Fr Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, a human rights campaigner jailed by Vietnamese authorities, was released from prison just before President Barack Obama’s arrival in the country on May 22, it emerged last week. Ordained in 1974, Fr Ly had spent more than two decades cumulatively in prison and 15 years under house arrest on a range of charges related to his activism. In 2007 he was sentenced to eight years in prison and five years under house arrest for anti-government activities. He was released in 2010 to get treatment for a brain tumour, only to be reimprisoned the following year. Fr Ly had been an outspoken rights activist, campaigning for democracy and freedom of speech and speaking out against the government confiscation of Church property. Though his release was welcomed by the US government, his sentence was about to end anyway. He was released barely one month short of serving a full eight years. It is unclear whether he still faces a five-year probationary house arrest that was part of the original sentencing. A priest in Hue City who asked not to be named told ucanews.com that government officials informed Archbishop François Xavier Le Van Hong of Hue that Fr Ly would be granted a special reprieve for the 126th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh’s birth on May 19. The priest said the government “rarely releases prisoners of religious freedom and conscience. On that occasion, Fr Ly was par­doned due to the government bow­ing to pressure from the US. The gov­ernment made this concession to the US so as to get financial support from Obama’s visit.”