Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung
Prime Minister
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
16 Le Hong Phong
Quan Ba Dinh – Hanoi
VIETNAM
Paris March 14, 2014
Mr. Prime Minister,
I would like to inform you of the immense disappointment regarding the decision of the Hanoi Court of Appeal made on February 18, confirming the sentence of thirty months of imprisonment imposed upon our colleague Mr. Le Quoc Quan.
In its opinion on August 30, 2013, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has concluded that the charge of tax evasion and the detention of Mr. Quan were measures of intimidation.
The apparent objective was to limit his freedom of expression regarding the remarks on his blog advocating the establishment of a multiparty system in Vietnam.
The right to freedom of expression is a right guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was ratified by Vietnam on September 24, 1982.
The Working Group also called for his immediate release.
I obviously do not wish to interfere in the judicial affairs of your country; however, I would like to express my indignation regarding this decision of continued detention.
Having taken act of this situation, I request you nevertheless to make sure that the living conditions in prison of Mr. Le Quoc Quan are most humanly acceptable.
Thus, I sincerely hope that during the time of his detention, he has access to notebooks, pens, law books, the Bible, and that he can also to have the visits from a priest, in accordance with what he asks.
Sincerely,
Pierre-Olivier SUR
President of The Paris Bar
