On 29 June 2017, blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, popularly known by her pen name Me Nâm (Mother Mushroom), was convicted of ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’ under Article 88 of the Penal Code and sentenced to ten years in prison.

PEN believes that Me Nâm is being targeted for peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression. We are calling on the Vietnamese authorities to quash her conviction and release her immediately and unconditionally, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Viet Nam is a state party.

For further information, please visit the PEN International website.

Take action

Spread the word

Share details of Me Nâm’s case with friends and colleagues, in your local and national press, and on social media. #FreeMeNam #ImprisonedWriter #StopTheCrackdownVN

Please also read and share this letter from Me Nâm’s 11-year-old daughter Nâm to Melania Trump.

Support the Stop the Crackdown VN campaign

English PEN is one of the organisations leading the Stop The Crackdown VN campaign. Find out more here and add your voice to our mass message before 1pm (GMT) on 6 November.

Write to the authorities

Please send appeals:

• Calling on the Vietnamese authorities to quash the conviction and 10-year sentence of blogger and human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh for ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’ and release her immediately and unconditionally;
• Reform overbroad national security provisions of the penal code, such as Article 88, Articles 79 (‘activities aiming to overthrow the people’s administration’) and 258 (‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state, the rights and interests of individuals’) to bring them into line with Viet Nam’s obligations under international law;
• Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all other writers and activists imprisoned or detained for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression in accordance with Article 19 of the ICCPR to which Viet Nam is a state party.

His Excellency Tran Dai Quang
President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Hung Vuong street
Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam

Prime Minister
Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc
1 Hoang Hoa Tham street
Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: +84 80 44130/ +84 80 44940

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr Pham Binh Minh
1 Ton That Dam street
Ba Dinh district
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: +844 3823 1872
Email: [email protected]