Prisoners of ConscienceThis year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Amnesty International. To mark this, Amnesty, in association with The Irish Times, is profiling a prisoner each month . . .
WHILE THE Irish legal system may not be perfect, the sight of police slapping their hands over the mouth of a defendant is not something one would expect to witness at the Four Courts, or any civilised court room.
Yet in March 2007, onlookers at a Vietnamese trial witnessed a 60-year-old man, a Catholic priest, being muzzled and wrestled out of a courtroom.
Fr Nguyen Van Ly had confronted Vietnamese judicial officials and accused them of practising “the law of the jungle”.
Following proceedings from outside on a loudspeaker, he awaited his sentence: eight years in prison for “conducting propaganda” against the state. Amnesty International considers Fr Ly a prisoner of conscience.
Fr Ly has spent a total of 15 years in prison since the mid-1970s for his peaceful campaigning for religious freedom, democracy and human rights.
While at Ba Sao prison, the activist was held mainly in solitary confinement. Suffering badly from several health problems, Fr Ly eventually had a stroke in November 2009 and was later diagnosed with a brain tumour.
He received neither a proper diagnosis nor adequate medical care. The authorities sent him to a prison hospital in Ha Noi two weeks later, but returned him to prison on December 11th, though he was still partially paralysed.
On March 15th, 2010, Fr Ly was granted a 12-month “temporary suspension” of his prison sentence so that he could receive medical treatment. On the afternoon of July 25th he was arrested by police, and taken back to prison by ambulance.
The authorities have claimed that Fr Ly has been returned to prison because he had distributed documents critical of government policies and incited demonstrations. He is said to be in poor health.
His return to prison marked the end of the home detention at his parish in Hue, where he was sent to recover his health. The authorities instructed Fr Ly that he was strictly prohibited from making any anti-government actions or communications, and advanced permission was required to leave the ward. There were reports of police intimidation towards anyone who tried to visit, including a US embassy official.
One of the principal architects of the democracy movement Bloc 8406, Father Ly has also played leading roles in two underground pro-democracy publications, Tu Do Ngon Luan (freedom of expression) and Tu Do Dan Chu (freedom and democracy). He was one of the founding members of the Vietnam Progression Party.
Freedom of expression, association and assembly are severely restricted in Vietnam. The authorities routinely harass and imprison peaceful activists critical of government policies and advocating greater freedoms in order to silence them.
Dozens of prisoners of conscience, including bloggers, lawyers, writers, labour activists, business people, and supporters of opposition groups, are serving long prison terms under legislation which criminalises peaceful dissent.
In Vietnam, prison conditions are harsh, with inadequate provision of food and medical care. Prisoners are reliant on their families to support their needs.
Fr Ly is one of dozens of activists serving long jail terms for their peaceful dissent and promotion of democracy.
Amnesty International is calling on the Vietnamese authorities to release Fr Nguyen Van Ly immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience.
We urge them to reveal where he is, and allow him immediate access to his family and a lawyer of his choice; and ask them to ensure that Fr Ly has full access to any medical attention he may require.
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