VIETNAM

International PEN mourns the death of Buddhist leader, writer, and dissident, Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, on July 25, 2008, at the age of 87 after a long illness. Thich Huyen Quang had spent most of the past 30 years in prison or under house arrest for his work in support of religious freedom, human rights, and political reform in Vietnam. PEN continues to call for the release of all those detained in Vietnam solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Vietnam is a signatory.

>> Read PEN's letter of appeal

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Ven. Thich Huyen Quang, leader of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and author of books on Buddhism and Oriental philosophy, was also a respected religious scholar. In 1978, he was proposed by Nobel Peace laureates Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Despite his detention under house arrest since 1982 for alleged "anti-government activities," he continued his public appeals for religious freedom and freedom of speech. Since 2003 he had been held incommunicado at Nguyen Thieu Monastery, Binh Dinh Province, where his funeral was held under tight security last week.