PEN welcomes the release of journalist and blogger Nguyen Van Hai (also known as Dieu Cay) on October 21, 2014. Dieu Cay was initially arrested in April 2008 and sentenced to 30 months in prison for alleged tax fraud, and then sentenced to an additional 12 years in prison on September 24, 2012 following his conviction for “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” (Article 88 of the Criminal Code). According to PEN’s information, Dieu Cay was reportedly taken directly to Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh city following his release and put on a plane bound for the United States. His family were only informed of his release from prison once his plane had departed. PEN is deeply disappointed that he has been forced into exile and continues to call for the release of all other writers and journalists held solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. As PEN’s infographic shows, Vietnam continues to be the world’s leading jailer of bloggers and online writers.

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Please send appeals:

  • Welcoming the release of journalist and blogger Nguyen Van Hai but calling for him to be allowed to return freely to Viet Nam should he wish to do so;
  • Calling on the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all writers and journalists held solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.

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Background Information

Nguyen Van Hai is a prominent blogger, founder of the “Club of Free Journalists of Viet Nam," and an Honorary Member of PEN Canada. He is well known for his online writings that call for greater respect for human rights and democratic reforms in Vietnam. Dieu Cay was initially arrested on April 19, 2008 and convicted in 2009 on trumped-up charges of “tax evasion” after a manifestly unfair, closed trial. Instead of being released upon completing his sentence in 2010, Nguyen Van Hai was charged with a second offense of ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’ (Article 88 of the Criminal Code) based on his online writings for the Free Journalist Network in Viet Nam, which were published prior to his arrest in 2008.
 

Send Your Letter To

His Excellency Truong Tan Sang
President of the Socialist Republic
of Viet Nam
Hung Vuong street
Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam    

Mr Nguyen Tan Dung
Prime Minister
1 Hoang Hoa Tham street
Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: +84 80 44130/ +84 80 44940    Mr Phan Binh Minh

Minister of Foreign Affairs
1 Ton That Dam steet
Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: +844 3823 1872
Email: [email protected]