Father Ly Health and Possibility of Medical Parole Update

C O N F I D E N T I A L HANOI 000033 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/25 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV VM SUBJECT: Father Ly Health and Possibility of Medical Parole Update REF: 09 HANOI 831; 09 HANOI 821; 09 HANOI 1098; 09 HANOI 901 09 HANOI 1378; 10 HANOI 1; 10 HANOI 7 CLASSIFIED BY: Virginia Palmer, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) Father Nguyen Van Ly's health is not improving, according to his sister, who last visited the prominent political dissident in Nam Ha prison February 7. She informed us that although he recovered well from his fist stroke in July 2009 (Ref A & B),his second stroke in November 2009 has left him feeling spent and exhausted (Ref C & D). "His eyes felt so tired he could hardly read," the sister reported. Compounding the problem were two brief hunger strikes that Father Ly staged in January (one for two days, the other for one day) to protest the demolition of the cross at Dong Chiem (Ref F & G). Father Ly has asked prison authorities several times to grant him early release to return to Hue for medical treatment and has threatened another hunger strike if his request is not granted. Father Ly told his sister that he is worried he may suffer a third stroke soon and believes if his health condition is not treated within the next six months, it will be too late. Father Ly's sister intends to visit him again in March. (Note: During this meeting, Father Ly's sister did not discuss traveling abroad to seek medical treatment. End Note.) ¶2. (C) Canadian Political Counselor Rob Burley told PolOff that as recently as February 23, Canadian Ambassador Horton pressed Vice Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh for Father Ly's release in order to allow him to travel to Canada for medical attention. VFM Minh acknowledged that Canada was still waiting for a formal response to its December request to allow Father Ly to go to Canada for medical treatment (Ref H),and replied that the GVN was still preparing a response. Absent assurances that Father Ly could be paroled, the Canadian Ambassador pressed for the opportunity to visit him in prison and VFM Minh replied that he "foresaw no impediment" to her visit. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: We will continue to press for Father Ly's release on humanitarian grounds, in particular the possibility of medical parole. We have heard from a variety of sources - including the MFA America's division and the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington - that the MFA is considering options for resolving the "Father Ly issue" including allowing him to travel overseas for medical treatment (and return to serve out his jail time). It is, however, unlikely in the current environment that MPS would agree to release Father Ly without express approval from the Politburo and without the condition that he immediately leave Vietnam and never return. Father Ly has stated several times that he "wants to die in Vietnam," but more recently indicated to his family that he would be willing to go overseas to seek medical treatment as long as he can return to Vietnam. END COMMENT. Michalak