A letter to urge “the immediate release” of two well-known Vietnamese Buddhist exponents, Thich Huyen Quang e Thich Quang Do, has been sent by the President of the Justice and Peace Council of the Czech Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Vàclav Maly, to Tran Duc Luong, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. “These courageous leaders, – says the letter – who have spent the last 25 years of their life defending human rights and religious freedom, were imprisoned, isolated, released, and once again arrested”. The letter also refers to the poor health of the two Buddhists. Msgr. Maly also asks for the release of the Catholic priest Father Nguyen Van Ly, sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 2001 for having criticized the state of religious freedom in Vietnam.
