We are concerned at the recent arrest and sentencing of several peaceful human rights offenders in Vietnam who have been charged with “conducting propaganda”. We, along with our EU partners, have made numerous representations to the Vietnamese authorities on this issue.
Most recently, on 15 May, the EU issued a statement expressing its concern about the current situation and calling on the Vietnamese Government to release all non-violent political activists who have simply exercised their rights to freedom of expression and association.
I raised our concerns about the arrest and detention of human rights activists with the Vietnamese Vice-Minister Le Cung Phung during the EU/Association of South East Asian Nations ministerial meeting in Nuremberg on 14-15 March. I also raised this issue with the Vietnamese ambassador on 10 May.
We will continue to raise the question of human rights defenders, along with other human rights issues, with the Vietnamese Government, including during the EU’s Human Rights Dialogue with the Vietnamese Government.