2 September is the national holiday in Vietnam. On this day, the Vietnamese president often grants amnesty to prisoners of conscience. In view of this, L4L, together with a broad coalition of organizations, sent a letter to the Vietnamese authorities to urge them to comply with the decision of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) and to release Mr. Le Quoc Quan immediately and unconditionally.
Le Quoc Quan was arrested on 27 December 2012, and convicted for 30 months in jail on charges of ‘tax evasion’. In 2013, the detention of Le Quoc Quan was condemned by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as a violation of his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial. It found that Le Quoc Quan had been targeted for his work as a lawyer and a blogger and called for his immediate release or for his conviction to be reviewed by an independent court.
Source: Lawyers for Lawyers
Also by email: webmaster@president.gov.vn
Also per telefax: 0084 37 33 52 56
H.E. Mr. Trương Tấn Sang
President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
02 Hung Vuong street, Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Also by email: vpcp@chinhphu.vn
Also per telefax: 0084 08 04 41 30
H.E. Mr. Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
01 Hoang Hoa Tham street, Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
August 26, 2014
Re: Arbitrary detention of Mr. Le Quoc Quan
Your Excellencies,
The signatory organizations request the release of Mr. Le Quoc Quan, a well-respected human rights lawyer and blogger.
Mr. Le Quoc Quan was arrested on 27 December 2012 on alleged charges of tax evasion. Following his arrest, he was held incommunicado and denied permission to see his lawyer for two months. Repeated requests by his family to visit him were also denied. Mr Quan first saw a family member at his trial on 2 October 2013, at which he was convicted of evading corporate income tax and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and a fine of 1.2 billion dong (approximately USD 59,000).
In 2013, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemned Mr. Le Quoc Quan’s detention as violating his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial. [14]
It found that Mr. Le Quoc Quan had been targeted for his work as an activist and as a blogger and called for his immediate release or for his conviction to be reviewed by an independent court. It also recommended that Viet Nam pay damages to Mr. Le Quoc Quan for his arbitrary detention.
The government of Viet Nam has not responded to this decision. On 18 February 2014, the Court of Appeal in Hanoi upheld Mr. Le Quoc Quan’s conviction. The decision of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was not taken into account.
In view of the upcoming Viet Nam National Day, on September 2, 2014, we once more urge the authorities of Viet Nam to comply with the decision of the United Nations Working Group and to release Mr. Le Quoc Quan immediately and unconditionally.
We thank you for your attention to this matter.
A copy of this letter is being sent to the President of the United States and to the representative of the European Union in Hanoi.
Yours sincerely,
Amnesty International USA
Leila Chacko
Viet Nam Country Specialist
leilachacko@gmail.com
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC)
Gail Davidson
Executive Director
lrwc@portal.ca
Article 19
Thomas Hughes
Executive Director
info@article19.org
Media Defence – Southeast Asia (MDSEA)
HR Dipendra
Director
dipendra3000@gmail.com
Center for International Law (Centerlaw), Philippines
H. Harry L. Roque, Jr.
Chairperson
hroque@roquebutuyan.com
Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI)
Nani Jansen
Legal Director
nani.jansen@mediadefence.org
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Eva Galperin
Global Policy Analyst
eva@eff.org
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
Sally Blair
Senior Director, Fellowship Programs
sallyb@ned.org
English PEN
Cat Lucas
Writers at Risk Programme Manager
cat@englishpen.org
Reporters Without Borders
Benjamin Ismaïl
Head of Asia – Pacific Desk
asia@rsf.org
Front Line Defenders
Mary Lawlor
Executive Director
mary@frontlinedefenders.org
Réseau Avocats Sans Frontières / ASF Network
Anne Lutun
ASF Network Coordinator
coordination@asf-network.com
Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L)
Adrie van de Streek
Executive Director
info@lawyersforlawyers.nl
World Movement for Democracy
Art Kaufman
Senior Director
artk@ned.org
