Nguoi Viet Ly Huong

Người Việt Ly Hương

Úc Đại Lợi

● Tin Tức

● Sinh Hoạt

● Giáo Dục

● Sức Khoẻ

● Thể Thao

● Văn Nghệ

● Tự Do Dân Chủ

Father Nguyen Van Ly

CATHOLIC PRIEST

Penalty : 15 year prison sentence, past imprisonment
Location : Trai Nam Ha, Phu Ly, Tinh Nam Ha, Vietnam
(Nam Ha prison camp, Phu Ly village, Nam Ha province, Vietnam)
Telephone : n/a

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 ordered into internal exile by authorities. He sent a letter in reply 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 and 5 years of house arrest.

http://www.hdvnbtdt.org/article.php3?id_article=102

Linh Mục Nguyễn văn Lý

Father Ly's poem

“You can cover our mouths, blind our eyes
We will still speak, and see
Your rotten ideology is at an end
Your cruelty the sign of weakness
Change is coming! Change is coming!
And we, the people, will be free.”