December 10, 2019
Viet Tan is pleased to announce the 50K Support Fund for Prisoners of Conscience (The 50K Fund) as the recipient of the 2019 Le Dinh Luong Human Rights Award.
The Human Rights Award was established in 2018 in honor of Le Dinh Luong, a human rights defender and advocate for environmental justice. A member of Viet Tan, Le Dinh Luong was arbitrarily sentenced to 20 years in prison in August 2018. The annual award aims to highlight the achievements of the many individuals and organisations who are tirelessly advocating for human rights in Vietnam.
The presentation of the award will be held in London on December 15, 2019.
About The 50K Fund:
Since 2017, the Vietnamese government has intensified its crackdown on freedom of expression advocates, forcing many families into hardship when the primary earner in the family was arrested.
With this in mind, Hanoi-based social activist Nguyen Thuy Hanh founded The 50K Fund on April 30, 2018 to support prisoners of conscience and their families. Nguyen Thuy Hanh made a general call that if everyone were able to donate a small amount of money (50,000 VND or approximately US$2), there would be enough money to assist with lawyer fees for three activists Vu Hung, Nguyen Trung Ton and Pham Van Troi who were soon facing trial. From this initial effort, The 50K Fund was established to help all prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.
Other than monetary support, The 50K Fund has organised visits to provide emotional support to families of prisoners of conscience. To date, The 50K Fund has supported approximately 200 current and former prisoners of conscience and their families.
Unfortunately, Nguyen Thuy Hanh’s work has faced several challenges from Vietnamese authorities. State media has frequently attacked her and local authorities have restricted her freedom of movement. Nevertheless, she has continued to pursue her work. She said: “A donation to the fund is like a ballot, another raised fist to support human rights and democracy, another person who has overcome their fear.”
Viet Tan would like to congratulate The 50K Fund and express our appreciation to the judges for this year’s award: Alinda Vermeer from Media Legal Defence Initiative, human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh, Allen Weiner from Stanford Law School, Vietnamese songwriter Truc Ho, and former prisoner of conscience Pham Minh Hoang
