The following is a 13 May 2008 CPJ letter to Vietnamese
President Nguyen Minh Triet:

President Nguyen Minh Triet
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Office of the State
1 Bach Thao
Hanoi, Vietnam
Via facsimile: +84 4 823-1872

Dear President Nguyen:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned by the recent
spate of arrests, detentions, and trials of journalists in Vietnam. Even
though Article 69 of your country's constitution broadly protects press
freedom and freedom of expression, your government has continued to use
criminal and national security laws to arbitrarily stifle these essential
freedoms.

There are several current cases that are cause for our concern:

Somsak Khunmi, a long-time news assistant and contributor to Chan Troi Moi
(Radio New Horizon) was sentenced today to nine months in prison and three
years probation following a six-hour trial today on terrorism charges at
the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City. He was first detained on November
17 along with French-Vietnamese reporter Nguyen Thi Thanh Van and a group
of political activists associated with the pro-democracy Viet Tan (Vietnam
Reform Party). At the time, he was working as a sound recordist for Radio
New Horizon. Nguyen was released in December after international pressure.

Authorities say Somsak, a Thai citizen whose Vietnamese name is Nguyen Quoc
Hai, attempted to distribute pro-democracy fliers in violation of Article
84, Section 3 of Vietnam's penal code. But we are concerned that his
detention has more to do with his and Nguyen's reporting on an earlier
protest held in Ho Chi Minh City by aggrieved farmers who had been pushed
off their land by state authorities.

On Monday, Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien, who work respectively for
the Vietnamese-language daily newspapers Tuoi Tre (Youth) and Thanh Nien
(Young People), were arrested and imprisoned. The two local reporters were
instrumental in breaking news in 2006 about the "PMU-18" scandal, in which
senior transport ministry officials allegedly embezzled state funds to
wager on international football matches. The officials eventually stepped
down. At the time, the case was seen as a possible indicator of your
government's acceptance of a freer role for the media. Now, the two
journalists have been charged with "abuse of power" and could be held for
as long as four months while authorities conduct their investigations,
according to news reports.

A third case of concern is the April 29 arrest of a U.S. citizen, Le Hong
Thien, who was apprehended by security police in Ho Chi Minh City while
covering the Olympic torch relay. Thien is the U.S.-based editor of Gia
Dinh, according to a joint statement released by both publications. He is
also a contributor to the Japan- and U.S.-based Chan Troi Moi, which is
broadcast on AM and heard throughout Vietnam.

According to the publications' statement, Thien has been interrogated for
several days by police and is currently being held under house arrest at
his brother's home in Saigon. Police have also confiscated his passport
even though no formal charges have been lodged against him.

President Nguyen, Vietnam has continued to detain, harass, and jail
journalists, and stifle reporting critical of the government. We call on
you to reverse these policies as Vietnam enlarges its role on the world
stage, and work to promote and protect - rather than undermine - the basic
democratic principles of press freedom and freedom of expression.

Thank you for your attention. We anticipate your prompt reply.

Joel Simon
Executive Director

Updates the Somsak Khunmi case:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/89630