"My life is full of contradictions: I live the French language in my daily life, in my friendships, with institutions, administrative transactions, shopping, communicating with official bodies. Meanwhile I inhabit the Arabic language while I’m writing, as writing draws on my memory and occupies the greatest portion of my life."
H.E. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc,
Prime Minister of Viet Nam
16 Le Hong Phong Street,
Ba Dinh District,
December 7, 2020
Re: Mr. Nguyễn Bắc Truyển and other prisoners on hunger strike over prison conditions in An Điềm Prison, Quảng Nam Province
Your Excellency,
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, would like to bring to your attention the situation of Mr. Nguyễn Bắc Truyển and some other prisoners of conscience in
An Điềm Prison who started a hunger strike in November to protest mistreatment, unresolved grievances, and violations of Vietnam’s
2019 Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments by the prison supervisors and by the