| Summary: | "On November 5, 2010, Ho Chi Minh City police arrested Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, a prominent legal activist and scion of an influential political family. The arrest marked the end of a 17-month struggle between Dr. Vu and some of the most powerful political figures in the country, including Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Five months later, on April 4, 2011, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced Dr. Vu to seven years in prison on the charge of conducting propaganda against the government under article 88 of Vietnam's penal code. Critics, however, charge that Dr. Vu was imprisoned simply for exercising his right to peaceful expression. In June 2009, Dr. Vu filed a lawsuit against the prime minister for authorizing Chinese bauxite mining in Vietnam's Central Highlands, followed by a second lawsuit in October 2010 against the prime minister for prohibiting class action petitions. Dr. Vu publicly denounced high-ranking leaders for corruption and illegal activities. In June 2010, he accused Lt. Gen. Vu Hai Trieu of the Ministry of Public Security of ordering cyber-attacks against approximately 300 websites opposed by the Vietnamese government. Three months later, he alleged that Le Thanh Hai, Ho Chi Minh City Communist Party general secretary, forcibly confiscated land from the relatives of "martyred" soldiers killed during the French-Vietnam War. In the months following Dr. Vu's arrest, many sectors of Vietnamese society joined in a remarkable outpouring of support for him. Independent bloggers demanded his release in online petitions. Democratic advocacy groups, such as Bloc 8406, and local religious communities issued public statements of solidarity. Catholic parishes in Hanoi and Nam Dinh conducted candlelight vigils attended by thousands of people to pray for Dr. Vu's exoneration. Statements, appeals, and legal motions issued by his wife, the lawyer Nguyen Thi Duong Ha, and his extended family have drawn a remarkable level of public attention to the violation of Dr. Vu's rights. The Party vs. Legal Activist Cu Huy Ha Vu illuminates Dr. Vu's background, depicts his past and present activities, and exposes the Vietnamese government's campaign to silence and suppress one of its most high-profile critics. It also sheds light upon the growing capacity and resourcefulness of Vietnamese lawyers, activists, bloggers, and ordinary citizens to struggle for civil rights, due process, and freedom of speech."--P. [4] of cover.
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