In a letter received by human rights defender Mr Huynh Van Dong on 22 July 2011, the Daklak Bar Association accuses him of violating the Vietnamese Lawyers' Code of Conduct because he provided legal representation to clients persecuted for being critical of the government. Huynh Van Dong is a human rights lawyer and a member of the Daklak Bar Association. He has been a practicing lawyer since 2003 and works primarily on cases concerning the protection of land rights and the right to freedom of expression.

Huynh Van Dong (photo: Front Line)

On 22 July 2011, Huynh Van Dong received a letter from the Daklak Bar Association requesting that he present himself before the Association on 31 July 2011 in order to discuss his work, in particular for his representation of clients who are critical of the Government. The letter claims that through his work as a lawyer, Huynh Van Dong has violated the code of conduct applicable to lawyers, as well as damaged the interests of the Vietnamese Government.

Huynh Van Dong was informally told by an official at the Daklak Bar Association that the Association wanted to terminate his membership and advised him to find another job. Huynh Van Dong subsequently informed the Daklak Bar Association that he would not attend the meeting as requested. It is believed that the Daklak Bar Association has been put under considerable pressure from the Ministry of Public Security to terminate Huynh Van Dong's membership and expel him from the Association for taking up human rights-related cases.

On 30 May 2011, two clients of Huynh Van Dong, Ms Tran Thi Thuy and Mr Phan Van Thong, who are also human rights defenders, were brought before the Ben Tre Province court and sentenced to seven and eight years respectively for violating Article 79 of the Vietnamese Penal Code which prohibits “working to overthrow the people's administration”. The court stated that in bringing these cases before the court and providing legal representation to the defendants, Huynh Van Dong had attempted to use the court as an anti-Government forum.

Since 2009, Huynh Van Dong has been under police surveillance; his phone calls have been monitored and he has been summoned to present himself for questioning by the police on numerous occasions. The police allegedly asked Huynh Van Dong why he was involved in providing legal representation to his clients, and warned him several times to discontinue his legal representation of clients involved in land disputes cases.

In 2009 and 2010, Huynh Van Dong provided legal representation for villagers from both ThaiHa Catholic village in Hanoi, and Con Dau Catholic village in Danang. On both occasions, Huynh Van Dong was defending the rights of villagers whose land was being confiscated by the State, in order to build tourist attractions.

Front Line believes that the judicial harassment, police surveillance, and intimidation of Huynh Van Dong are related to his work in the defence of human rights, in particular his legal representation of clients perceived by the Vietnamese Government to be a threat to the stability of the State.

Front Line urges you to call on the authorities in Vietnam to:

   1. Immediately drop all charges against human rights defenders Huynh Van Dong as it is believed that they are solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights;
   2. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into harassment and intimidation on Huynh Van Dong, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
   3. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Huynh Van Dong;
   4. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Vietnam are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions, including judicial harassment.