According to the Reagan-Fascell Fellows Program at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), former NED Democracy Fellow and World Movement Participant Mr. Le Quoc Quan was arrested on April 4, 2011, while approaching the People’s Court of Hanoi to observe the trial of prominent legal activist, Cu Huy Ha Vu. Quan, a lawyer, was detained while peaceably standing outside the court. NED calls for the immediate release of Quan.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently issued a statement calling for the release of several political and religious detainees in Vietnam. According to HRW, dozens of human rights and democracy activists in Vietnam currently face arbitrary detention and harsh prison sentences. In its statement, HRW lists 24 of the most recent political and religious detainees in the country.

In its “Defending Civil Society” report, the World Movement for Democracy articulates six principles that govern and protect civil society from repressive intrusions on the part of governments. The sixth principle states, “The State has a duty to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the obligation to protect the rights of civil society.”

To read the NED statement calling for the release of Le Quoc Quan, go to:  http://www.ned.org/for-reporters/ned-calls-for-release-of-le-quoc-quan-and-other-democracy-advocates

To read the HRW statement, go to: www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/07/vietnam-free-political-and-religious-detainees

To learn more about the Defending Civil Society project, go to: www.wmd.org/projects/defending-civil-society

Related Democracy Alerts

• March 14, 2007
  Vietnamese Lawyer Le Quoc Quan Arrested

• March 23, 2007
  Growing Repression in Vietnam