Fr Nguyen Van Ly released in Vietnam

(March 16, 2010) In Vietnam, Fr. Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, undergoing an eight-year sentence, was freed on Monday afternoon on medical grounds. Early reports indicate that Fr Van Ly, who suffered a stroke a few months ago, was taken to the Archbishop’s Residence in Hue. There he was able to meet some relatives, who had been demanding his release for quite some time due to his ill health.
Fr Van Ly was sentenced on 30 March 2007 to eight years in prison, and five years under house arrest, after he was convicted of promoting a pro-democracy movement called Bloc 84-06. The group was founded in April 2006 and has a membership of some 2,000. The priest was also convicted for supporting illegal organisations like the Progressive Party of Vietnam. Between 1977 and 2004, he spent 14 years in prison for defending religious freedom and human rights in the Communist nation. Since his trial, the government has tried to encourage the idea that the Vatican and the local archbishop were in favour of the sentence; in reality, the diocese has steadfastly fought for his release. In a press release on Monday, the archbishop and the clergy of Hue welcomed Fr Van Ly, whose health is very frail. He will now be staying at a retreat centre run by the diocese.