Vietnam has cut the term of restricted travel for the head of a dissident branch of a Buddhist sect to 17 months from two years, citing his good behaviour.
The Foreign Ministry says Ho Chi Minh City officials last week issued a directive reducing the "administrative surveillance" on Le Quang Liem.
The punishment bars Mr Liem from travelling outside the city without permission.
Mr Liem - the chairman of a Hoa Hao sect outlawed by Vietnam - was first sentenced to the travel curbs in 2001 for organising opposition to the state.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman says the leniency given to the religious figure is based on his progress in complying with the surveillance regulations.
The Hoa Hao is a neo-Buddhist sect that claims about 4 million followers in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese government recognises a mainstream Hoa Hao group, but not the radical branch led by Mr Liem.