Age: 71 years old
Activity: Hoa Hao Buddhism scholar
Date of arrest: April 24, 2011
Sentence: Sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on December 13, 2011
Charge: Abusing democratic freedoms (Article 258)
Current location: An Giang Province
Nguyen Van Lia is a scholar in Hoa Hao Buddhism, a sect which has been repressed by authorities. According to state media, he possessed printed materials and CDs and DVDs criticizing the Vietnamese government’s religious record. He had previously met in Saigon with the US Consulate and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to discuss religious violations.
