Vietnamese Dissident Nguyen Dan Que arrested

Vietnamese authorities have arrested Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a leading advocate of human rights and democratic reform, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

Que, 61, an endocrinologist who has already spent nearly two decades in detention, was taken into custody at his home in Ho Chi Minh City at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, according to sources in Vietnam and the United States who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Four hours later, police returned to search Que's home. They seized his computer, cell phone, and a number of papers, the sources said. Que remains in custody at 23 Nguyen Van Cu Street in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon--the office of the central Interior Department for southern Vietnam. No further details were available.

Que was released after eight years in detention in 1998 and refused a government offer to resettle in the United States.

A graduate of Saigon medical school, Que was dismissed from his post as a hospital director in 1978 for criticizing Vietnam's health care system and policies. He was arrested the same year and detained for 10 years without trial. After he was released in 1988, he was rearrested in 1990 for advocating freedom and democracy. He was later sentenced to 20 years' hard labor and five years' house arrest, but he was released in 1998 as part of an amnesty. He has remained under heavy surveillance since.

U.S. legislators have previously nominated Que for the Nobel Prize for Peace. U.S.-based Human Rights Watch last year awarded Que its Hellmann/Hammett cash grant for repressed authors.