April 8, 2008
Vietnamese authorities free Nguyen Viet Trung while still detaining Nguyen Quoc Quan, Somsak Khunmi and Nguyen The Vu
On April 7, communist authorities released Mr. Nguyen Viet Trung, an associate of Viet Tan, after more than four months of detention without trial. Nguyen Viet Trung was arrested on November 20, 2007, three days after security police arrested Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, Mr. Truong Van Ba, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, Mr. Somsak Khunmi and Mr. Nguyen The Vu as they were preparing to distribute pro-democracy literature. In the weeks following, state-control media branded the detained activists as “terrorists.” Due to international pressure, authorities released Truong Van Ba on December 11, 2007 and Nguyen Thi Thanh Van the following day.
With the release of Nguyen Viet Trung, Viet Tan is pleased that he will be reunited with his family and we sincerely thank all the individuals, human rights organizations and governments, especially Norway’s, which have pressured the Vietnamese government.
The fact that the Hanoi regime freed Truong Van Ba and Nguyen Thi Thanh Van after 24 days of detention and Nguyen Viet Trung after more than four months of detention—without even a trial—dispels all the accusations fabricated by the communist authorities against these democracy activists. Likewise, Nguyen Quoc Quan, Somsak Khunmi, and Nguyen The Vu were arrested for engaging in the same peaceful political activities as the above-mentioned individuals and must also be immediately released. Their continued detention is illegitimate and without any legal grounds.
Viet Tan is mindful of all the democracy activists, members of other political organizations, who remain imprisoned in Vietnam for advocating human rights and democracy. We will continue to strive for their freedom as we work for democratic change in Vietnam through peaceful, nonviolent means.
Contacts : 
Duy Hoang : +1 (202) 470-1678
Chi Dang : +1 (408) 228-4892
