Appeal Letter For all the imprisoned Catholic and Protestant youth activists and voices of conscience in Vietnam

Appeal Letter

For all the imprisoned Catholic and Protestant youth activists and voices of conscience in Vietnam

Dear: Prof. Allen S. Weiner, Stanford Law School and

ACAT France Access Now

Amnesty International Associated Vietnamese Writers in Exile Centre

Committee to Project Journalists Electronic Frontier Foundation

English PEN Front Line Defenders

Human Rights Watc Index on Censorship

Media Defence – Southeast Asia Media Legal Defence Initiative

Reporters Without Borders Southeast Asian Press Alliance

Vietnamese League for Human Rights

and all other international human rights organizations...

We are the family members of the 17 imprisoned Catholic and Protestant youth activists that have been arbitrarily detained for over a year by the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam. The activists are:

1. Mr. Francis Xavier DANG Xuan Dieu 2. Mr. Peter HO Duc Hoa

3. Mr. John the Baptist NGUYEN Van Oai 4. Mr. Anthony CHU Manh Son

5. Mr. Anthony DAU Van Duong 6. Mr. Peter TRAN Huu Duc

7. Mr. Paulus LE Van Son 8. Mr. NONG Hung Anh 8. Mr. NONG Hung Anh

9. Mr. John the Baptist NGUYEN Van Duyet 10. Mr. NGUYEN Xuan Anh

11. Mr. Paul HO Van Oanh 12. Mr. John THAI Van Dung

13. Mr. Paul TRAN Minh Nhat 14. Ms. Maria TA Phong Tan

15. Mr. Peter TRAN Vu Anh Binh 16. Mr. Peter NGUYEN Dinh Cuong

17. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phong

For over a year, our families have had to live in a state of fear and concern due to the following unlawful actions of the Vietnamese Government in the detention and incarceration of our loved ones:

1. Unlawful and dubious arrests

The arrests of our loved ones on the dates of July 30, August 3, August 5, August 7, August 16, August 27, September 5, September 19, December 24, and December 29, 2011 all took place without a warrant. The majority of the individuals listed above were arrested while on their way to work or to school, and several of them were tricked by dishonest scenarios set up by the Ministry of Public Security. For example, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Anh was told to go to the People's Committee building to meet with colleagues, but when he arrived, security police ambushed him. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phong was tricked into picking up a Christmas present at the post office, where security police arrested him on site.

The Commission for Justice and Peace, with support from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam, authored a piece entitled, “Judgment of the arrests of the Catholic Youth” which determined the unlawful and dubious nature of the arrests.

2. Denial of access to lawyers

Our children and family members have been arrested and detained for over a year, yet they still have not been granted basic access to lawyers. This fact increases our concerns regarding the transparency of the Ministry of Public Security.

3. Deliberately harsh sentences

The first trial that took place was of four of the Catholic youth activists (Tran Huu Duc, Dau Van Duong, Chu Manh Son, and Nguyen Hoang Phong) on May 24, 2012. After researching their files, the lawyers found that the four were convicted despite many inconsistencies in the officials' investigation—a serious violation of procedural law. The lawyers have recommended that the cases be opened for investigation, however the Court has ignored these recommendations and have convicted the four youth activists with harsh sentences.

4. Severe violation of human rights

According to Vietnamese Law, detainees cannot be deemed guilty without the formal decision of the Court, and naturally these detainees must be granted their civil rights and due process. Yet when the families of the Catholic youth activists filed an application to request that priests be granted permission to visit the detention center during the Easter season in order to conduct religious rites, the government rejected the request.

5. The government has pushed their citizens to the point of death

The unjust actions of the government has led to the death of 2 of the 17 mothers of the youth activists. In the face of sorrow and deep frustration, the mother of blogger Paulus Le son, Ms. Do Thi Tan, has passed away without being able to see her son. The mother of bloggger Ta Phong Tan on the other hand, Ms. Dang Thi Kim Lieng, self-immolated in order to protest the unjust detention and trial of her daughter.

6. A continual increase in terrorism and arrest of citizens

Not halting the arrests, on August 15, 2012, Ms. Maria Nguyen Du Thy, born 1978, was kidnapped by security police from Ward 3 of District 10 on her way home after attending Mass at her church (Da Minh Ba Chuong church).

On August 19th, 2012, lawyer Le Quoc Quan was severely beaten on the streets on his way home from a parking spot. According Quan, this act of “terrorism” involved the participation of the government. These backwards actions do not only compromise the safety of citizens, but also shed light on a government that disrespects laws, signaling a regime unqualified and incapable of governing social security and national security.

Over the period of time that has passed, many human rights organizations, international lawmakers, and communities of people who value truth and justice in Vietnam as well as the rest of the world have spoken up and have contributed their prayers for our family members. We are deeply touched by the support and concern and want to extend our sincerest gratitude for the efforts. However, considering the treatment and aforementioned developments, we are still worried and fearful that the government will use dishonest tactics to condemn and convict our detained family members. It is highly probable that this mental, emotional, and spiritual strain may lead to the worsening of illnesses of family members among us, potentially even causing additional deaths, as in the cases of the mothers of bloggers Paulus Le Son and Maria Ta Phong Tan.

We desperately call all human rights organizations and communities of those who are committed to truth and justice in Vietnam and the rest of the world to join in prayer and together speak up to demand the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam to immediately cease the terrorism and arbitrary detention of innocent people and demand the Government of Vietnam to release the 17 youth activists and other prisoners of conscience.

We extend our sincere and respectful gratitude!

Nghe An Province, September 20, 2012

Signed jointly by the families of the detained