Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu
Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu is a prominent government critic and human-rights lawyer. He filed unprecedented lawsuits against the government, including suing Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for violating laws on environmental protection, national security, and cultural heritage by approving a Chinese-run bauxite mining project in the Central Highlands. His law firm provided legal assistance to democracy activists and, prior to his arrest, to six Catholics from Con Dau parish who had protested government confiscation of Church properties. He was arrested on 5 November 2010, and on 4 April 2011 sentenced to seven-years in prison to be followed by three-years of house arrest. The charge was "propaganda against the socialist state."
Dr. Cu Hay Ha Vu has been RELEASED.
Advocate: Rep. David Price (D-NC, Ret.)