Rome, Italy, Feb 21, 2007 / 09:11 am
Police in the central region of Vietnam have detained Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, a prominent defender of religious freedom and human rights, for committing “acts of instigation” and for not showing “repentance since his release” from prison.
According to the Vietnam News Agency, police “investigated illegal acts by Ly,” while the Free News Agency said that as part of the operation six computers and various documents of the priest were confiscated.
Father Nguyen Van Ly, 59, was imprisoned between 1983 and 1992 and was arrested again in 2001. At that time he was sentenced to 15 years for “undermining national unity.” Two years ago he was released. However, according to the official government news agency, “He has not shown repentance since his release and he has refused to comply with the probationary conditions of his sentence.”
Before his detention in 2001, Father Nguyen Van Ly had begun a campaign to achieve religious freedom in the country. That, and his criticism of the violation of human rights, has earned him constant pressure from the Communist government.
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