On August 10, 2011, Pham Minh Hoang will be tried for “attempting to overthrow the government.” A professor of applied mathematics and a prolific blogger with dual French and Vietnamese citizenship, Pham Minh Hoang was arrested on August 13, 2010 in Saigon for criticizing the Vietnamese government on his blog.
We need your voice! Contact the French Minister of Foreign Office Alain Juppé and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Catherine Asthon and urge them to take action to ensure for Pham Minh Hoang’s immediate release.
Please click here to send an email to Mr. Juppé and Ms Ashton : www.capwiz.com/democracyforvietnam/issues/alert/?alertid=52093511&type=CU
Who is Professor Pham Minh Hoang?
A member of Viet Tan, an unsanctioned pro-democracy group with members active in Vietnam and around the world, Pham Minh Hoang lectured in Applied Mathematics at the Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic Institute. Educated at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie Paris VI, he gave up a comfortable life abroad and returned to his homeland to the help the youth of Vietnam in the 1990s.
A dedicated educator, Pham Minh Hoang believed in the young leaders of Vietnam. He refused to let a stalled education system fail his students and sought innovative ways to empower and encourage civic participation among his pupils by organizing free seminars and workshops on leadership skills.
Known by his pen-name Phan Kien Quoc (http://pkquoc.multiply.com/), Pham Minh Hoang is a prolific blogger, whose articles on education, the environment and the defence of Vietnam’s sovereignty has been widely circulated online. Active in supporting protests against bauxite mining in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, he participated in numerous campaigns and is a signatory in an unprecedented petition to the government.
Pham Minh Hoang is a steadfast advocate for freedom of expression and brought attention to the isolation and difficulties experienced by human rights defenders in Vietnam.
He is charged under Article 79 of the Vietnamese penal code which bans “activities aimed at overthrowing the government,” an offence which carries the death penalty as a maximum sentence.
