A Vietnamese official said Thursday authorities have arrested a dissident editor and human rights advocate, apparently after he published articles critical of the communist government.
Nguyen Dan Que was arrested Monday in Ho Chi Minh City, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said in a statement.
Amnesty International has demanded Que's release, and Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based international advocacy organization, has sent a letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.
"He has already spent nearly 20 years in prison," Robert Menard, the group's secretary general, wrote in the letter. "If he is not released, it will be a very serious blow to freedom of expression in Vietnam."
It is believed that Que's arrest stems from a critical statement he issued after a government official said that Vietnam guaranteed freedom of expression.
Thanh did not specify the charges against Que, but said he would be brought to trial under Vietnamese law.
Que, 61, a physician, has been named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He spent nearly 20 years behind bars for advocating democracy before being given early release in September 1998. He continued to be under close surveillance, the London-based group said.
Que started an underground magazine in 2000 that called for religious and political freedoms.
"This is yet more evidence of the ongoing harsh crackdown on freedom of expression by the Vietnamese authorities," Amnesty said in a statement. "The arrest of this well-respected academic and winner of numerous human rights awards is certain to be met with international outrage."
"(AP, March 20, 2003)
A Vietnamese official said Thursday authorities have arrested a dissident editor and human rights advocate, apparently after he published articles critical of the communist government.
Nguyen Dan Que was arrested Monday in Ho Chi Minh City, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said in a statement.
Amnesty International has demanded Que's release, and Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based international advocacy organization, has sent a letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.
"He has already spent nearly 20 years in prison," Robert Menard, the group's secretary general, wrote in the letter. "If he is not released, it will be a very serious blow to freedom of expression in Vietnam."
It is believed that Que's arrest stems from a critical statement he issued after a government official said that Vietnam guaranteed freedom of expression.
Thanh did not specify the charges against Que, but said he would be brought to trial under Vietnamese law.
Que, 61, a physician, has been named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He spent nearly 20 years behind bars for advocating democracy before being given early release in September 1998. He continued to be under close surveillance, the London-based group said.
Que started an underground magazine in 2000 that called for religious and political freedoms.
"This is yet more evidence of the ongoing harsh crackdown on freedom of expression by the Vietnamese authorities," Amnesty said in a statement. "The arrest of this well-respected academic and winner of numerous human rights awards is certain to be met with international outrage."