President Tran Duc Luong
Office of the President
35 Ngo Quyen
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

Your Excellency,

I am writing on behalf of the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, the Supreme Patriarch of the unofficial Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam. Thich Huyen Quang has been detained under house arrest since 1982 without charge or trial. He was last re-arrested on December 29, 1994, at Hoi Phuoc Pagoda, Quang Ngai province. He was initially charged with “sabotaging the policy of national solidarity,” but was apparently not brought to trial “because of his age and state of health.”

Amnesty International, the independent and impartial human rights organization, considers Thich Huyen Quang a prisoner of conscience detained solely because of the non-violent expression of his religious and political beliefs. I join with Amnesty International in calling for his immediate and unconditional release from house arrest.

It is my understanding that Thich Huyen Quang suffers from several serious health problems, including high blood pressure, arthritis, and stomach ulcers. I am concerned that he is not receiving adequate health care. While he is under house arrest, I ask for assurances that he be allowed to receive adequate food and appropriate medical care.

I am alarmed by the fact that although freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution of Viet Nam, the practice of religious belief is strictly controlled by the state, thus effectively criminalizing those who choose to worship in non-state-sanctioned churches. Furthermore, both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Viet Nam is a signatory, guarantee freedom of religion, opinion, and expression. I therefore again ask that Thich Huyen Quang be immediately and unconditionally released from house arrest.

Sincerely,