H.E. Mr. Trương Tấn Sang
President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
02 Hung Vuong street, Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
H.E. Mr. Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
01 Hoang Hoa Tham street, Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Re: Arbitrary detention of Mr. Le Quoc Quan
Your Excellencies,
The signatory organizations request the release of Mr. Le Quoc Quan, a well-respected human rights lawyer and blogger.
Mr. Le Quoc Quan was arrested on 27 December 2012 on alleged charges of tax evasion. Following his arrest, he was held incommunicado and denied permission to see his lawyer for two months. Repeated requests by his family to visit him were also denied. Mr Quan first saw a family member at his trial on 2 October 2013, at which he was convicted of evading corporate income tax and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and a fine of 1.2 billion dong (approximately USD 59,000).
In 2013, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemned Mr. Le Quoc Quan’s detention as violating his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial. It found that Mr. Le Quoc Quan had been targeted for his work as an activist and as a blogger and called for his immediate release or for his conviction to be reviewed by an independent court. It also recommended that Viet Nam pay damages to Mr. Le Quoc Quan for his arbitrary detention.
The government of Viet Nam has not responded to this decision. On 18 February 2014, the Court of Appeal in Hanoi upheld Mr. Le Quoc Quan’s conviction. The decision of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was not taken into account.
In view of the upcoming Viet Nam National Day, on September 2, 2014, we once more urge the authorities of Viet Nam to comply with the decision of the United Nations Working Group and to release Mr. Le Quoc Quan immediately and unconditionally.
We thank you for your attention to this matter.
A copy of this letter is being sent to the President of the United States and to the representative of the European Union in Hanoi.
Yours sincerely,
Amnesty International USA
Leila Chacko
Viet Nam Country Specialist
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC)
Gail Davidson
Executive Director
Media Defence – Southeast Asia (MDSEA)
HR Dipendra
Director
ARTICLE 19
Thomas Hughes
Executive Director
Center for International Law (Centerlaw), Philippines
H. Harry L. Roque, Jr.
Chairperson
Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI)
Nani Jansen
Legal Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Eva Galperin
Global Policy Analyst
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
Sally Blair
Senior Director, Fellowship Programs
English PEN
Cat Lucas
Writers at Risk Programme Manager
Reporters Without Borders
Benjamin Ismaïl
Head of Asia-Pacific Desk
Front Line Defenders
Mary Lawlor
Executive Director
Réseau Avocats Sans Frontières / ASF Network
Anne Lutun
ASF Network Coordinator
Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L)
Adrie van de Streek
Executive Director
World Movement for Democracy
Art Kaufman
Senior Director