VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK CALLS ON VIETNAM AUTHORITIES TO RELEASE PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE DURING COVID-19.

 

With the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, many families of prisoners of conscience have petitioned the Vietnamese Government to release their relatives so that they can get safe at home.

The United Nations and many international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders, Human Rights Watch, Committee to Protect Journalists, U. S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Defend the Defenders have also asked Vietnam to release all those who are wrongfully detained to ensure their health and safety during the pandemic.

A number of countries, such as Iran, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States have released several prisoners for humanitarian reasons during the epidemic.

The Viet Nam Human Rights Network (VNHRN) recognizes that returning prisoners of conscience and non-harmful prisoners back to their families during the pandemic period would better ensure their health and reduce the State budget burden.

Therefore, the VNHRN calls on the Vietnamese authorities to release all prisoners of conscience and all prisoners who pose no risk to the public, especially the elderly and those with serious medical conditions.

The VNHRN also calls on civil society organizations and the Vietnamese communities around the world to partake in a joint campaign to protect prisoners who are under extremely dangerous circumstances.

 

California, April 8, 2020

 

 

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