Father Ly continued religious teaching and in January 1983 was ordered into internal exile by authorities. He sent a letter in reply which exposed the government's religious repression and pledged to stay at his parish where followers gathered around his residence in support. On the morning of May 18, 1983, security forces forcibly removed Father Ly from his home. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 4 years probation. Released in July 1992, Father Ly was placed under police surveillance and again banned from conducting religious activities. On November 24, 1994, he issued a "10-point Statement on the State of the Catholic Church in Hue Diocese" detailing the government's violations of religious freedom. Authorities exiled him to Thuy Bieu village (near Hue) with only a small Catholic community. Father Ly re-released his 10-point Statement in November 2000 followed by an appeal titled "We Need True Religious Freedom in Vietnam." In these documents, he described the communist government's long-standing policy on religions in general and the Catholic Church in particular as a "noose around the neck of the religions." On December 4, 2000, in protest of the government's seizure of church property and restrictions on their activities, Father Ly and parishioners Nguyet Bieu planted a large banner with the words "We need Freedom of Religion" on the church's land and started to sow seed. Public Security cadres arrived immediately and engaged in acts of intimidation. In early 2001, authorities increased the harassment and isolation of Father Nguyen Van Ly. His telephone line was intermittently cut-off. Father Ly, however, continued to speak out. In February, he provided written testimony for a hearing by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He also submitted written remarks for a briefing by the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus on May 16. On May 17, 2001, over 600 security police stormed An Truyen Parish to arrest Father Nguyen Van Ly. In a two-hour trial on October 19, 2001, authorities sentenced Father Ly to 15 years in prison and 5 years of house arrest.