Sample Letters
Truong Quoc Huy - Prisoner of conscience, Viet Nam
Truong Quoc Huy is serving a six-year prison sentence for his political beliefs. He was arrested in an internet café in Ho Chi Minh City by plain-clothes policemen, just weeks after being released from a previous stint in detention and Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience. Until his trial on 29 January 2008, his family had no news about him and did not know where he was detained. His trial came unexpectedly on 29 January 2008 and he was charged under Article 88 of the national security section of the Penal Code (Conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam) and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment followed by three years’ house arrest. He will be due for release in August 2012 (six years from the date of his arrest in August 2006).
Truong Quoc Huy was previously detained for nine months, along with his brother Truong Quoc Tuan and a friend. They were arrested while taking part in a chatroom discussion on “the voice of people in Viet Nam and abroad”. After his release, he said he would continue to criticise the government and expressed support for Bloc 8406, an online petition calling for peaceful political change and human rights
What can you do?
You can help by sending a letter to the following individuals, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Truong Quoc Huy and all the other prisoners of conscience in Viet Nam:
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung |
Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem |
Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh |
Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Le Cong Phung
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Nguyen Tan Dung
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Hoang Hoa Tham
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to express my concern about the treatment of a man called Truong Quoc Huy, who is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in your country.
It would appear that Truong Quoc Huy was arrested in an internet café in Ho Chi Minh City and subsequently charged with “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Rebublic of Viet Nam” in January 2008 simply for expressing his own peaceful opinions. As a result, the authorities in your country sentenced him to six years in prison, which is to be followed by a period of house arrest.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” and I am therefore firmly convinced that Truong Quoc Huy’s sentence fails to comply with international human rights standards.
Consequently, I wish to call for his immediate and unconditional release, along with all the other prisoners of conscience currently being held in Viet Nam.
Yours sincerely,
Le Cong Phung
1233 20th St NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Dear Ambassador,
I am writing to you because I am deeply concerned for Truong Quoc Huy, who I understand was arrested on 18 August 2006, and was sentenced in January 2008 to six years in prison followed by three years’ house arrest.
I urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Truong Quoc Huy and all others who have been imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression.
Pending his release, please allow Truong Quoc Huy immediate access to his family, a lawyer, and appropriate medical care. I also urge you to ensure that Truong Quoc Huy’s conditions of detention meet international standards for the treatment of prisoners.
I further urge you to end the use of national security legislation to criminalise peaceful political dissert, and clearly define or remove provisions from the Criminal Code that stifle legitimate dissent and freedom of expression.
I ask that you do everything within your power as Prime Minister to remove all arbitrary restrictions on the use of the Internet that violate the right to freedom of expression, and end practices such as censorship, monitoring and surveillance that are incompatible with Viet Nam’s humans rights obligations.
Finally I ask you to ensure full implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Viet Nam has ratified.
Thank you for your attention to these important concerns.