21 January 2010 -- The Southeast Asian Media Legal Defense Network is shocked and disappointed at the five year prison sentence and a further 3 year house arrest imposed on our Vietnamese colleague Le Cong Dinh. The charges he stands accused of amount to no more than the promotion of freedom of expression and democracy, universal values recognised by the United Nations as well as by ASEAN, both of which Vietnam is a member of. We call for his unconditional release. Le Cong Dinh was among the few lawyers willing to defend cases such as the one now brought against him, and his imprisonment will send a chill across the Vietnamese community of writers and bloggers. A powerful defender of their rights now languishes in prison. Our sympathies are with Le Cong Dinh and his family.
For earlier statement by the South East Asia Media Legal Defense Network after Dinh's arrest in June 2009, see full statement here.
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