(English translation provided by BPSOS)
Dear compatriots in Vietnam and other countries,
Dear supporters in democratic countries,
Freedom of conscience is a basic human right, along with the other human rights such as freedom of thought, freedom of religion and belief, and freedom of expression. Following one’s conscience means living a life guided by ethics, love, justice and truth. Acting based on one’s conscience is engaging in activities aimed at bringing happiness to one’s society, especially to victims whose human rights are being violated. In Vietnam many have been put in prison simply for peacefully exercising their human rights. Amnesty International has classified such prisoners as prisoners of conscience.
We, the undersigned, are former Vietnamese prisoners of conscience who were imprisoned or subjected to other forms of detention for our activities in support of democracy and our people’s rights, including the right to property ownership, right to work, and environmental justice.
In the face of rampant injustice and oppression, and realizing the pressing need to give a voice to our conscience, we resolved to come together as a civil society organization that will stand next to many other independent civil society organizations. As members of this new organization, we will continue to follow our conscience in advocating freedom, democracy, human rights, and freedom of religion and belief in Vietnam.
We hereby announce the establishment of the Association of Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience:
The Association of Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience will press for a legality centered on valuing human dignity, maximizing freedom, and building democracy to international standards such as those expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on Political and Civil Rights, and the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Association of Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience will strive for a Vietnam whose prison system no longer holds a single prisoner of conscience, follows international standards for the humane treatment of detainees, and demonstrably turns detainees into better and more useful members of their families and society at large.
The Association of Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience will strive for a country and society that becomes truly dear to our people; where citizens are the masters and the government is their servant; and the Constitution and law codes truly represent the people’s will.
We strongly urge the Vietnamese government to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience. These prisoners must be treated humanely, and human rights organizations based in Vietnam and overseas should be allowed to monitor their prison conditions.
This statement was issued in Vietnam on February 18, 2014.
Signatures of founding members, former prisoners of conscience.
LIST OF THE 64 FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF FORMER VIETNAMESE PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Posted on February 18, 2014 by FVPoC in CTNLT // 0 Comments
Collectively, the 64 members account for 278 years of detention, 9 years of suspended sentence, and 79 years of probation.
1. Bùi Thị Minh Hằng, 6-month re-education (2011)
2. Chu Mạnh Sơn, 30-month detention, 1-year probation (2011)
3. Dương Thị Tân, 2-year suspended sentence (2008)
4. Đinh Đăng Định, 4-year detention (2010)
5. Đinh Nhật Uy, 6-month detention, 1-year suspended sentence
(2012)
6. Đoàn Văn Diên, 5-year suspended sentence (2006)
7. Huỳnh Ngọc Tuấn, 10-year detention (1992)
8. Hứa Phi, 1-month detention, 2-year probation (1980)
9. Lê Công Định, 3.5-year detention, 3-year probation (2009)
10. Lê Minh Triết, 7-year detention (1995)
11. Lê Nguyên Sang, 4-year detention, 2-year probation (2006)
12. Lê Thị Công Nhân, 3-year detention, 3-year probation (2007)
13. Lê Thị Ngọc Đa, 2.5-year detention (2011).
14. Lê Văn Sóc, 6.5-year detention (2006)
15. Ngô Quỳnh, 3-year detention, 3-year probation (2008)
16. Nguyễn Bá Đăng, 3-year detention (2010)
17. Nguyễn Đan Quế, 20-year detention (1978).
18. Nguyễn Đặng Vĩnh Phúc, 18-month detention, 3-year
suspended sentence, 3-year probation (2011)
19. Nguyễn Hồng Quang, 7-year detention (1985).
20. Nguyễn Hữu Giải, 5-year detention (1983).
21. Nguyễn Khắc Toàn, 4-year detention, 3-year probation (2002).
22. Nguyễn Mạnh Sơn, 3.5-year detention, 3-year probation (2008).
23. Nguyễn Ngọc Tường Thi, 2-year detention (2010).
24. Nguyễn Ngọc Hà, 4- year detention (2005).
25. Nguyễn Phương Uyên, 10-month detention, 3-year suspended
sentence, 3-year probation (2012).
26. Nguyễn Thanh Giang, 3-month detention (1999).
27. Nguyễn Thanh Phong, 6-year detention (2005).
28. Nguyễn Thị Yến, 3-month detention (1995).
29. Nguyễn Trung Lĩnh, 1-year detention (2011).
30. Nguyễn Trung Tôn, 2-year detention, 2-year probation (2011).
31. Nguyễn Văn Đài, 4-year detention, 4-year probation (2007).
32. Nguyễn Văn Điền, 7-year detention (2005).
33. Nguyễn Văn Ngọc, 4-year detention, 2-year probation (2007)
34. Nguyễn Văn Thơ, 6-year detention (2006).
35. Nguyễn Văn Thùy, 5-year detention (2006).
36. Nguyễn Văn Túc, 4-year detention, 4-year probation (2008)
37. Nguyễn Vũ Bình, 5-year detention, 3-year probation (2002)
38. Nguyễn Xuân Anh, 2-year detention, 3-year probation (2011)
39. Nguyễn Xuân Tụ (Hà Sĩ Phu), 1-year detention (1995)
40. Phạm Bá Hải, 5-year detention, 2-year probation (2006).
41. Phạm Chí Dũng, 6-month detention (2012).
42. Phạm Minh Hoàng,17-month detention, 3-year probation
(2010)
43. Phạm Ngọc Thạch, 2-year detention (2004)
44. Phạm Quế Dương, 19-month detention (2002)
45. Phạm Thanh Nghiên, 4-year detention, 3-year probation (2008)
46. Phạm Văn Trội, 4-year detention 3-year probation (2007)
47. Phan Thanh Hải, 3-year detention, 2-year probation (2009)
48. Phan Thị Tiềm, 2-year detention (2001)
49. Phan Văn Lợi, 7-year detention (1981)
50. Thích Không Tánh, 16-year detention, 5-year probation (1977)
51. Thích Nhật Ban,18-year detention (1975)
52. Thích Thiện Minh, 26-year detention (1975)
53. Tô Văn Mãnh, 6-year detention (2005)
54. Trần Đức Thạch, 3-year detention, 3-year probation (2008)
55. Trần Lệ Hồng, 3-year detention, 3-year probation (2006)
56. Trần Khuê, 19-month detention (2002)
57. Trần Ngọc Anh,15-month detention (2009)
58. Trần Thị Hài, 9-month detention (2012)
59. Trần Thị Hoàng, 22-month detention (2010)
60. Trương Minh Nguyệt, 4-year detention, 2-year probation (2007)
61. Trương Thị Tám, 3-year detention, 3-year probation (2009)
62. Trương Văn Kim, 3-year detention, 3-year probation (2009)
63. Võ Văn Bửu, 7-year detention (2005)
64. Vũ Văn Hùng, 3-year detention, 3-year probation (2008)
