Vietnam accused of human rights breach over detention of
church leader
ABC Radio
Australia
7.08.2005
A United Nations human rights agency says Vietnamese authorities are wrongfully
holding the head of an outlawed Buddhist church who has been under house arrest
for almost two years.
The UN Working Group of Arbitrary Detention says the detention of Thich Huyen
Quang, as well as his deputy Thich Quang Do, is a breach of an international
human rights treaty that Vietnam has ratified.
The group says the Vietnamese government should take the necessary steps to
comply with the standards and principles in the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights.
Thich Huyen Quang, 87, is one of Vietnam's most prominent dissidents and has
made frequent appeals for religious freedom, human rights and democratic
reforms.
He and Thich Quang Do, 76, have been under house arrest since October 2003, when
they were accused of being in possession of state secrets.