These human rights defenders are:
– Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, 62, arrested in March 2003, after publishing a
written statement denouncing infringements of the freedom of
expression and of the press in Vietnam. He was sentenced in July 2004
to two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for "abusing democratic rights
to jeopardise the interest of the State, and the legitimate rights
and interest of social organisations and citizens". Dr. Que did not
have access to legal representation and the trial lasted only three
hours. His health greatly deteriorated while in jail. Dr. Nguyen Dan
Que was due to be released in September 2005. He has just been
released.
– Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy, 73, founder of the Movement to Unite the
People and Build Democracy, sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1993
for planning to organise a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on
development and democracy. He has just been released.
– Father Nguyen Van Ly, 58, a catholic priest condemned to 15 years
in prison (later reduced to 5 years) and 5 years probationary
detention for protesting against religious freedom abuses and sending
written testimony to the U.S. Commission on International Religious
Freedom. Arrested in May 2001, he was due for release in May 2006. He
has just been released.
– Monk Thich Thien Minh, 51, secular name Huynh Van Ba, condemned to
a double life sentence (in 1979 and again in 1986) for supporting the
banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) and attempting to
escape from a re-education camp. His sentence was later commuted to
20 years. He was due for release in 2006; he is now expected to be
released in the next days.
The Observatory calls upon the Vietnamese authorities to guarantee
that once set free, all charges against these human rights defenders
will be definitively dropped and their rights will be fully respected
including the non-infringement of their freedom of expression,
opinion and conscience.
In addition, the Observatory recalls that many prisoners of opinion
and of conscience remain in detention in Vietnam, among which human
rights defenders:
– Mr. Nguyen Vu Binh, a journalist sentenced to seven years
imprisonment in 2003;
– Dr. Pham Hong Son, a doctor arrested in March 2002, sentenced in
June 2003 to 13 years in prison for "spying" because he had
translated articles on democracy
downloaded from the U.S. Embassy website. His sentence was
subsequently reduced to 5 years imprisonment.
– Mr. Nguyen Khac Toan, a businessman sentenced to twelve years and
three months in prison in December 2002; he had been helping farmers
to file complaints
before the National Assembly on cases of State corruption and
confiscation of land, and had sent copies of these complaints
overseas;
– Colonel Pham Que Duong, a respected Communist Party veteran and
military historian who had filed an application to set up an
independent anti-corruption
association and called for democratic reforms, and Scholar Tran Khue,
both arrested in December 2002 in Ho Chi Minh City and sentenced to
prison terms in 2004;
– Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang and his deputy Thich Quang Do, members
of the UBCV, who remain under house arrest.
The Observatory calls upon the Vietnamese authorities to confirm this
first positive step by liberating all remaining prisoners of
conscience and opinion, immediately and unconditionally. By doing so, they would definitely demonstrate that they are moving towards a greater respect for human rights.
More generally, the Observatory urges the Vietnamese authorities to
conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders, adopted on December 9, 2004, in particular its article 1,
which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in
association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection
and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the
national and international levels", as well as with international
human rights instruments ratified by Vietnam.