HONORARY MEMBER
Lê Chi Quang
 Vietnam

Professional background:
Lê Chi Quang is a lawyer and computer teacher who has written several essays criticizing the government. These essays were distributed through the Internet.

Case history:
Lê Chi Quang was arrested on February 27, 2002 at an Internet café in Hanoi and charged with "acts of propaganda against the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" and "communicating with overseas elements via the Internet." PEN believes he was arrested in connection with an essay entitled "Beware of Imperialist China" that argued that the Vietnamese government had made too many concessions in the Sino-Vietnamese land and sea border agreements of 1999 and 2000.

In August 2002, officials reportedly informed Quang's mother that her son would soon be tried under Article 88 of the Criminal Code, which bans the distribution of information that opposes the government. His trial was scheduled for October 28, but was postponed when the judges claimed that they needed more time to prepare. The trial took place on November 8, 2002 in a closed court; that same day he was sentenced to four years in prison followed by three years' house arrest. While the chief judge told foreign reporters that Quang admitted his guilt, the Free Vietnam Alliance reported that he was in fact "forced to answer 'yes' or 'no' to the allegations against him, and that although Quang admitted writing essays and distributing them over the Internet, he refused to admit that these actions were criminal."

During the trial, Quang's attorney was not allowed to present a case in his defense and only relatives were allowed in the courtroom. Some 100 friends and supporters gathered in front of the courthouse in protest. Tran Dung Tien, a former soldier, was detained after reading a statement outside the courthouse denouncing the proceedings.

Quang's arrest and harsh sentence is part of a larger crackdown on Internet activists by the Vietnamese government to discourage citizens from criticizing or speaking out against the government despite constitutional guarantees of free speech.

Current status:
Lê Chi Quang was transferred from B14 labor camp in Ha Dong Province to Sao Do prison in Nam Ha, Phy Ly Province on December 20, 2002. He suffers from serious kidney dysfunction, and there is concern that he has not been allowed to receive an appropriate diagnosis of his condition and effective medical treatment. He and another prisoner reportedly share a squalid six-square-meter cell.

Lê Chi Quang is also an Honorary Member of PEN Canada and PEN USA West. He is one of the 2004 recipients of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.

PEN considers Lê Chi Quang to be detained in violation of his right to freedom of expression and association as guaranteed by Articles 19 and 22 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please write a polite letter on your personal or institutional letterhead requesting that Lê Chi Quang be released - or copy the one below - and mail to H.E. Tran Duc Luong, the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (postage 80¢).

[Date]

H.E. Tran Duc Luong
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

H. E. Phan Van Khai
Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Excellencies,

I am writing to express my serious and urgent concern about the detention and arrest of Vietnamese citizens for using the Internet to receive and transmit information globally. I am particularly concerned for the well-being of writer and attorney Lê Chi Quang, whose health has deteriorated since his detention. As you no doubt are aware, Lê Chi Quang was arrested on February 27, 2002 at an Internet café in Hanoi and charged with "acts of propaganda against the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" and "communicating with overseas elements via the Internet" in connection with his on-line essay "Beware of Imperialist China," which reportedly first disclosed numerous details in the land and sea border treaties which were signed in 1999 and 2000 respectively. He was tried on November 8, 2002 in a closed court and sentenced to four years in prison followed by three years' house arrest.

I am especially troubled by reports that Lê Chi Quang is critically ill and has been denied appropriate medical treatment for chronic kidney disease. I respectfully request the immediate and unconditional release of Lê Chi Quang and all other writers detained solely for the exercise of their right to freedom of expression. I also ask that Le Chi Quang receive medical treatment as a matter of urgency.

Sincerely,

[Your name and signature]

Cc:
H. E. Nguyen Tam Chien
Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United States,
1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Fax: 202 861 0917