State-owned media report that Vietnamese authorities now have enough evidence to accuse a Redemptorist priest of counter-revolution, and of damaging national unity and the development of the country.
On Tuesday June 30, the People's Public Security Newspaper and other state-run media outlet reported that Fr. Joseph Le Quang Uy had “bent his head admitting that he had commit crimes against people and the government.”
The newspaper, run by Vietnamese police force, went on stating that the day before “at the headquarter of the Customs at Tan Son Nhat airport, Mr. Le Quang Uy signed a statement admitting that had committed offenses against the law.”
According to the paper, Fr. Joseph Le had violated the Publishing Law as customs at Tan Son Nhat airport discovered in his laptop a lot of documents and emails with “bad contents” that could damage national unity and the development of the country, distort Vietnam history, and the socio-economic policies of the government.
Since February, state-owned media have repeatedly accused Fr. Joseph Le of “conducting propaganda against the state” and “plotting to overthrow the communist regime” calling for "immediate and severe punishment." Under Article 88 of the Penal Code, if convicted, he faces a three- to twenty-year prison sentence including the death penalty.
Fr. Joseph Le Quang Uy, a pro-life hero, and an outspoken critic of recent bauxite-extraction in the Central Highlands, was detained at Tan Son Nhat airport on Saturday June, 6 as he was returning home from his pastoral trip abroad. His luggage had been searched meticulously and his laptop was confiscated by the airport security and customs agents. The priest was later released with a citation that required him to come to the Office of Cultural Inspection for follow-up meetings.
Responding to the charges, Fr. Joseph Le denied all accusations against him stating that police had altered and distorted the statement he signed on June 29 at Tan Son Nhat airport. On his account of the story, Fr. Joseph Le stated that most documents on his laptop were his sermons. A few of them were articles reflecting his opposition to bauxite-extraction in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. However, “as they still had been drafts on my own laptop, they could not violate Publishing Law”, said Fr. Joseph Le defending his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
The Vietnamese authorities have recently arrested at least 30 dissidents, including a number of prominent lawyers, in an attempt to stifle freedom of expression and association.
There is growing concern over the imminent crackdown against the Redemptorists in Vietnam who have repeatedly struggled for the requisition of Church properties and petitioned the government not to proceed with the project to mine the bauxite in the Central High Plains, which would cause irreversible damage to the environment and to the local people, many of whom belong to ethnic minorities.
On Tuesday June 30, the People's Public Security Newspaper and other state-run media outlet reported that Fr. Joseph Le Quang Uy had “bent his head admitting that he had commit crimes against people and the government.”
The newspaper, run by Vietnamese police force, went on stating that the day before “at the headquarter of the Customs at Tan Son Nhat airport, Mr. Le Quang Uy signed a statement admitting that had committed offenses against the law.”
According to the paper, Fr. Joseph Le had violated the Publishing Law as customs at Tan Son Nhat airport discovered in his laptop a lot of documents and emails with “bad contents” that could damage national unity and the development of the country, distort Vietnam history, and the socio-economic policies of the government.
Since February, state-owned media have repeatedly accused Fr. Joseph Le of “conducting propaganda against the state” and “plotting to overthrow the communist regime” calling for "immediate and severe punishment." Under Article 88 of the Penal Code, if convicted, he faces a three- to twenty-year prison sentence including the death penalty.
Fr. Joseph Le Quang Uy, a pro-life hero, and an outspoken critic of recent bauxite-extraction in the Central Highlands, was detained at Tan Son Nhat airport on Saturday June, 6 as he was returning home from his pastoral trip abroad. His luggage had been searched meticulously and his laptop was confiscated by the airport security and customs agents. The priest was later released with a citation that required him to come to the Office of Cultural Inspection for follow-up meetings.
Responding to the charges, Fr. Joseph Le denied all accusations against him stating that police had altered and distorted the statement he signed on June 29 at Tan Son Nhat airport. On his account of the story, Fr. Joseph Le stated that most documents on his laptop were his sermons. A few of them were articles reflecting his opposition to bauxite-extraction in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. However, “as they still had been drafts on my own laptop, they could not violate Publishing Law”, said Fr. Joseph Le defending his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
The Vietnamese authorities have recently arrested at least 30 dissidents, including a number of prominent lawyers, in an attempt to stifle freedom of expression and association.
There is growing concern over the imminent crackdown against the Redemptorists in Vietnam who have repeatedly struggled for the requisition of Church properties and petitioned the government not to proceed with the project to mine the bauxite in the Central High Plains, which would cause irreversible damage to the environment and to the local people, many of whom belong to ethnic minorities.