Thứ Ba, 26 tháng 7, 2011

EDLC urges The People´s Supreme Court to immediate release prisioner of conscience Cu Huy Ha Vu

VRNs (July 25, 2011) - Press release/ for immediate release



EDLC urges The People´s Supreme Court to immediate release prisioner of conscience CU HUY HA VU

In a legal brief recently filed (copy attached hereto), the Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC) has urged the People´s Supreme Court to uphold the human rights of Cu Huy Ha Vu and to immediately release him. Mr. Vu, a Doctor of Laws and environmental activist, was arbitrarily detained by Vietnamese authorities on Nov 5, 2010 for having expressed his views on human rights and the environment. On April 4, 2011 he was sentenced to a seven-year jail term and three years of probation.

The People´s Supreme Court is expected to hear Mr. Vu´s appeal on August 2. In its brief, EDLC has pointed out that Mr. Vu´s deprivation of liberty is arbitrary, as it results from his lawful exercise of his right to freedom of expression. Furthermore, EDLC has urged the Supreme Court to acknowledge that Mr. Vu´s right to a fair and impartial trial was violated by the People´s Court of Hanoi. The trial court and prosecutor both had a clear conflict of interest in hearing the case, and the court denied the defense lawyers access to the allegedly incriminating evidence. The conviction reached under such circumstances is unlawful and should be annulled. EDLC insists that the People´s Supreme Court put an end to the persecution of Cu Huy Ha Vu by releasing him immediately and unconditionally.

Lewis Gordon
Executive Director

Attached files:
•Amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief filed by EDLC with the People´s Supreme Court in July 2011