On 13 March, L4L has submitted, together with a large coalition of NGO’s, requests for urgent action to three United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, calling for the immediate release of Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan.
On 27 December 2012, Mr. Le Quoc Quan was arrested by the police in Hanoi while dropping off his daughter at school. The police also searched his office and home and confiscated some documents. They apparently read out a warrant, but did not give it to Mr. Le Quoc Quan’s family. The police told his family that he would be charged under Article 161 of the Criminal Code, which relates to tax evasion. If condemned, he risks three years in prison and a heavy fine.
Like many Vietnamese human rights lawyers, bloggers and activists, Mr. Le Quoc Quan has regularly been subject to arbitrary arrest and has been on constant surveillance. Lawyers for Lawyers, among other organizations, has reason to believe that this recent arrest of Mr. Le Quoc Quan as well as the previous arbitrary arrests and constant harassment are directly linked to Mr. Le Quoc Quan’s work in the defence of human rights.
The letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs can be downloaded here; the petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention can be downloaded here.
