On 13 June 2009, human rights lawyer Mr. Le Cong Dinh was arrested by police from the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Security Agency . They raided Le Cong Dinh's law offices. He was arrested on "national security charges" under article 88 of Vietnam's criminal code ("conducting propaganda against the government"). Since his arrest, his current location and condition is unknown. On 20 January 2010, human rights lawyer Mr. Le Cong Dinh was sentenced by the People's Supreme Court in Ho Chi Minh City to five years in prison, following a one-day trial, for "carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration", under Article 79 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, after he acknowledged engaging in activities for democratisation and a multiparty political system in Vietnam. Mr. Le Cong Dinh was sentenced together with three other democracy activists, namely Messrs. Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Nguyen Tien Trung and Le Thang Long, who were sentenced to up to 16 years in prison for the same charges. The trial, which was expected to last two days, was carried out under tight security, with more than a dozen police outside the gate and around the courthouse. Several foreign diplomats and journalists were allowed to watch the trial but only via closed-circuit television in an adjacent room of the court. In addition, reporters were barred from using recording devices, cameras or mobile phones. Mr. Le Cong Dinh is a prominent human rights lawyer and the former Vice-President of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association. Shortly before his arrest, he had spoken out against the extraction of bauxite in the Central Highlands, and had also called for political reform in Viet Nam. In recent years, he has also defended several Viet Nam human rights and democracy activists. In August 2009, he was compelled to make a public "confession" broadcast on television. UPDATE: 01/ 06/ 2015 Joint statement calling for the release of Vietnamese prisoner of conscience, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc On 24 May 2009, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Vietnamese ICT entrepreneur and blogger, was arrested under the initial charge of "promoting anti-government propaganda" under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. On 20 January 2010, in a one-day trial, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc and his three co-defendants - Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen Tien Trung and Le Thang Long - were prosecuted at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City for "conducting activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration" under Article 79 of the Penal Code. Thuc was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment followed by 5 years of house arrest, while Dinh, Trung and Long, were sentenced to 5 years, 7 years and 5 years' imprisonment followed by 3 years of house arrest, respectively. Contrary to being found guilty of aiming to "overthrow" the state, the activities for which Thuc and his co-defendants were prosecuted comprised only blogging that called for political reform and respect for human rights (e.g. https://tranfami.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/hewing_quest_for_democracy_and_prosperity/) They did not receive a fair trial and relatives of the defendants and foreign journalists were not allowed in the courtroom. The defendants' microphones did not function when Thuc's defense counsel tried to speak on his behalf or when Long attempted to inform the court that the defendants' confessions were written under duress. According to eyewitnesses, the judges deliberated for only 15 minutes before returning with the judgment, which took 45 minutes to read, suggesting it had been prepared in advance of the hearing. On 29 August 2012, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) adopted the opinion that Thuc and his three co-defendants' detention violated the right to freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as the right to liberty and security of person (Article 9) and the right to freedom of association (Article 21). Vietnam is a party to the ICCPR. Consequently, the WGAD requested the Vietnamese government to release them and provide them with compensation, in accordance with its international obligations. Although Vietnam accepted 31 of the recommendations calling for the respect and protection of freedom of expression at the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in 2014, the Vietnamese government has still failed to resolve Thuc's case. Today, 24 May 2015, marks Thuc's 6th year of imprisonment. Until now, Thuc remains in prison while his three co-defendants have been released early. As such, we would like to call on the Vietnamese government to abide by their international and domestic obligations by ensuring that Thuc is immediately released. Only when the relevant authorities have taken the necessary steps so that his conviction is overturned, will justice to Thuc be restored. The international community and human rights organizations will be watching.