Senator Janet Nguyen Continues to Call on President Obama to Advocate for the release of Vietnamese Human Rights Prisoner Hang Minh Thi Bui

bui thi minh hang

“Ms. Bui is an advocate for human rights who has fought to exercise basic freedoms of expression in a country that actively works to oppress dissenting opinions,” said Senator Nguyen. “She deserves to be free and reunited with her family.”

Phụ nữ Việt | Jan 15, 2016

(Garden Grove, CA) In her ongoing effort to draw attention to the case of Vietnamese Human Rights Prisoner Hang Minh Thi Bui (a.k.a. Bùi Thị Minh Hằng), Senator Janet Nguyen has once again petitioned President Barack Obama for assistance. Senator Nguyen first approached President Obama in May of 2015 and hopes that drawing constant attention to Ms. Bui’s case will result in her release.

“As the second anniversary of her February 2014 arrest approaches, I think it is timely to call on President Obama once again to ask the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to release Ms. Bui,” said Senator Janet Nguyen. “I am hopeful that the President and the U.S. Department of State will echo our cries to the Vietnamese government so that Ms. Bui can regain her freedom.”

In her new letter, Senator Nguyen highlighted once again the arbitrary arrest and conviction that resulted in Ms. Bui’s three-year prison sentence. Senator Nguyen also shared with President Obama that she received a letter from Ms. Bui’s son weeks after her 2015 inquiry. In his letter Mr. Tran Bui Trung, son of Ms. Hang Minh Thi Bui, thanked Senator Nguyen for her efforts to regain his mother’s freedom which has served as additional motivation for Senator Nguyen to continue to shed light on Ms. Bui’s incarceration.

“Ms. Bui is an advocate for human rights who has fought to exercise basic freedoms of expression in a country that actively works to oppress dissenting opinions,” said Senator Nguyen. “She deserves to be free and reunited with her family.”

Advocating for Ms. Bui’s release has always been important to Senator Nguyen because Ms. Bui’s health has deteriorated significantly since she was arrested. During her time in prison, Ms. Bui has also been subjected to mistreatment by other prisoners and has been held in isolation.

Senator Nguyen’s letter to President Obama was also shared with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius, as well as members of the U.S. Congress.

 

Contact: Diana Moreno

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