As the trial for human rights attorney Le Quoc Quan nears, twelve U.S. House Representatives sends a letter to the Prime Minister of Vietnam, demanding his release.
June 25, 2013
His Excellency Nguyen Tan Dung
Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/o Embassy of Vietnam
1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Dear Prime Minister Dung:
We are writing to express our deepest concerns regarding the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s disregard for basic human rights and continuing efforts to suppress political dissent. We are outraged by the ongoing detention of human rights attorney Le Quoc Quan, who had been denied family visitation and access to legal representation since his arrest on December 27, 2012.
Mr. Le Quoc Quan is a prominent lawyer, human rights defender, blogger, and a former Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, who has been constantly harassed by the Vietnamese government since 2007. We believe that defending human rights, blogging on social justice issues and engaging in civil actions are patriotic acts greatly contribute to the development of your country.
You have made numerous commitments with the international community to improve the human rights situation but it is apparent that freedom of speech, expression and association remain unrecognized in Vietnam. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s continuing agenda to crackdown on its citizens’ basic freedoms will dampen diplomatic relations between our countries. We call on you to be the leading advocate in urging your government to honor these commitments. We cannot emphasize enough our deep concern over Mr. Quan’s arrest. We urge you to take all measures in securing the immediate and unconditional release for attorney Quan.
We look forward to hearing directly from you. We will continue to monitor this situation and committed to working with you on ways to ensure the full protection of human rights.
Sincerely,
Loretta Sanchez
Member of Congress
Christopher Smith
Member of Congress
Zoe Lofgren
Member of Congress
Frank Wolf
Member of Congress
Brad Sherman
Member of Congress
Judy Chu
Member of Congress
Adam Smith
Member of Congress
James Moran
Member of Congress
Michael Michaud
Member of Congress
Alan Lowenthal
Member of Congress
Susan Davis
Member of Congress
Scott Peters
Member of Congress
