Translation of the Press release of Mrs. Marie-Luise Dött, Member of the German Bundestag, Feb. 22, 2016

 Freedom for the Vietnamese civil rights defender Nguyen Van Dai

“Today I assume parliamentary sponsorship for the Vietnamese civil rights activist Nguyen Van Dai, arrested in Hanoi on December 16, 2015. For me there was no hesitation to say yes to the request from the human rights organization “Veto! Human Rights Defenders’ Network.”

 Just last year in August, I met Nguyen Van Dai in Hanoi during a delegation visit of the Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag. The talk focused primarily on the human rights situation in Vietnam. Nguyen Van Dai has engaged himself for years working towards freedom of opinion and expression in his country and for Civil and Political Rights. Vietnam has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees these very rights of lawyer Dai. A member of the UN Human Rights Council, Vietnam has to ensure the highest protection standards of Human Rights.

Nguyen Van Dai’s arrest has filled me with consternation and I call for his immediate release. Dai´s incommunicado detention for the last two months must be immediately terminated in order for him to be visited by his lawyer and his wife.”