Writers in Prison Committee | PEN International Call for action for Vietnamese writer Nguyen Huu Cau

Writers in Prison Committee | PEN International

Call for action for Vietnamese writer Nguyen Huu Cau

Dear friends,

We are calling for your support in a call for action issued by our colleagues from English PEN, regarding the deteriorating health of one of PEN’s main cases, Vietnamese poet, songwriter, human rights defender and anti-corruption activist Nguyen Huu Cau, who has been held in appalling prison conditions since his arrest on 9 October 1982. Nguyen Huu Cau, aged 68, is serving life imprisonment for an allegedly ‘incriminating’ manuscript of songs and poems. Nguyen’s health has been deteriorating dramatically in recent years, and even more so recently as reported by his son Tran Ngoc Bich after a visit to the prison camp on 4 June 2013.

We urge you to send an appeal to the Vietnamese authorities in your country,

-        Urging that Nguyen Huu Cau is given full access to all necessary medical care as a matter of urgency, including specialised medical care outside prison;

-        And calling for his immediate and unconditional release as he is held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a state party.

For further background information, please click here to see the latest RAN from the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International on Nguyen Huu Cau, which also includes addresses of officials in Vietnam to send your appeals to.

As there are no fax numbers for Vietnamese authorities, please follow this link for addresses of some Vietnam’s diplomatic offices in the world.

Thank you for your support on this case.

Best regards,

Patricia Diaz

Research and Campaign Support, Writers in Prison Committee | PEN International

www.pen-international.org

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International PEN is trading as PEN International. International PEN is a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 05683997. International PEN is a registered charity in England and Wales with registration number 1117088. International PEN’s registered office is Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, UK.

Genève ngày 17 tháng 7 năm 2013

Liên Hội Nhân Quyền Việt Nam ở Thụy Sĩ

Ligue Vietnamienne des Droits de l'Homme en Suisse

Vietnamese League for Human Rights in Switzerland.

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Thông cáo/Kháng Nghị thư bằng Anh ngữ của Ủy Ban Văn Bút Quốc Tế

Bênh Vực Nhà Văn bị Đàn áp và Cầm tù (PEN International CODEP/WIPC).

RAPID ACTION NETWORK

28 March 2013

RAN 14/13

VIETNAM: Fears for the health of imprisoned writer and activist.

PEN International is seriously concerned for the health of writer and activist Nguyen Huu Cau, who is seriously ill and denied adequate medical care in the prison camp where he is serving a life-time sentence for his critical writings. PEN International protests his imprisonment, and demands his immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a signatory.

According to PEN’s information, Nguyen Huu Cau, 67, is a poet, songwriter, human rights defender and anti-corruption activist. He was arrested by public security police on 9 October 1982 for having authored an ‘incriminating’ manuscript of songs and poems. Nguyen Huu Cau had reportedly noted allegations of rape and bribery committed by the two high level officers on the back of the pages of the original manuscript.

Nguyen Huu Cau was accused of committing ‘destructive acts’ that were supposedly ‘damaging’ to the government’s image and on 23 May 1983, he was sentenced to death. His mother submitted an appeal on his behalf and a year later, on 24 May 1985, the Court of Appeals commuted his capital sentence into life imprisonment. The manuscript was reportedly not used as evidence in the trial against him, in order to protect the two officers concerned.

In the many years since, Nguyen Huu Cau has reportedly been held in harsh solitary confinement. He has apparently now lost most of his vision and is almost completely deaf. Nguyen Huu Cau suffers from a serious heart condition, which is worsening because of the lack of adequate medical attention and the deplorable prison conditions. He was recently reported to be in very poor health, according to his daughter returning from an authorized periodical visit to the camp deep in the jungle. Concerns for his well-being are acute. Nguyen Huu Cau is being held at forced labour camp K2 Z30A Xuan Loc, Dong Nai province, Vietnam.

Samples of Nguyen Huu Cau’s poems and songs are attached, translated from the Vietnamese by Nguyen Hoang Bao Viet of Suisse Romande 

PEN.

Please send appeals:

* Expressing serious concern for the health of imprisoned writer and activist Nguyen Huu Cau and urging that he is given full access to all necessary medical care as a matter of urgency;

* Calling for his immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with Article 19 of the ICCPR to which Vietnam is signatory.

(...)  PEN International 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 www.pen-international.org .

Ghi chú thêm: Thông cáo/Kháng thư của Ủy Ban Văn Bút Quốc Tế Bênh Vực Nhà Văn bị Cầm tù còn được phổ biến trên hệ thống IFEX Action Alert Network (International Freedom of Expression Exchange/Trao Đổi Quốc Tế Quyền Tự Do Phát Biểu).

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Liên Hội Nhân Quyền Việt Nam ở Thụy Sĩ

Ligue Vietnamienne des Droits de l'Homme en Suisse

Vietnamese League for Human Rights in Switzerland

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