AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION
VIETNAMESE
PRIEST FALLS SERIOUSLY ILL IN PRISON
UA: 313/09 Index: ASA 41/009/2009 Issue Date: 24 November 2009
Imprisoned pro-democracy activist and Catholic priest Father Nguyen Van Ly
suffered a suspected stroke on 14 November in Viet Nam. He is conscious but
paralyzed on one side. He has been moved to a prison hospital in the Vietnamese
capital, Ha Noi. He may be returned to prison, where he would not receive
adequate medical treatment for a potentially life-threatening condition.
Father Nguyen Van Ly, who is 63 years old, has been moved from Ba Sao prison, in
Ha Nam province, northern Viet Nam, where he has been held in solitary
confinement since March 2007, to Prison Hospital 198, administered by the
Ministry of Public Security in Ha Noi. Five prison officers are guarding his
room, and they only allow family members to see him in order to give him
additional care, including by providing him with changes of clothing and food.
Sources in Viet Nam say that Father Ly is undergoing medical tests. While in
prison he has suffered from high blood pressure and other health problems. He
has been ill a number of times in the last six months, including an incident
when he fell and hit his head and was unable to stand up, and also had temporary
loss of movement on one side of his body. He recovered despite receiving
inadequate medical treatment at Ba Sao prison.
Father Ly is a Catholic priest and activist for human rights and democracy. In
March 2007 he was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for “conducting
propaganda” against the state. He was accused of involvement in the
internet-based pro-democracy movement Bloc 8406, which he co-founded in April
2006, and taking part in the establishment of banned political groups. He also
secretly published a dissident journal, Tu Do Ngon Luan (Freedom and Democracy).
Since Father Ly was first jailed for his activism in the late 1970s, he has
spent some 17 years as a prisoner of conscience, detained for calling for
respect for human rights and freedom of expression, and criticizing government
policies on religion.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Freedom of expression and association is strictly controlled in Viet Nam.
Dissidents who are critical of government policies and speak out about human
rights violations face a range of sanctions to silence them. At least 30
dissidents have received long prison sentences, since a series of arrests began
in 2006 after a short-lived period of official tolerance of increased web-based
activism challenging the government. Another wave of arrests began in May 2009,
and nine activists have recently been sentenced after unfair trials.
Law enforcement agencies arbitrarily use the Penal Code to stifle and
criminalize peaceful dissent, in breach of international human rights treaties
that Viet Nam has ratified. Restrictions and regulations on internet use
penalize freedom of expression on topics deemed sensitive, including human
rights and advocacy of democracy. Recent regulations on blogging enacted in
December 2008 restrict content to personal matters, and prohibit dissemination
of anti-government material, and “undermining national security”.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English, Vietnamese or your own language:
- Expressing grave concern that if Father Ly is returned to prison after
suffering a suspected stroke, he would not receive all the medical care he
needs, and his life would be at risk;
- Urging the authorities to allow Father Ly's family frequent access to
him in the prison hospital;
- Calling on the authorities to urgently release Father Ly into the care
of his family so that they can arrange immediate provision of independent
professional medical care and hospital treatment;
- Calling on the authorities to ensure that he is released
unconditionally and not returned to prison.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 05 JANUARY 2010 TO:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Pham Gia Khiem
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1 Ton That Dam Street
Ba Dinh district, Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: + 8443 823 1872
Email:
bc.mfa@mofa.gov.vn
Salutation: Dear Minister
Minister of Public Security
Le Hong Anh
Ministry of Public Security
44 Yet Kieu Street
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: + 8443 942 0223
Salutation: Dear Minister
/Ends