Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of all
journalists and cyber-dissidents in Vietnam after a leading Vietnamese
blogger was arrested on 19 April 2008 for taking part in protests against
China. The Olympic torch is due to arrive on 29 April in Ho Chi Minh City,
in southern Vietnam, after being borne through the streets of the North
Korean capital of Pyongyang.

"When the Olympic torch relay takes place in Ho Chi Minh City, the
Vietnamese government should release all prisoners of conscience and
implement the Olympic Charter, which defends human dignity," Reporters
Without Borders said.

Many pro-freedom initiatives and independent media have emerged since the
launch of the Bloc 8406 pro-democracy movement in April 2006. It was
declared illegal by the government in October 2006 and since then the
security services have constantly hounded its leading members. Several
dozen have been arrested, including nine journalists and cyber-dissidents.

Bloc 8406 members Huynh Nguyen Dao, Le Nguyen Sang and Nguyen Bac Truyen
have been sentenced to jail terms of three, four and two years,
respectively, on charges of "propaganda hostile to the government" in what
they posted online. Lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan have been
sentenced to four and three years in prison respectively.

Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, one of the chief editors of the Hue-based
underground magazine "Tu do Ngôn luan" (Free Expression), was arrested in
February 2007 and, after a summary trial, was given a long jail sentence
for "propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."

Less than a month ago, a court in Vinh Thuan (in the southern province of
Kien Giang) sentenced independent journalist Truong Minh Duc to five years
in prison under article 258 of the Vietnamese criminal code.

Several Vietnamese have been arrested in the run-up to the torch relay for
demonstrating against human rights violations in China and Chinese policy
towards the South China Sea, where China and Vietnam dispute the
sovereignty of the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands.

Overseas Vietnamese websites have reported that the official Chinese torch
relay website shows these two archipelagos as being part of the People's
Republic of China.

The blogger arrested on 19 April in the southern city of Dalat was
independent journalist Nguyen Hoang Hai, who is better known by his
blogging pseudonym of Dieu Cay. He had participated in protests against
Chinese policy in Ho Chi Minh City earlier in 2008 and was being closely
watched by police, who had threatened to let Chinese agents kill him.

According to a Vietnamese government website, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung called on 20 April for "absolute security" during the Olympic torch
relay in Ho Chi Minh City and warned against "hostile forces" that were
always ready to disturb the peace.

For further information on the Nguyen Van Ly case, see:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/82112

For further information on the Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan case,
see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/83352

For further information on the Huynh Nguyen Dao, Le Nguyen Sang and Nguyen
Bac Truyen cases, see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/83246