On 5 November 2010, Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu was reportedly arrested by Vietnamese authorities in Ho Chi Minh City and detained at the Ministry of Public Security Detention Centre. Two weeks prior to his arrest, on 2 October 2010, Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu had reportedly filed a lawsuit against the Prime Minister for signing in 2006, Decree 136, which prohibits class-action petitions. He had initiated another lawsuit against the Prime Minister in July 2009 for signing in November 2007, Decision 167, which allowed controversial bauxite mining operations in Vietnam's Central Highlands. On 17 December 2010, the Hanoi People's Procuracy issued indictment No. 18/CT-VKS-P2 to prosecute Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu on charges of "disseminating information against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" as prescribed under article 88(1)(c) of the Penal Code. According to the indictment, investigators found that between 2009 and October 2010, Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu posted a large number of articles and interviews with content against the State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. On 4 April 2011, Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu was tried by the People's Court of Ha Noi and was convicted for allegedly violating article 88 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and three years of house arrest. It is further reported that the trial was closed to the public. During the trial, one of Mr. Ha Vu's lawyers was allegedly asked by the judge to leave after making procedural objections. Three of his other lawyers reportedly left the court in protest against the lack of due process in the conduct of the trial. Additionally, supporters of Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, who had gathered peacefully outside the court, were reportedly dispersed by public security officers. On August 2, 2011, the Supreme People's Court upheld the sentence against Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, a prominent human rights legal expert, to seven years of imprisonment and three years of house arrest for "propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam", under Article 88 of Viet Nam's Criminal Code, saying there was no basis for dismissing the case. The trial only lasted half a day. The proceedings were closed to foreign media and were held under tight security with uniformed and plainclothes security officers surrounding the court house. Mr. Ha Vu is a peaceful defender of cultural, environmental and civil and political rights and has consistently used the courts to seek justice for those whose rights have been violated by the Government and private actors. In July 2009, he initiated a lawsuit against Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for signing Decision 167 in November 2007, which allowed controversial bauxite mining operations in Viet Nam's Central Highlands. On October 21, 2010, Mr. Ha Vu filed a second lawsuit against the Prime Minister for signing Decree 136 in 2006, which prohibits class-action petitions. The charges brought against Mr. Ha Vu are utterly politically motivated and are based on deeply flawed legislations that are routinely used to silence legitimate and peaceful critics. In particular, Article 88 has repeatedly been denounced by the United Nations Human Rights Committee as incompatible with international law and in violation of the rights to freedoms of opinion and expression and the right to participate in public affairs. 07/08/2013: A Joint Urgent Appeal (JUA) was sent to Vietnam by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 11/10/2013: Vietnam sent a short response the JUA, denying any wrongdoing.