Wire Story
Sen. Brownback commends release of Vietnamese dissidents
By Logan C. Adams -- Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON- Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., applauded the announcement Monday that the Vietnamese government will soon release two human rights activists.
The government said Father Thadeus Nguyen Ly and Dr. Nguyen Dan Que will be among 8,000 prisoners released to mark Tet, the celebration of the lunar New Year that will occur next week.
The senator had visited Ly in prison during a trip to Vietnam last year and wrote a letter to the Vietnamese government asking for their release.
The two men were arrested for criticizing the Vietnamese government and were considered “prisoners of conscience” by Amnesty International, according to the group’s Web site.
“I send my gratitude to the Vietnamese government for releasing both individuals,” Brownback said in a prepared statement. “I hope this provides an opportunity for us to work towards future discussions on human rights.”
According to Amnesty International, Que, 62, has been imprisoned before and has spent 20 of the last 27 years in prison. He was arrested in March 2003, five days after a published statement appeared in which he claimed there was no freedom of information in Vietnam.
Ly, 58, has been imprisoned since May 2001 and has spent more than 14 years of his life in prison. Brownback’s statement said he was arrested for having provided testimony to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about religious persecution in Vietnam.
Amnesty International also announced the release of two other political prisoners – former English and history professor Thich Thien Minh, 51, and Buddhist monk Nguyen Dinh Huy, 73.
By Logan C. Adams -- Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON- Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., applauded the announcement Monday that the Vietnamese government will soon release two human rights activists.
The government said Father Thadeus Nguyen Ly and Dr. Nguyen Dan Que will be among 8,000 prisoners released to mark Tet, the celebration of the lunar New Year that will occur next week.
The senator had visited Ly in prison during a trip to Vietnam last year and wrote a letter to the Vietnamese government asking for their release.
The two men were arrested for criticizing the Vietnamese government and were considered “prisoners of conscience” by Amnesty International, according to the group’s Web site.
“I send my gratitude to the Vietnamese government for releasing both individuals,” Brownback said in a prepared statement. “I hope this provides an opportunity for us to work towards future discussions on human rights.”
According to Amnesty International, Que, 62, has been imprisoned before and has spent 20 of the last 27 years in prison. He was arrested in March 2003, five days after a published statement appeared in which he claimed there was no freedom of information in Vietnam.
Ly, 58, has been imprisoned since May 2001 and has spent more than 14 years of his life in prison. Brownback’s statement said he was arrested for having provided testimony to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about religious persecution in Vietnam.
Amnesty International also announced the release of two other political prisoners – former English and history professor Thich Thien Minh, 51, and Buddhist monk Nguyen Dinh Huy, 73.
posted by Logan C. Adams at 2/02/2005 10:55:00 AM
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