January 7, 2008
President Nguyen Minh Triet
c/o Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20036
Dear President Triet
We are writing regarding the arrest and detention of the six individuals who were peacefully promoting democracy in Vietnam on November 17, 2007. One of the detainees, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, is a United States citizen and a resident of Sacramento, California. We request the release of these individuals.
The names of the detained individuals are as follows:
• Dr. Nguyen, Quoc Quan: Citizen of the United States
• Mr. Truong, Leon (Van Ba): Citizen of the United States (released December 13, 2007)
• Ms. Nguyen, Thanh Van: Citizen of France (released December 13, 2007)
• Mr. Nguyen, The Vu: Citizen of Vietnam • Mr. Nguyen, The Khiem: Citizen of Vietnam
• Mr. Khunmi, Somsak: Citizen of Thailand
As members of Viet Tan, an international pro-democracy group, these individuals were promoting nonviolent democratic change. At the time of their arrest, they were merely handing out pro-democracy literature. The arbitrary detention of these individuals is unacceptable.
The United States and Vietnam has worked to improve our relationship over the past years. It is particularly troubling that, in this case, internationally recognized human rights, including the freedom to express one’s ideas in a peaceful manner, have been violated. We request the release of these individuals.
Thank you for your time and consideration regarding this matter. Please feel free to contact Ms. Melanie Ramil of Assemblymember Jones’ staff at (916) 319-2009 should you have any questions.
Sincerely,
