March 21, 2011
Nguyen Ly Trong returned to the United States today after being held for a week in Vietnam. Two other Vietnamese-American democracy activists, Jennifer Truong and Nguyen Quang Khanh, remain under detention.
All three are members of Viet Tan and attended a peaceful demonstration for social justice on March 14, 2011 in Saigon. Viet Tan will continue to raise awareness on the plight of Vietnamese who have been victimized by government corruption and to campaign for the release of all who have been arbitrarily detained in Vietnam.
The mission of Viet Tan is to overcome dictatorship, build the foundation for a sustainable democracy, and demand justice and human rights for the Vietnamese people through a nonviolent struggle based on civic participation.
Background on the detained Vietnamese-Americans:
Jennifer Truong, 44, is a resident of Fountain Valley, California. She studied at Cal State Fullerton and currently works as an insurance underwriter. She has a 17-year old daughter in high school. She reported on the protest in interviews with Deutsche Presse-Angentur, Radio Free Asia and Radio New Horizon shortly before her arrest.
Nguyen Ly Trong (Trong L. Nguyen), 60, is a resident of San Bernardino, California. He is employed in the construction industry and is married with three grown children.
Nguyen Quang Khanh (Khanh Q. Nguyen), 57, is a resident of Centennial, Colorado. He is a mortgage broker and small business owner. He has a daughter who lives in Washington DC and a son currently serving in the U.S. Air Force. He had taken photographs of the demonstration.
Contact:
Duy Hoang
+1.202.470.0845