Vietnam was to release some political dissidents as part of a larger amnesty for the Lunar New Year, or Tet, Feb. 9. Included in the amnesty are two of the government's most prominent critics

National Catholic Reporter, Feb 18, 2005

Vietnam was to release some political dissidents as part of a larger amnesty for the Lunar New Year, or Tet, Feb. 9. Included in the amnesty are two of the government's most prominent critics. Fr. Nguyen Van Ly and Nguyen Dan Clue, a doctor, were to be freed along with about 8,000 other prisoners.

Both were jailed for speaking out against the ruling Communist Party. Ly, arrested in 2002, was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, but the sentence was later reduced to 10 years.