Joint letter to APEC leaders
Vietnam
On 11 and 12 November, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting will take place in Da Nang, Vietnam. Prior to the meeting, a coalition of organizations, Lawyers for Lawyers amongst them, asked the attention of the APEC Leaders to the worsening human rights situation in the Vietnam.
Vietnam is in the midst of an unprecedented crackdown against peaceful expression. One of Vietnam’s most renowned human rights lawyers and bloggers, Nguyen Van Dai, has been arbitrarily detained for almost two years without trial.
Nguyen Van Dai is the co-founder of the Vietnam Human Rights Committee and a prodemocracy activist. He has provided legal assistance to government critics and members of religious minorities. On 16 December 2015, Nguyen Van Dai was arrested while he was on his way to a meeting with delegates from the European Union as part of the annual EU-Viet Nam Dialogue on Human Rights. He is accused of “conducting Propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. His house was searched, items of property seized, and he was transferred immediately to a detention centre. Nguyen Van Dai was held incommunicado for more than a year.
Please click here to read the letter.