Mr. Trần Đại Quang, President of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam
Mr. Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Prime Minister
Ms. Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, Chairman of the National
Assembly
Mr. Nguyễn Phú Trọng, General Secretary of the
Vietnamese Communist Party
Cc: Foreign Embassies in Hanoi
Dear Sirs and Madam:
We are deeply concerned about the charges and
sentences against Ms. Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, also known as blogger Mẹ Nấm, and
Ms. Trần Thị Nga.
According to Vietnam's state media, Ms. Nguyễn Ngọc
Như Quỳnh, arrested in October 2016, and Ms. Trần Thị Nga, arrested in January
2017, were accused of “posting articles, video clips and documents containing
anti-state propaganda on Facebook, YouTube, giving interviews with foreign
media outlets ’distorting’ the situation in Vietnam”.
The charges violate the right to freedom of
expression as provided in international human rights law that Vietnam is bound
to respect. Nevertheless, Vietnam’s courts sentenced Ms. Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh
on 6/29/2017 and Ms. Trần Thị Nga on 7/25/2017 to ten years’ and nine years’
imprisonment, respectively. These are particularly heavy sentences against the
two women who are mothers with children under 10 years old, for activities that
should not and must not have been criminalized in the first place.
For legal and humanitarian reasons, we strongly request
that Ms. Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh and Ms. Trần Thị Nga be immediately and
unconditionally released.
While the country prepares to host APEC 2017, it is
important to recognize that APEC goals for “sustainable economic growth and
prosperity” are based on a fundamental respect for the inherent dignity and
worth of all persons.
As friends of Vietnam, we urge the authorities to
reconsider their position on all prisoners of conscience in Vietnam and resolve
differences through dialogue and constructive engagement. That approach will
accelerate Vietnam’s progress and development.
We thank you for your attention to this matter and
trust that you will respond in a manner that reflects the civility and dignity
of Vietnam.
October 4, 2017
Name Title and Affiliation Country
1. Etienne Balibar Professor,
Department of French & Institute for Comparative
Literature and
Society, Columbia University USA
2. Mark Philip Bradley Bernadotte E. Schmitt Distinguished Service
Professor,
Department of
History, University of Chicago USA
3. David Brown Writer; Diplomat (retired) USA
4. Anita Chan, PhD Visiting Research Fellow, Australian
National University;
Co-editor of
The China Journal Australia
5. Cari Coe, PhD Circulation Librarian, Butte Public
Library,
Butte, Montana USA
6. Đỗ Đăng Giu Physicist; former Research Director
at the National Center for
Scientific
Research and University of Paris-Sud France
7. Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox Professor of History and Non-Western
Cultures,
Western
Connecticut State University USA
8. Christopher Goscha Associate Professor of History,
University
of Quebec Montreal Canada
9. Lelia Green Professor of Communications, Edith
Cowan University Australia
10. Hồ Tài Huệ Tâm Professor Emerita, Harvard University USA
11. Ben Kerkvliet Professor Emeritus, Australian National
University Australia
12. Ben Kiernan A. Whitney Griswold Professor of
History, Professor of International
and Area Studies,
Yale University USA
13. John Kleinen Associate Professor Emeritus, Department
of Anthropology,
Amsterdam
Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)
The
Netherlands
14. Scott Laderman Professor of History, University of
Minnesota, Duluth
USA
15. Lê Xuân Khoa Adjunct Professor, School of Advanced International
Studies,
Johns Hopkins
University (retired) USA
16. Lê Trung Tĩnh Engineer The
United Kingdom
17. Jonathan London, PhD University Lecturer of Global Political
Economy - Asia,
Leiden Institute of Area Studies, Leiden
University
The Netherlands
18. Bruno Machet, PhD Researcher, National Center for Scientific
Research (CNRS),
Pierre and
Marie Curie University, Paris France
19. Pamela McElwee Associate Professor of Human Ecology,
Rutgers,
The State
University of New Jersey USA
20. Shawn McHale Associate Professor of History,
George
Washington University USA
21. Paul Mooney Freelance Journalist USA
22. Jason Morris-Jung, PhD Senior Lecturer,
Singapore University of Social
Science Singapore
23. Ngô Lâm Information Specialist, Leiden
University Library
The
Netherlands
24. Ngô Vĩnh Long Professor of History, University of
Maine USA
25. Nguyễn Điền Independent Researcher Australia
26. Nguyễn Ngọc Giao Journalist; former Lecturer of Mathematics,
University of Paris
VII France
27. Nguyễn Đức Hiệp Atmospheric Scientist, Office of
Environment & Heritage,
NSW Australia
28. Nguyễn Thị Hường, PhD Editor at The 88 Project USA
29. Claire Oger Professor of Information and
Communication Sciences,
University of
Paris Est-Creteil France
30. Sophie (Sophia) QuinnJudge Associate Professor (retired) USA
31. Pierre Rousset Writer France
32. Mark Sidel Doyle-Bascom Professor of Law and Public Affairs,
University
of Wisconsin-Madison USA
33. Jonathan Sutton PhD Researcher,
University of Otago New Zealand
34. Philip Taylor, PhD Senior Fellow, Australian National
University Australia
35. Thái Văn Cầu Space Systems Specialist USA
36. William S. Turley Professor Emeritus,
Southern
Illinois University Carbondale USA
37. R J Del Vecchio Independent Researcher USA
38. Vũ Quang Việt Former Chief of National Accounts
Statistics
at the United
Nations USA
39. Phạm Xuân Yêm Physicist; former Research Director at
the National Center
for Scientific Research
and University of Paris VI France
40. Peter Zinoman Professor of History and Southeast Asian
Studies,
University of
California, Berkeley USA
No comments:
Post a Comment