2007: Vietnamese writers
31. May 2007
The President
His Excellency Nguyen Minh Triet
President, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Prime Minister
His Excellency Nguyên Tân Dung
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Minister of Culture and Information
His Excellency Lê Doan Hop
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Your Excellencies
As a member of Writers in Prison Committee, Norwegian PEN, I am deeply concerned by the sentences served against the writers Tran Quoc Hien, Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan (f) and Tran Khai Thanh Thuy (f).
They have been heavily sentenced for pro-democracy activism and writing on Internet. We are concerned about an apparent crackdown on leading pro-democracy activists and writers for their peaceful dissident activities.
We believe that writers Tran Quoc Hien, Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan (f) and Tran Khai Thanh Thuy (f) are detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, and I call for their immediate and unconditional release of all writers held in Vietnam in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Vietnam is a signatory.
Confident that you, Your Excellency, will take action accordingly, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Trine Kleven/s.
Member of Writers in Prison Committee, Norwegian PEN
Carl Morten Iversen
Secretary General
Cc: Norwegian Ministry of foreign Affairs
Norwegian Embassy in Hanoi
