Catholic priest in Vietnam sentenced to 8 years

Father Nguyen Van Ly, a prominent Catholic priest and pro-democracy dissident, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment after a three hour trial in a Hue court, in which he was muzzled and then hustled out of the courtroom in midtrial for shouting some anti-communist slogans. Four other defendants were sentenced to terms ranging from probation to six years imprisonment. They were charged under Article 88 of Vietnam's Criminal Code, which prohibits spreading anti-government propaganda. Their specific activities for which they were convicted were to publish a pro-democracy newsletter, establish a new political party, and communicating with overseas Vietnamese groups.

Observers describe Father Ly's trial as part of a major crackdown on dissent in the country, the worst in 20 years.

I write about this in much more detail at my other blog page, Vietnam Human Rights Journal. Because I write these blogs on my own time, and because I am also the Vietnam country specialist for Amnesty International USA, a volunteer position, I will have to spend alot more time now at my Vietnam Human Rights Journal blog and will probably not be able to post very much here at the Banned Books blog for the forseeable future.