12 US Members of Congress press Secretary Clinton to call for release of Nguyen Quoc Quan

Twelve U.S. Members of Congress, lead by Representative Frank Wolf, sent a letter to Secretary Hillary Clinton, ahead of her July 10, 2012 visit to Vietnam.

Viet Tan encourages Secretary Clinton to engage with Vietnamese civil society advocates, promoters of rule-of-law and democracy activists during her visit. Vietnam has the potential to contribute to a stable and prosperous region where human rights are respected. But how the Hanoi government treats its own people is indicative of its ability to respect international law and universal values.

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
2201 C St NW Ste 7276
Washington DC 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton:

We understand that you will be traveling to southeast Asia this month to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum and for other meetings. We urge you, in your meetings with senior Vietnamese officials, to bring up the matter of the continued detention of American citizen, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, and press for his immediate and unconditional release.

Dr. Quan has been arbitrarily detained since his arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on April 17, 2012. He was reportedly arrested and charged with terrorism despite being in Vietnam to peacefully promoting democracy, rule of law and nonviolent political action.

Dr. Quan is a respected mathematics researcher and human rights defender. While testifying recently before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Dr. Quan’s wife said:

“He believes that change has to come from the people on the ground through peaceful means and has several times before travelled to Vietnam to make a small contribution.”

Hanoi seeks a strategic partnership with the United States. Such a partnership is untenable as long as that government considers peaceful political activity to be a national security offense.

Unfortunately, the Vietnamese government’s treatment of Dr. Quan is consistent with overall human rights trends in the country. As you know, the State Department’s recently release Human Rights Report found that in Vietnam, “The most significant human rights problems in the country were severe government restrictions on citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government; increased measures to limit citizens’ civil liberties; and corruption in the judicial system and police. Specific human rights abuses included continued police mistreatment of suspects during arrest and detention, including the use of lethal force, as well as austere prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention for political activities, and denial of the right to fair and expeditious trial.”

We are especially concerned that the Vietnamese authorities have denied Dr. Quan the right to a lawyer and that he is reportedly being held in solitary confinement.

We urge you to raise Dr. Quan’s case at the highest levels with Vietnamese government officials and to direct Ambassador Shear to immediately visit Dr. Quan to determine his well-being.

Sincerely,

Frank R. Wolf
Member of Congress

Michael E. Capuano
Member of Congress

Letter to Secretary Clinton July 6, 2012 (pdf)