Times:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of United States senators urged Vietnam‘s president on Wednesday to free a Roman Catholic priest as human rights groups said that his imprisonment justified putting Vietnam on a religious freedom blacklist.

The priest, the Rev. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, was sentenced to eight years in prison in March 2007 after being charged with spreading propaganda against Vietnam’s Communist government. He had previously served 16 years in prison for activities in which he advocated for human rights.

The group of 37 senators, who were led by Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, and Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, urged President Nguyen Minh Triet of Vietnam to free Father Ly, calling his trial “seriously flawed.”

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Tags: Roman Catholic

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