Amnesty International USA Group 19 members
Jean Libby
Fax: 1-650-618-8603
His Excellency Nguyen Minh Triet
President of the
c/o Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien
Embassy of
May 2, 2009
Your Excellency,
I have the honor and the duty to send you 780 signatures on petitions calling on you to honor your international human rights obligations by releasing all prisoners of conscience, including the Reverend Nguyen Van Ly, who has already spent around 17 years in prison for peacefully criticizing government policies on religions and advocating for greater respect for human rights since the late 1970s. Amnesty International names him as an Individual at Risk.
We have gathered these signatures on petitions in hope that you will release the prisoners of conscience in recognition of the United Nations Human Rights Council Review scheduled for May 8, 2009 in
Amnesty International states for the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review that Article 69 of the 1992 Constitution of Viet Nam affirms the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, but only ‘in accordance with the provisions of the law.’ These laws, often enacted after 1992, are explicitly in breach of international human rights treaties that
Our volunteers’ experience is an humbling one because of the outpouring of support for the release of prisoners of conscience in
At the head of the list, a political prisoner for twenty-seven years in
With sincere thanks for your attention,
