(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has written to Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet asking him to include cyber-dissident Nguyen Vu Binh in the list of prisoners who will be amnestied on the Lunar New Year on 17 February 2007. The organisation draws the president’s attention to the fact that Binh’s health has deteriorated rapidly in […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has written to Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet asking him to include cyber-dissident Nguyen Vu Binh in the list of prisoners who will be amnestied on the Lunar New Year on 17 February 2007. The organisation draws the president’s attention to the fact that Binh’s health has deteriorated rapidly in recent months.
Letter signed by Robert Ménard, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders:
“Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom organisation, would like to ask you to include cyber-dissident Nguyen Vu Binh in the list of prisoners who will be amnestied on the occasion of the Lunar New Year. We believe it is time to show clemency towards this man, who has already spent more than four years in prison just for expressing his views freely online.
We would also like to draw your attention to Binh’s poor state of health. Held in a small cell in Nam Ha camp with ordinary prisoners, he has had very high blood pressure and digestive problems since November and his condition is getting worse by the day. Despite repeated requests by his wife, he has never been examined by a doctor and has not received any appropriate medical treatment. We now fear for his life. His case is very similar to those of Le Chi Quang and Pham Hong Son, whom you agreed to pardon for health reasons.
We think it is appropriate to point out that Vietnam published a white paper on human rights in 2005 in which it undertook to respect freedom of expression and promote unrestricted use of the Internet. By releasing Binh, who has been held for the past four years because of a few articles he posted online, you would show that these words have been followed up by actions.”
