Hanoi
: thousands hold candlelight vigil for release of Catholic lawyer Le Quoc Quan
by
J.B. An Dang –
AsiaNews
09/30/2013
On October 2 the first hearing in the activist
trial, accused of tax fraud . The faithful carry signs and banners asking the
government for his release. Similar initiatives in Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh ,
his native diocese. During the months of captivity he was not allowed to meet
family or lawyer.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) - Last
night, thousands of Catholics in Hanoi attended a candlelight vigil of support
and solidarity for the Catholic lawyer Le Quoc Quan, in jail for months on
suspicion of "tax fraud". On October 2, the activist will appear in the court
for the first day of his trial, originally slated for July and suddenly canceled
by the court. He
had been preparing for court for weeks with fasting and prayer, but a last
minute "indisposition" of the judge led to a delay in the hearing. The parish of
Thai Ha (pictured) was packed with the faithful, with signs and posters calling
on the Vietnamese government for the "immediate release" of the lawyer who has
been in jail since last December . Most of the participants in the event are
young university and college students in Hanoi, who have decided to challenge
the ban imposed by the school authorities and still participate in the peaceful
protest.
Similar initiatives - torchlight processions and prayers - were held yesterday
evening also in Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh , the scene of
a violent attack against the bishop and the faithful by the local
authorities and the state media which is also the hometown of the Catholic
lawyer . Le Quoc Quan is also a member of the Commission for Justice and Peace
of the Vietnamese bishops' conference .
Among the most important and significant Catholic activists in Vietnam , the
lawyer was arrested by officials of the government of Vietnam December 27, 2012
with false and trumped-up charges of "tax evasion". An act strongly condemned by
many human rights organizations around the world .
On 29 January 2008, during a protest at St Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi against
the expropriation of buildings that had housed the Apostolic Nunciature , he had
intervened to save a Hmong woman from the brutal violence of the police and
military . The woman from the Christian minority had only wanted to bring
flowers to the statue of Our Lady, inside the embassy . The same Le Quoc Quan
has often been subject to beatings and violence during demonstrations, searches
and psycho-physical harassment. Among the most serious incident dates to 19
August 2012, when a group of agents in the capital stopped him at 8 pm while
driving home and beat him several times , causing serious injury to the neck,
back and knees.
Finally , on December 18 of the same year he published on his blog an article
critical of the management of the power by the Vietnamese Communist government ,
against any idea of amending the Constitution that - to date - provides the
one-party rule . In the piece, also republished by the BBC , he wrote that "they
may well send me to jail, but for this I will not stop believing in the value of
the human being ." Nine days later , on December 27 , he was arrested while
taking his daughter to school . Police raided his offices , seized documents and
accused him of tax fraud. He is locked up in Hoa Lo Prison , without any contact
with the family or his lawyer and if convicted could face up to three years in
jail and a hefty fine .