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September 22, 2009
His Excellency Nguyên Minh Triêt
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/O Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Nguyên Tân Dung
Prime Minister
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Lê Doan Hop
Minister of Culture and Information
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Your Excellencies,
On behalf of the 3,400 members of PEN American Center, an international organization of writers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression wherever it is threatened, we are writing to express our alarm over the recent arrest of writers Nguyen Tien Trung and Tran Anh Kim.
According to our information, Tran Anh Kim, a writer and essayist whose work has been published online and which focuses on human rights and social injustice, was arrested in Thai Binh on July 7, 2009, on charges of “spreading anti-government propaganda.” Aged 60, Kim is a former political commissioner and lieutenant colonel in the People’s Army as well as secretary of the Vietnamese Democratic Party and member of Block 8406. Nguyen Tien Trung, a writer, poet and pro-democracy activist, was reportedly arrested by the security police in Ho Chi Minh City on July 7, 2009. Aged 26, he is known for online writings addressing freedom of opinion, religion and media and alleged official corruption.
At least four other Internet writers have been arrested for allegedly “threatening national security” in their writings since July 2009, as part of an ongoing crackdown on political dissent. Those to have been briefly detained include Pham Doan Trang, reporter for the Internet news site VietnamNet, arrested on August 28, 2009 and released on September 12, 2009; Internet writer Bui Thanh Hieu (aka Nguoi Buon Gio), arrested on August 27, 2009 and released on September 5, 2009; Internet writer and journalist Tran Uy (aka Sphinx), summoned by the security police on August 31, 2009 and released on September 2, 2009; Internet writer Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (aka Me Nam), arrested on September 2, 2009 and freed on September 14.
In addition to these recent arrests, according to Human Rights Watch, three writers and activists arrested in the September 2008 crackdown were charged on July 3, 2009 with “conducting anti-government propaganda,” under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code. If found guilty, they could face up to 12 years’ imprisonment. These writers are: Nguyen Xuan Nghia, novelist, poet and journalist; Nguyen Van Tuc, farmer, poet and human rights defender; Ngo Quynh, student and dissident online writer. Other writers arrested in the same crackdown, but not yet indicted, are: Pham Thanh Nghien, Internet writer and independent journalist; Tran Duc Thach, poet; and Pham Van Troi, dissident writer and activist.
PEN American Center is extremely troubled by the continued crackdown on writers and peaceful activists throughout Vietnam, and believes that Nguyen Tien Trung and Tran Anh Kim are being held solely for the peaceful expression of their views, in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory. We therefore call for their immediate and unconditional release, as well as the release of all others detained in Vietnam for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.
Sincerely,
Hannah Pakula
Chair, Freedom to Write Committee
Larry Siems
Director, Freedom to Write and International Programs
CC: His Excellency Le Cong Phung
Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States
1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20036
Fax: (202) 861-0917
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