Thich Huyen Quang Adopted Prisoner of Conscience

Thich Huyen Quang is a Buddhist monk who has been confined by the Vietnamese government without charge or trial to his native village since 1982 for his peaceful protests against government human rights abuses and religious discrimination.

Thich Huyen Quang was first arrested on April 6, 1977 during a raid by security forces on the An Quang pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). He was tried in December of 1978 on charges of "working against the revolution, sabotaging the people's solidarity bloc, counter-revolutionary propaganda, and exploiting religion to undermine security and order". He received a suspended sentence. He continued to protest allegations of government persecution, human rights violations and state control over Buddhist institutions.

Thich Huyen Quang was arrested again in February 1982 in Ho Chi Minh city and has since been confined without charge or trial to his native village (Qhang Nghia in Nghia Binh province) on the grounds that he is "too dangerous for the safety and well being of the people". Buddhists feel they have been arrested and imprisoned solely because their opinions and peaceful activities are unacceptable to the government.

Thich Huyen Quang (born 1929) is a former leader of the Unified Buddhist Church in Vietnam. Members of the Unified Buddhists, (particularly the An Quang congregation), opposed human rights violations by a series of South Vietnamese governments during the late 1960's and early 1970's. They continued to protest against policies of the new government after the end of the war in 1975 and the formation of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in 1976. Many prominent Buddhist monks and scholars were arrested and detained between 1976 and 1985.

Amnesty International considers Thich Huyen Quang to be a prisoner of conscience, confined to his native village because of his peaceful political and religious activities and calls for the immediate and unconditional lifting of restrictions on his freedom of movement.

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