Free Vietnamese advocate Le Cong Dinh

On June 13, 2009, Le Cong Dinh, a prominent lawyer in Vietnam who often made strong voices against the flaws of Vietnam government and well-known for his defending pro-democracy activists, was arrested at his house in Hochiminh City.  Police accused him of working with "hostile forces" against the communist state.

Police said that Le Cong Dinh was taken into custody for violating Article 88 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits distributing information harmful to the state.

We call on the Government of Vietnam to release Le Cong Dinh since his arrest is a huge blow to democracy and human rights.