Cu Huy Ha Vu, PhD Constitutional Scholar and Environmental Justice Defender Sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and house arrest

Dr. Vu being taken to prison after sentencing

Dr. Vu obtained his doctorate in law from France. He is the most prominent constitutional scholar and legal activist in . He has written many essays about the rights of Vietnamese citizens protected by the Constitution but routinely violated by the government. He took on high profile cases, suing powerful people in government. For these activities, he was arrested on trumped‐up charges and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and three years of house arrest.

He is perhaps most famous for his two lawsuits against Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The first lawsuit targeted the prime minister for signing Decision 167, dated November 1, 2007, which authorized bauxite mining in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. On June 11, 2009, the case was sent to the People’s Court, which dismissed it on June 15. The lawsuit was then sent to the Supreme People’s Court on July 3, 2009. The second lawsuit targeted the Prime Minister for issuing Decree 136 preventing class action petitions. The lawsuit was sent to the Supreme People’s Court on October 21, 2010. Dr. Vu never received a response to this second lawsuit.

In October 2010, Dr. Vu ‘s law firm took on a highly compelling case that involved unlawful land expropriation and torture: the defense of Catholics in Con Dau Parish, , who were arrested in May 2010 after the police brutally dispersed a funeral procession to the cemetery that traditionally belongs to this all‐Catholic parish. The People’s Court of Cam Le District refused to grant permission for his law firm to represent the affected families. His involvement in this religious persecution and land expropriation case is believed to have prompted his arrest.

At midnight on Nov 4, 2010 Dr. Vu was arrested in his hotel room during a business trip to City (formerly Saigon). The police, claiming tips from “people”, alleged that he was caught with a prostitute. The woman turned out to be a real estate entrepreneur; she was at a business meeting with Dr. Vu. She later filed a defamation lawsuit against the police publication that ran the story.

It soon became clear that the police fabricated the charge as pretext to send him to prison. On Nov 5, the police in Ha Noi entered and searched his home without a warrant. During the search, they confiscated his computers and a number of personal documents, evidence that was completely

Prepared by BPSOS – December 2012 Page 1 irrelevant to the prostitution‐related charge. The following day the government changed its allegation against Dr. Vu to “Administrative Violation and Threatening to Assault Officers on Public Duty.”

He was held incommunicado from his family, including his wife. In April 2011 he was sentenced to seven years in prison and an additional three years of probation on charges of “propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” The trial lasted less than six hours. The court expelled a defense lawyer for continuing to request the documents on which the prosecution’s case was based. The remaining defense lawyers ultimately walked out in protest. While Dr. Vu’s trial was “public,” his wife was the only member of his family allowed in the courtroom. Press agencies and diplomats were allowed to watch the trial on a monitor, and to listen through a loudspeaker that was conveniently switched off at sensitive times. A number of people who attempted to attend the trial were beaten by the police, and their cameras and phones confiscated simply because they stood near the court. A few were arrested.

Dr. Vu is presently held at Prison No. 5 in Thanh Hoa Province, far away from home, which causes difficulty for family members to visit him. He is in ill health due to a congenital heart condition and suffers high blood pressure. He is not allowed to receive medication sent by family members. In November he experienced an acute bout of heartache and high blood pressure but was denied emergency medical care.

According to , “the arrest and detention of Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu in November 2010 and his trial in April 2011 has attracted more media coverage than any other dissident case in recent memory in Vietnam, and for good reason. The case pits an unusually powerful and well‐connected legal activist against the highest political figures in the country, and involves a wide range of human rights issues including police misconduct, arbitrary detention, violation of privacy, land grabbing, neglect of due process, and repression of freedom of expression. There is little doubt it will have a lasting impact on the ongoing struggle between the Vietnamese government and its critics. There are several reasons why Dr. Vu’s case may well evolve into one of the most important cases involving a political dissident in the recent history of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”

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Dublin-based Front Line Defenders launches campaign for the release of Dr. Vu. Left to right: Mary Lawlor, Founder and Executive Director of Front Line Defenders; Mr Pat Breen, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee of the Irish Parliament; Mr Ruairi Quinn, TD Irish Minister of Education and Skills; Mr Simon Coveney, TD, Irish Minister of Agriculture; Ms Noeline Blackwell Front Line Defenders Board of Trustees.

Act Now: - You can help advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Vu as well as for his access to proper medical care and frequent visits by family members. Please write to your government and to human rights organizations in your country.

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