December 28, 2014
Vietnamese human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan recently sent season’s greetings from An Diem Prison in Quang Nam Province. Arrested by the Vietnamese government for tax evasion in December 2012, Le Quoc Quan was sentenced to 30 months in prison. In his letter, Le Quoc Quan mentioned he received news updates from his family regarding current events in Vietnam. In particular, even though Quan’s family resides in Hanoi, he expressed deep gratitude to those in Saigon who continued to contribute to the cause.
To Father Thanh and Father Thoai,
From An Diem Prison, I hope everyone is doing well and would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with happiness.
Through my family, I have been told of your love for my family, your love for justice and truth and the work you have done to raise your voice for my case. I would like to send my deep appreciation for this.
I would also like to congratulate you for the achievements of the valiant journalists across the world! I am so proud of you! However, there are still a lot of hardships for us that need to be rectified in a society which has no freedom of speech, am I correct?
Christmas is near, I miss you Father, I miss The Most Holy Redeemer a lot. The short time I was at Ky Dong has left a profound and long lasting impression. Please send my regards to Father The Hien, Father Quang Uy and in particular Father Phung’s Catholic social teaching group which had a doctor who took me to the airport on a rainy day once. I remember that day so clearly. I was soaked in the love for the country and the people!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas 2014 and a Happy New Year 2015!
Lê Quốc Quân
