Australian Member of Parliament wrote a letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to raise his concerns regarding the recent detainment of Nguyen Van Dai.
His Excellency Mr. Thanh Nghi LUONG
Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of Vietnam
Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Australia
6 Timbarra Crescent
O’MALLEY ACT 2606
17 December 2015
Dear Mr Ambassador,
I am writing to raise my concerns about the detainment of Mr Van Dai Nguyen.
Mr Nguyen was arrested on 16th December and charged under Article 88 of the Penal Code, which has frequently been used to imprison peaceful activists and human rights defenders.
Van Dai Nguyen is a brave and passionate activist who has been raising awareness domestically and internationally about human rights violations in a country that tolerates no dissent. His arrest highlights Vietnam’s spurious commitment to human rights.
I condemn the treatment of the human rights activists and respectfully call upon the Vietnamese government to release Mr Nguyen and all other prisoners imprisoned for exercising any internationally recognised human right.
Amnesty International and others have repeatedly called for Article 88 to be repealed or amended to conform with international human rights law and standards, which Vietnam is obliged to uphold as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Vietnamese authorities have stated that several laws relating to human rights are under preparation for approval by the National Assembly in 2016.
Vietnam has immense potential in furthering its progress and I believe that this will be achieved only if freedom of expression and if political beliefs are upheld and respected.
Thank you for your time in considering this matter.
Yours sincerely
BERNIE RIPOLL
Federal Member for Oxley
