Vietnamese Blogger Le Quoc Quan to be Released
EFF has long condemned
the Vietnamese government’s crackdown on bloggers, including the imprisonment of high-profile blogger and activist Le Quoc Quan
. Our support for freedom of expression in Vietnam has even earned us
the attention of the Vietnamese government, which attempted to
compromise our employees’ computers by sending them links to malware
. We are pleased to anticipate Quan’s imminent release from prison on
June 27, though we are sad to note that Quan owes his release not to a
change of heart on the part of the Vietnamese government, but the fact
that he has served the full term of his 30-month prison sentence related
to politically-motivated charges of tax evasion.
The Vietnamese government has a long history of persecuting Quan for
his human rights work. In 2007, after representing numerous victims of
human rights violations, he was disbarred from practicing as a lawyer on
suspicion of engaging in “activities to overthrow the regime.” He has
been arrested several times for continuing his human rights work.
Following an attack by unknown assailants in August 2012, he was
hospitalized and the attack was never investigated by the police. On
December 27, 2012, Quan was arbitrarily arrested and detained while
taking his daughter to school.
