Father Ly Case Study:  Amnesty International and trial documents obtained from the website of Women for Human Rights in Vietnam, http://www.whrvn.org/ . 

Biography details from www.fathernguyenvanly.blogspot.com    

 

History  (from www.fathernguyenvanly.blogspot.com )

 

Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly is a Roman Catholic priest and prominent Vietnamese dissident involved in many pro-democracy movements. Father Ly spent around 15 years in prison for peacefully criticizing government policies on religion and advocating for greater respect for human rights since the late 1970’s. For his ongoing imprisonment and continuous non-violent protest, Amnesty International has adopted Nguyen Van Ly in December, 1983 as a Prisoner of conscience. In November, 2000, Nguyen Van Ly gained global and official attention, when members of the Committee for Religious Freedom visited Nguyen Van Ly in his village, during US president Clinton's visit to Vietnam but he was sentenced again in October 2001 to 15 years in prison for activities linked to the defence of free speech. The sentence was later reduced several times and he was finally released in February 2004. Most recently, his support for the Bloc 8406 manifesto has led to his sentence on March 30, 2007 for an additional eight years in prison.

 

 documents by Amnesty International

 

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA41/042/2003/en

Please write, calling on the Vietnamese authorities to release Father Nguyen Van Ly immediately and unconditionally as a prisoner conscience, imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of his dissenting political beliefs.

Send appeals to: Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Hoang Hoa Tham, Ha Noi, Viet Nam. Fax: +84 4 823 1872 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Email: banbientap@mofa.gov.vn. Salutation: Dear Prime Minister.

 

Document - Viet Nam: Internet activist priest imprisoned

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PRESS RELEASE

AI Index: ASA 41/003/2007 (Public)

News Service No: 063

30 March 2007

Viet Nam: Internet activist priest imprisoned

Father Nguyen Van Ly, a 60-year-old Catholic priest who helped set up an internet petition calling for democratic change, was today sentenced to eight years imprisonment for "conducting propaganda" against the state.

Four of his associates, Nguyen Phong, Nguyen Binh Thanh, Hoang Thi Anh Dao and Le Thi Hang, were also sentenced.

In response, Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific Director Tim Parritt said:

"The politically-motivated charges against Father Ly and his associates are a blatant attempt to silence them and to scare off other critics of the government."

"This sentence means Father Ly will be a prisoner of conscience for the fourth time in two decades. It is indicative of a broader crackdown on dissent by the Vietnamese authorities that has been intensifying since the country held the APEC meeting last November."

"Father Ly and his associates are the first people who have been brought to trial during the crackdown -- we fear others will follow."   "The Vietnamese authorities must immediately release Father Ly, Nguyen Phong, and the three others and stop harassing and arresting those who speak out against the government."

 

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566

Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: ASA 41/004/2007 (Public)

News Service No: 081

24 April 2007

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA41/004/2007/en

 

Viet Nam: Silenced critics must be released

 

Vietnamese lawyers, trade unionists, religious leaders and Internet dissidents have been

detained or imprisoned in increasing numbers in recent months. Amnesty International is deeply concerned over an ongoing crackdown by the Vietnamese government against people who have done nothing but peacefully express their opinions.

 

On 30 April, “Liberation Day”, the Vietnamese government marks the anniversary of the end of the Viet Nam war by releasing a number of prisoners. For 30 April 2007, Amnesty International calls on the authorities to release all those arrested, detained and imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, to peaceful assembly and association, in accordance with Viet Nam’s obligations under international law.

 

In a trial in the city of Hue on 30 March 2007, Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, aged 60, was

sentenced to eight years in prison for “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of

Viet Nam” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. Accusations levelled against him included

involvement in the pro-democracy movement Bloc 8406 and taking part in the establishment of

banned political groups. Four co-defendants facing the same charges were also found guilty; two of them, Nguyen Phong and Nguyen Binh Thanh, were sentenced to six and five years

imprisonment respectively, two others were given suspended prison terms The two women’s suspended prison terms were of two years and 18 months respectively. Additionally, they were sentenced to a “test period” of three years and 18 months respectively, a sort of probation under the supervision of local authorities..

 The one-day trial against Father Nguyen Van Ly, who now for the fourth time became a prisoner of conscience, was the first of several trials expected to take place in the months ahead against people who have publicly called for political change or respect for human rights. This crackdown follows a period of relative ease in terms of restricting civil and political rights during which the authorities organized and hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in November, lobbied and achieved Permanent Normal Trade Relation status with the USA a month later, and joined the World Trade Organisation in January 2007.

 On 10 April 2007, President Nguyen Minh Triet applauded the success of the APEC forum, which in the words of the APEC Chairman Le Cong Phung “has created a positive image of an active, open and safe country.” Amnesty International believes that the ongoing crackdown with its clear violations of international human rights law is now creating a sharply contrasting image.

