<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear High Representative\/Vice President Mogherini, We are writing to express our deep concern about the arrest and sentencing\nof legal expert and human rights defender Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n in Vietnam, and to\nrequest that you take all necessary measures to secure his immediate and\nunconditional release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n was abducted by the Vietnamese police on 30 July 2017 in\nHo Chi Minh City and held in incommunicado<\/em>\narbitrary detention in Hanoi until his trial. He was not allowed to receive a\nvisit from his wife until six months after incommunicado detention and with his\ndefense counsel until two weeks before his trial. Along with five other human\nrights activists, Truy\u1ec3n was convicted of \u2018carrying out activities aimed at\noverthrowing the government\u2019; he was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment\nfollowed by three years\u2019 house arrest on 5 April 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the trial, statements of concern were issued by organisations in Vietnam and worldwide, as well as the European Union External Action Service<\/a>, the <\/a>German Federal Commissioner on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid<\/a>, the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office<\/a>, and a US State Department<\/a> Spokesperson. However, at an appeal trial on 4 June 2018 Truy\u1ec3n\u2019s sentence was upheld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n is a\nlegal expert who has been targeted for his peaceful defence of human rights;\nthe charges against him are completely without foundation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Truy\u1ec3n has a long history of defending and promoting human rights including\nthe right to freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities in Vietnam.\nIn 2004, Truy\u1ec3n was the first entrepreneur in Vietnam to voluntary introduce\nsocial compliance and gender equality standards in his two companies. In 2006\nhe was arrested and later sentenced to three and a half years in prison\nfollowed by two years\u2019 house arrest after criticising the ruling Communist\nParty. After his release in 2010, he joined the Vietnamese Political and\nReligious Prisoners Friendship Association, an organization which assists\nprisoners and their families. From 2014 until his arrest he was the coordinator\nof the assistance program for war invalids of the Catholic Redemptionist Bureau\nfor Justice and Peace in Ho Chi Minh City. During this time, Truy\u1ec3n often\nassisted vulnerable social groups, including religious minorities. In 2011 he\nwas awarded the Hellman Hammett Award by Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result of his work, the authorities have subjected Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n\nand his wife B\u00f9i Th\u1ecb Kim Ph\u01b0\u1ee3ng to years of harassment, forced eviction and\nviolent assault. On 24 February 2014, Truy\u1ec3n and Ph\u01b0\u1ee3ng were attacked and severely\ninjured by unknown assailants believed to be working for state security agents\nwhile on their way to the Australian Embassy in Hanoi. Police also prevented\nthe then-UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner\nBielefeldt, from visiting Truyen\u2019s home on 28 July 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, in March 2019 B\u00f9i Th\u1ecb Kim Ph\u01b0\u1ee3ng was prevented from leaving\nVietnam to travel to Europe in order to meet with the European External Action\nService, members of the European Parliament and parliamentarians from EU member\nstates, to advocate for her husband\u2019s release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the EU and Vietnam move towards the conclusion of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, it is imperative that human rights concerns are at the forefront of negotiations. We share the concerns expressed in the November 2018 European Parliament\u2019s urgency resolution<\/a> on Vietnam, and echo the call made by 32 MEPs in their letter<\/a> to you and Commissioner Malmstr\u00f6m on 17 September 2018, urging the EU to articulate a series of human rights benchmarks in Vietnam, including the release of Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n and all people imprisoned for exercising their basic rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In line with the EU Guidelines on human rights defenders, we strongly urge\nyou to lead EU efforts, taking all necessary measures to urge Vietnam to\nimmediately and unconditionally release Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n, and ensuring his\nsafety and that of his family. We further urge you to call on Vietnam to end\nall violations and reprisals against human rights defenders, and to demonstrate\nits commitment to improving its human rights record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sincerely and respectfully yours,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France) RE: Civil society organisations call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n Dear High Representative\/Vice President Mogherini,CC: Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstr\u00f6m, First-Vice President Frans Timmermans We are writing to express our deep concern about the arrest and sentencing of legal expert and human rights defender Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n in Vietnam, and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":41266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,113,125,98,65,64],"tags":[820,325,755,385,578,434],"class_list":["post-41259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-latest-posts","category-news","category-others","category-press-release","category-resources","category-vchr","tag-acat","tag-amnesty-international","tag-civicus","tag-csw","tag-hrw","tag-nguyen-bac-truyen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
RE: Civil society organisations call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Nguy\u1ec5n B\u1eafc Truy\u1ec3n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
CC: Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstr\u00f6m, First-Vice President Frans Timmermans<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAmnesty International
\nAssociation for the Advancement of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Vietnam\n(AAFoRB)
\nBoat People SOS (BPSOS)
\nBuddhist Solidarity Association
\nCampaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam
\nChristian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)
\nCIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
\nDefend the Defenders (Vietnam)
\nFederation des ligues des droits de l\u2019Homme (FIDH) under the Observatory for\nthe Protection of Human RIghts Defenders
\nFront Line Defenders
\nHuman Rights Watch
\nQu\u00ea Me: Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
\nStefanus Alliance International
\nStichting Vietnam Human Rights Foundation
\nVietnam Democracy Center
\nVietnamese Women for Human Rights (VNWHR)
\nWorld Evangelical Alliance (WEA)
\nWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), under the Observatory for the\nProtection of Human RIghts Defenders
\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"