HANOI (AP)--The U.S. urged Vietnam Friday to release an arrested Catholic priest and allow him and others to express their religious views without interference.
Visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly discussed the priest's arrest in talks with Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien, a U.S. Embassy official said.
Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly's arrest Thursday is the latest in a series of recent actions by the Communist government against members of non-approved religious groups.
Ly, 54 years old, had urged in testimony to a U.S. government committee in February that the U.S. Congress delay ratification of a bilateral trade pact until Vietnam eases restrictions on religion.
The U.S. Embassy said it was "very concerned" about his arrest.
"The ambassador and other U.S. officials have raised our strong concerns with the Vietnamese government and urged that Father Ly be returned to his church residence," it said in a statement. "We also have urged that Father Ly and other religious leaders in Vietnam be allowed to express their religious views without interference."
Vietnam's government forbids religious activities by unapproved organizations and recognizes only seven religious groups. It remains highly suspicious of independent churches and accuses several of anti-government activity.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said Ly was arrested for "seriously and brazenly" violating the country's laws and "damaging social order and security."
Ly had been placed under administrative detention, the equivalent of house arrest, by the government following his testimony to the U.S. committee. In March, the government also banned him from running his church.
He was arrested for violating his detention order, which is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Police also have recently intensified their round-the-clock surveillance of leaders of another religious group, the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, according to Thich Quang Do, a prominent dissident monk.
On Friday, a court official said a judge in southern Vietnam had convicted two members of another dissident Buddhist group on charges of creating a public disturbance and attacking police.
Truong Van Duc, 58, was sentenced to 12 years in jail, and Ho Van Trong, 76, was given a four-year term in the May 11 trial, the court official said.
A police report said Duc participated in a rally in December organized by Le Quang Liem, the leader of a dissident faction of the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect, at a shrine in the Tan Phu district of southern An Giang province.
The government officially recognized the Hoa Hao sect, which claims more than 1 million members, two years ago after a government-approved leadership was put in place. Liem leads a faction that objects to the government-installed leadership.
In February, the government quelled protests by thousands of mainly Protestant members of ethnic minorities in Vietnam's Central Highlands over land grievances and restrictions on unauthorized "house churches."
The government has continued to maintain heavy police control in the area.