For Immediate Release
Peaceful Dissidents and Bloggers Arbitrarily Locked Up
(New York, April 8, 2011) – Dozens of peaceful advocates for democratic reforms, rule of law, religious freedom, and human rights face arbitrary detention and harsh prison sentences, with no respite in sight, Human Rights Watch said today, on the fifth anniversary of the founding of the democracy movement known as Block 8406.
“With a steady stream of people being locked up for nothing more than asking for their rights, the situation is critical,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Vietnam’s donors and development partners need to forcefully express their public support for Vietnam’s courageous activists and call for the immediate release of all who have been arbitrarily detained.”
Named for its inception date of April 8, 2006, Block 8406 swelled into a movement of thousands through online petitions calling for respect for basic human rights, establishment of a multiparty political system, and guarantees of freedom of religion and political association. Vietnamese authorities respond with harassment and arrests to nonviolent appeals by Block 8406 and other groups advocating for democracy and human rights.
Since June 2010, Vietnamese authorities have arrested and detained at least 24 dissidents, house church activists, and bloggers, many of whom have been held incommunicado for many months without access to legal counsel or to their families.
