Detained for winning "Freedom to Publish Prize"
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 2 May 2011 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Detained for winning "Freedom to Publish Prize", 2 May 2011, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4dc26ed33.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Reporters Without Borders condemns underground publisher and poet Bui Chat's arrest at Tan Son Nhat airport on 30 April. The founder of the Giay Vun publishing house, Chat had just returned from Buenos Aires, where he had received the "Freedom to Publish Prize" from the International Publishers Association (IPA).
"The Vietnamese authorities gave no reason for Chat's arrest but it seems directly linked to the prize he received," Reporters Without Borders said. "Although Vietnam claims to have made significant progress on human rights, journalists, netizens and now publishers continue to be jailed if they dare to defy the government by voicing or relaying dissident views."
The IPA condemned the Chat's arrest, describing him as a "courageous underground publisher" who had published the works of "pavement poets" and who had "helped create an independent publishing movement."
The authorities seized Chat's award and the prize certificate when they arrested him.
Reporters Without Borders calls on the authorities to release Chat immediately and to abandon any plans to prosecute him.
