Vietnam cuts priest's jail term

The authorities in Vietnam say a 15-year jail sentence imposed on a Catholic priest who criticised the country's human rights record has been cut to 10 years.

State media said the five-year reduction was for good behaviour.

The priest, Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, was jailed in 2001 for undermining national unity and breaking probation rules.

He had called on the United States congress to delay a trade pact with Vietnam until Hanoi improved its protection of religious freedoms.

The court's decision has been reported in state newspapers, which the BBC correspondent in Hanoi says is unusual, as dissent is rarely publicised.

Our correspondent says it is unclear whether the move by the Communist authorities is a response to international criticism of its human rights record.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service