 
The first of a wave of arrests took place around the time of the APEC forum, when four leading  members of the newly formed United Workers-Farmers Organisation (UWFO) were taken in by security officials. Established in October 2006, the UWFO advocates for the right to form and join independent trade and labour unions, which are not allowed under Vietnamese national law. No formal charges have been brought against them, but accusations by authorities have reportedly related to “conducting propaganda” against the state (Article 88 of the Penal Code).

 Amnesty International calls on the Vietnamese authorities to honour its international human rights obligations by releasing all prisoners of conscience, including those who are facing criminal charges for having peacefully expressed their opinions. The organisation
also calls for an end to all harassment against other peaceful critics.

 In view of the fact that the Vietnamese Penal Code criminalises peaceful dissent – in breach of international law – Amnesty International calls on the authorities to urgently reform the manyambiguous provisions relating to national security and ensure they are either removed or brought into line with Viet Nam’s obligations under international law.

The politically-motivated charges against Father Ly, Le Thi Cong Nhan and others are a campaign by authorities to silence these critical voices and to scare other potential critics of the government into silence. Amnesty International calls on the Vietnamese authorities to honour its international human rights obligations by releasing all prisoners of conscience, including those who are facing criminal charges for having peacefully expressed their opinions. The organisation also calls for an end to all harassment against other peaceful critics.

The rights to freedom of expression and assembly are guaranteed under the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The covenant is binding on Viet Nam, which is a state party since 1982. Yet, peaceful government critics have been charged with “conducting propaganda“, “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State” and “spying”.

 
Detailed Background from Amnesty International and Father Nguyen Van Ly blog

 

Born August 31, 1947 in Quang Tri province in central Vietnam. Father Nguyen Van Ly was ordained in 1974 and served as secretary to the late Archbishop Nguyen Kim Dien.

In September 1977,  Father Ly was arrested for distributing two essays by Archbishop Nguyen Kim Dien critical of the government’s religious repression. He was given a 20 year sentence and sent to a labor camp near Hue. Several months later, authorities released Father Ly, but prohibited him from engaging in religious activities. Father Ly continued religious teaching and in January 1983 was sent into internal exile. He sent a letter which exposed the government’s religious repression and pledged to stay at his parish where followers gathered around his residence in support.

 

On the morning of May 18, 1983, security forces forcibly removed Father Ly from his home. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 4 years probation. Released in July 1992, Father Ly was placed under police surveillance and again banned from conducting religious activities. On November 24, 1994, he issued a 10-point Statement on the State of the Catholic Church in Hue Diocese detailing the government’s  violations of religious freedom. Authorities exiled him to Thuy Bieu village (near Hue) with only a small Catholic community.

Father Ly re-released his 10-point Statement in November 2000 followed by an appeal titled “We Need True Religious Freedom in Vietnam.” In these documents, he described the communist government’s long-standing policy on religions in general and the Catholic Church in particular as a “noose around the neck of the religions.”  

 

On December 4, 2000, in protest of the government’s seizure of church property and restrictions on their activities, Father Ly and parishioners Nguyet Bieu planted a large banner with the words “We need Freedom of Religion” on the church’s land and started to sow seed. Public Security cadres arrived immediately and engaged in acts of intimidation.

 

In early 2001, authorities increased the harassment and isolation of Father Nguyen Van Ly. His telephone line was intermittently cut-off. Father Ly, however, continued to speak out.  In February, he provided written testimony for a hearing by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He also submitted written remarks for a briefing by the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus on May 16.  On May 17, 2001, over 600 security police stormed An Truyen Parish to arrest Father Nguyen Van Ly. In a two-hour trial on October 19, 2001, authorities sentenced Father Ly to 15 years in prison (later reduced to 10 then 5 years) and 5 years of house arrest. 

 

As a result of pressure from Amnesty International, who adopted him as a Prisoner of Conscience in 1983, and Human Rights Watch. Father Ly was released from prison in early 2004.  He remained under house arrest in the Archdiocese of Hue. 

 

He is a founding member of Bloc 8406, which on April 8 2006 launched an on-line petition signed by 166 democracy activists in Viet Nam calling for peaceful political change and respect for human rights. The petition quickly attracted 296 more Vietnamese national signatories and its launch marked the effective creation of an internet based pro-democracy movement.  Support is encouraged among government leaders in democracies worldwide by the Vietnamese Diaspora. 

 

He is returned to prison in March 2007, tried for one minute before the tribunal in front of western journalists, intended to be a show for open court by the Communist regime.  When Father Ly attempts to speak, his mouth is covered by Security Police and the Armed Forces guard seize him and carry him forcibly from the courtroom, revealing that his hands were tied with ropes at the wrist.  This is photographed and videotaped, and now shown around the world by the Vietnamese Diaspora to teach the reality of the oppression of the Socialist Government of Viet Nam.   

 

Father Nguyen Van Ly is re-adopted by Amnesty International in April 2007 with new petitions and specifically by Group 19 in Palo Alto, California,  as a second Prisoner of Conscience for their membership and tabling activities.  

 

 Prepared for Amnesty International Group 19 and the first anniversary commemoration of the March 30, 2007 trial of Father Nguyen Van Ly,  March 30, 2008.