Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý (born 15 May 1946) is a Vietnamese Roman Catholic priest and dissident involved in many pro-democracy movements, for which he was imprisoned for a total of almost 15 years.
As a result of international pressure, including activities of the Vatican's Center of Pastoral Apostolate for Overseas Vietnamese under the leadership of Philippe Trần Văn Hoài, Lý was released from prison in early 2004 but remains under house arrest in the Archdiocese of Huế.
[5] On 15 April 2006, Lý and three other Catholic priests published the first issue of "Free Speech" (in Vietnamese: Tự Do Ngôn Luận), an underground online publication.
They moved him to the remote location of Ben Cui in central Vietnam, where he was under house arrest; Lý engaged in a hunger strike from 24 February to 5 March 2007.
As a member of the Bloc 8406 pro-democracy movement, Lý was sentenced again on 30 March 2007 by Vietnamese provincial court judge Bùi Quốc Hiệp to eight years in prison for committing "very serious crimes that harmed national security" by trying to organize a boycott of the upcoming election.
During the trial, when Lý tried to shout an unauthorized, dissident remark ("Đả Đảo Cộng Sản", meaning "down with communism"), he was immediately held silent with a hand over his mouth by the security officer behind him.
They launched a letter-writing campaign encouraging the government of Vietnam to ensure Lý can receive adequate health care in hospital and on his return to prison.