Father Ly Health Update

C O N F I D E N T I A L HANOI 000919 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR DRL/AWH AND EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/03 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV VM SUBJECT: Father Ly Health Update REF: HANOI 901 CLASSIFIED BY: Harry Kamian, Political Counselor; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) Dissident priest Father Nguyen Van Ly continues to recuperate in a Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Hospital in Hanoi following his recent stroke on November 14 (reftel). Father Ly's health continues to improve, according to family members who have been visiting him daily since they arrived in Hanoi on November 16. Father Ly's family continues to maintain that he is "receiving good treatment" at the hospital and believes that he is "recovering quickly." He is now able to walk again, though with some difficulty particularly in his right leg, his family reported. Father Ly's daily regiment includes exercise throughout the day and considerable reading. ¶2. (C) A/DCM and Poloff reiterated the Embassy's request that the Ambassador be permitted to visit Father Ly during lunch with MPS colonels on December 1. Senior Colonel Chau of the General Department of Security at MPS assured the A/DCM that Father Ly was receiving good medical care, and the Ambassador would be permitted to visit him "soon." Michalak