Amnesty group supports Vietnamese man, jailed for sending news over the Internet |
Wednesday, February 1, 2006 Stop press: Nguyen Khac Toan has been released as part of a prisoner amnesty to mark the Lunar New Year "We welcome Nguyen Khac Toan's release but this harsh prison sentence should never have been imposed on him," said Janice Beanland, South East Asia campaigner at Amnesty International. "However, we are concerned and disappointed that he is now restricted under house arrest for the next three years and we call for the immediate removal of those restrictions. Nguyen Khac Toan was simply exercising his right to freedom of expressionand Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience." Monday, January 23, 2006 Amnesty had a very successful Saturday in Hebden Bridge. Passers-by were invited into the Java Lounge to sign the petition and write letters of support to prisoners of conscience. 119 signed the petition, 193 cards were written and £132.63 given in donations. We are all encouraged to send cards to Nguyen Khac Toan who is the adopted prisoner of conscience of Calderdale Amnesty International Group. Nguyen Khac Toan, 55, is a former soldier, mathematics teacher and businessman. He was arrested on 8 January 2002 for passing information through the Internet to overseas Vietnamese groups about demonstrations held in Hanoi by farmers. He was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment plus three years' house arrest on release. Amnesty considers that Nguyen Khac Toan's trial did not meet international standards for fairness and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release as a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully expressing his political opinions. Please make sure your card is non-religious and does not mention Amnesty International, and that it expresses a simple message of goodwill only. Cards can be sent to Nguyen Khac Toan at: We try to make sure that the Hebden Bridge Web news is correct, but if you are aware of any errors or omissions, please email us More news from the Hebden Bridge Web
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