Press Review

AFP : Vietnam-religion-rights – Patriarch of outlawed Vietnamese Buddhist church gravely ill

  Agence France Presse   HANOI, Nov 19 (AFP) – Thich Huyen Quang, the elderly head of an outlawed Vietnamese Buddhist church who has been under house arrest for over a year, is gravely ill in hospital, the church’s Paris-based information arm said Friday. The 87-year-old patriarch of the Unified …

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The Christian Post : Vietnam Committee on Human Rights Condemns Sentencing of Mennonite Pastor

The recent sentencing of an evangelical Mennonite Pastor and five believers has drawn protest from human rights groups and the Christian community The recent sentencing of an evangelical Mennonite Pastor and five believers has drawn protest from human rights groups and the Christian community. The Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang, the …

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AP : Mennonite pastor, five followers sentenced to jail in Vietnam

  Associated Press   A pastor and five followers from a banned Mennonite church in Ho Chi Minh City were sentenced up to three years in prison Friday for obstructing justice, a court official said. The Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang was given three years on charges of “obstructing people carrying …

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AFP : Members of Buddhist youth dissident group in Vietnam banned from traveling

  Agence France Presse   HANOI, Nov 4 (AFP) – A group belonging to the banned Vietnamese Buddhist Youth movement has been banned from leaving the country to attend a Buddhist festival abroad, official sources said Thursday. The International Buddhist Information Bureau, an arm of the banned Unified Buddhist Church …

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dpa : Vietnamese Buddhist dissident seeks end to house arrest

HANOI, Oct 28, 2004 (dpa) – A prominent Buddhist dissident has called on authorities in Vietnam to release him and another religious leader from house arrest, a rights group said Thursday. In a letter sent to leaders in one-party Vietnam, Thich Quang Do called on Vietnam’s prime minister, national assembly …

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AP : Vietnamese Buddhist monk under house arrest demands to freed

    A Buddhist monk and leader of a banned church who has been under house arrest for over a year has written to the Vietnamese government demanding his release, a Paris-based Buddhist support group said Thursday. Thich Quang Do, the deputy head of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, …

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AFP : Prominent Buddhist dissident slams Vietnam for arbitrary detention

  Agence France Presse   HANOI, Oct 28 (AFP) – One of Vietnam’s most prominent religious dissidents has called on the communist regime to lift the “verbal” house arrest order against himself and the elderly head of his outlawed Buddhist church. In a letter sent Monday to the country’s leadership, …

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AP : European lawmakers call on EU leaders to raise human rights at ASEM summit

    European Parliament members have urged EU leaders to push discussion of human rights issues at an Asia-Europe summit meeting set to open in Hanoi on Friday. In an open letter to European Commission President Romano Prodi released Thursday, 109 members of the European Parliament also urged EU leaders …

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AFP : European parliamentarians demand release of Vietnamese Buddhist monks

  Agence France Presse   HANOI, Oct 7 (AFP) – European parliamentarians called Thursday for the immediate and unconditional release of leaders of an outlawed Buddhist church in Vietnam and condemned the lack of democracy in the communist nation. In an open letter to the presidency of the European Union …

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AFP : Vietnam hits back at Washington religion report

  Agence France Presse   HANOI Sept 16, 2004 (AFP) – Vietnam on Thursday slammed the US State Department’s decision to name it a “country of particular concern” in its annual report on religious freedom, saying it was based on erroneous information. “It is a wrongful decision based on erroneous …

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