>Priest Ngyen Van Ly to be detained by mid March
>Dissident Protesting The Case Already Arrested
>International Concerns Over Priest’s Health
By BosNewsLife Asia Service
HANOI, VIETNAM (BosNewsLife)– A Vietnamese Catholic priest known for publicly expressing views on democracy and human rights faced a difficult month Tuesday, March 1, as he was due to be imprisoned again on charges of spreading “propaganda” against the state”, despite international concerns over his health.
Nguyen Van Ly, 64, suffered a stroke in prison in November 2009, which left him partially paralyzed, after being held in solitary confinement, Christians and rights activists said.
He was granted a 12 month “temporary suspension” of his eight year jail sentence on March 15 last year, to allow medical treatment, after also being diagnosed with a brain tumor.
“Since his release, he has been living under surveillance at a house for retired priests in the diocese of the Archbishop of Hue”, central Vietnam, said rights group Amnesty International.
Án American diplomat was reportedly mishandled by Vietnamese police when he attempted to visit Ly, who was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in 2007 for spreading “propaganda” against Communist-run Vietnam.
DISSIDENT DETAINED
One of Vietnam’s most prominent pro-democracy dissidents was briefly detained while protesting the January incident in an opinion piece in The Washington Post newspaper.
“If Washington is looking to Vietnam for a long-term partner for peace and regional stability, America would do well to recognize publicly that only a Vietnam that is free and democratic can provide one,” wrote Nguyen Dan Que in the piece published Saturday, February 28.
Washington claims however it has raised the crackdown on pro-democracy activists with Vietnamese authorities.
Last week Que also posted an appeal on the Internet calling for the masses to follow the example of protesters in North Africa and the Middle East and launch an uprising to make a “clean sweep of Communist dictatorship and build a new, free, democratic, humane and progressive Vietnam.”
Que called on young people to use the Internet and mobile phones to spread the word for millions to take to the streets and demand an end to Vietnam’s one-party rule.
HELD BY POLICE
State-controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Monday, February 28, that the 69-year-old Que was being held by police in Ho Chi Minh City for allegedly acting to overthrow the government.
It said his house was searched Saturday and police found 60,000 documents on his computer calling for a revolution. Vietnamese police declined to comment.
He was later released on bail news reports said, but it was not immediately clear when he would face a trial. Rights groups have suggested that people protesting against the tightly controlled state can face years of imprisonment.
Catholic Priest Nguyen Van Ly spent some 17 years of his life in prisons, since he first demanded more religious rights in the 1970s. Christians comprise some 10 percent of Vietnam’s population.
VIETNAM CONSTITUTION
it’s not true.there is not Nguyen Van Ly. everybody can do it with a photograph
Dear Anderson,
You must be about the only person who denies that there is no dissident with this name. Are you linked to the Vietnamese government? Could you please tell us why it’s not true? Who is this on this picture according to you? Any more details would help.
Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife
I find the news of Christians being persecuted for their faith unacceptable and hope that the international community will take action.
When four Protestant Ministers were murdered while trekking from village to village in Bihar, India, I wrote to the Indian government, but to no avail. Because, as I discovered there was no protection for non-Hindus in India, thus their deaths were written off as a statistic’
Then there was the rape in Bihar, India of Roman Catholic nun by 40 of prominent members of the village council, including the Police Chief, which was quietly lrft out of the news.
Lastly, Dalits who convert to Christianity in India are targets of Hindu fanatics, who have government support behind them.
All the above issues can be verified, as there are newspapers and journalists that have secretly visited sites in India. The foremost among these was FRANCE 24, which exposed the Indian government’s attempts to stop reporters from entering India, and sending reports while secretly visiting troubled areas of that country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjPuL-1BFG4