Vietnam: USCIRF Statement on the Release of Father Ly

“Father Ly’s release confirms that international concern and U.S. attention to human rights problems in Vietnam get results,” said Leonard Leo, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).  “We welcome this release and trust the Vietnamese government will provide Father Ly with the medical care he urgently needs.  We urge the U.S. Ambassador to meet with Father Ly and call for the release of all human rights and religious freedom dissidents.  While this is good news for Father Ly, we continue to have grave concerns about Vietnam’s deteriorating human rights situation.”            

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives. USCIRF’s principal responsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress.