Contact:
Dr. Phong Nguyen : +61 434 183 144
October 20, 2010
Hong Vo, a social worker and member of Viet Tan from Australia, has been released by the Vietnamese communist authorities after being detained for ten days. Ms. Vo left Vietnam immediately following her release on October 20, 2010. She is currently on a flight to Melbourne, where she will arrive at 9:35am on Thursday, October 21.
Viet Tan affirms that:
- The actions of Hong Vo and all other members of Viet Tan at the public demonstration on October 9 in Hanoi were entirely peaceful and aimed at raising public awareness on a major issue facing the country. Although the Hanoi Foreign Ministry announced that Hong Vo was arrested for “terrorism,” nobody believed such an outrageous claim and the Vietnamese authorities were compelled to free Hong Vo.
- By releasing Hong Vo, a member of Viet Tan, the Vietnamese communist authorities have themselves invalidated the “terrorism” accusations that they have fabricated against Viet Tan in recent years. Viet Tan continues to challenge the Hanoi regime to explain why it considers peaceful expression and promoting democracy to be acts of “terrorism.”
- Many other Vietnamese patriots—including professor Pham Minh Hoang, pastor Duong Kim Khai, Ms. Tran Thi Thuy and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam—have been similarly arrested for engaging in non-violent political activities. The Vietnam authorities must apply a consistent standard of justice, cease such arbitrary detentions and release all democracy activists.
Viet Tan wishes to express our appreciation to all the organizations, individuals, media outlets and government leaders, especially in Australia, that have supported the call to Free Hong Vo. We ask everyone to continue to demand that the Hanoi regime release all political prisoners in Vietnam.