March 22, 2015
Vietnamese writer Nguyen Xuan Nghia, who is currently under three-year house arrest, has been honored with the Freedom of Expression Prize of the Norwegian Authors’ Union for his writings which aims to promote multi-party democracy and human rights.
Mr. Nghia, 64, is a poet, writer and journalist. He is a member of the Haiphong Writers’ Association and one of co-founding members of the 8406 Bloc, a banned pro-democracy organization in Vietnam.
His writings have been banned for publication since 2003 since they promote multi-party democracy and human rights in the communist nation.
In 2008, Mr. Nghia, together with numerous activists, writers and bloggers, was arrested and charged for conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code and later sentenced to six years in prison in unfair trials. He completed his imprisonment in September last year but is still under house arrest.
During the imprisonment, his health seriously deteriorated as prison’s authorities denied to provide healthcare services to treat his several severe diseases.
The Freedom of Expression Award of the Norwegian Authors’ Union was given as a gift from Norway’s Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Union since 1993. The price is currently 200,000 krones and will go to a Norwegian or foreign writer who has excelled in protecting freedom of expression and tolerance in the broadest sense.
Since Mr. Nghia is not allowed to travel abroad, his wife Nguyen Thi Nga will present him to receive the award at a ceremony held on Mar 22 at Hotel Bristol in Oslo.
This is the fourth international prizes of Mr. Nghia. In 2013, he was honored with the Liu Xiaobo Courage to Write Award of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC).
In 2007, the Haiphong city-based writer was among a group of eight Vietnamese activists who received Hellman/Hammett awards of the New York-based Human Rights Watch in recognition of the courage they showed when facing political persecution.
In 2011, the Human Rights Watch honored him for the second time.
Source : Ngu Vu Quoc Facebook
