguyen Van Ly

U.S. Department of State - 2009 Human Rights Reports: Vietnam