9 March 2010

 
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN strongly protests the three and a half year prison sentence handed to writer and journalist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy. PEN considers Tran Khai Thanh Thuy to be convicted solely for peacefully exercising her right to free expression, and calls for her immediate and unconditional release in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a signatory.

According to International PEN’s information, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, a novelist, poet, essayist and editor of the underground dissident magazine To Quoc (Fatherland), was sentenced by the People’s Court in Dong Da District of Ha Noi to three and a half years in prison and 47 months of probationary detention, on 5 February 2010. The verdict was given after a one day trial and was based on Article 104 of the Penal Code. At the same trial, Thuy’s husband was given a two year suspended prison sentence and 47 months of probation, but has been allowed to remain at home to care for the couple’s youngest daughter, aged thirteen.

Tran Khai Thanh Thuy was arrested on 8 October 2009, after publicly expressing her support for six dissidents facing trial. On the day of her arrest an incident took place near Thuy’s home, in which two men reportedly attacked Thuy’s husband, and she intervened on his defence. She was subsequently questioned and charged with assault, although it is widely believed that she herself was in fact the victim of the attack. Thuy suffers from diabetes and tuberculosis, and there are serious concerns that her health is deteriorating in prison. She is held at Hoa Lo Number 1 Detention Camp (Cau Dien), Han Noi.


Backgound

Tran Khai Thanh Thuy has been under heavy surveillance and harassment since September 2006 for her writings published online. She was arrested at her home in April 2007, where she had already been under house arrest for six months for her critical writings. She is a member of the Union of Writers and the Club of Women Poets of Hanoi, and is a recipient of the 2008 Hellman Hammet Award. She is among at least nineteen dissident writers currently detained in Vietnam.

BBC report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8500462.stm

Monsters and Critics : http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1531283..php/Vietnam-convicts-pro-democracy-novelist-of-assault-Roundup[1

 
Please send appeals:

-         Calling for the immediate and unconditional of Tran Khai Thanh Thuy  and all those currently detained in Vietnam in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory;

-         Seeking assurances that she is given full access to all necessary medical care whilst in prison.


Appeals to be sent to:

His Excellency Nguyên Minh Triêt
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Nguyên Tân Dung
Prime Minister
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
 
Lê Doan Hop
Minister of Culture and Information
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam


Please note that there are no fax numbers available for the Vietnamese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for Vietnam in your country to forward your appeals. It would also be advantageous to ask your country’s diplomatic representatives in Vietnam to intervene in the case.

For some Vietnamese embassies in the world:  http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-of/Vietnam


***Please send appeals immediately. Check with International PEN if sending appeals after 30 April 2010. ***


For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@internationalpen.org.uk

Letter template:

Dear Sir

I am a freelance editor who lives in New Zealand.  I am writing to you about my concerns regarding Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, who was arrested on 8 October 2009, after publicly expressing her support for six dissidents facing trial. On the day of her arrest an incident took place near Thuy’s home, in which two men reportedly attacked Thuy’s husband, and she intervened on his defence. She was subsequently questioned and charged with assault, although it is widely believed that she herself was in fact the victim of the attack.

Thuy suffers from diabetes and tuberculosis, and there are serious concerns that her health is deteriorating in prison.  I am seeking assurances that she is given full access to all necessary medical care whilst in prison.  I am also calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Tran Khai Thanh Thuy  and all those currently detained in Vietnam in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory 

Yours sincerely