Way off the world’s radar and in continued violation of international human-rights law, on September 22 the Vietnamese Government abruptly transferred political dissident Dr. Nguyen Dan Que to Ward 5 Prison of the Public Security Ministry, an isolated and hostile hard-labor camp.

The 1995 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Laureate and the founder of the Nonviolent Movement for Human Rights, Que has spent more than 20 years in prison for political activism in Vietnam. An endocrinologist by training, Que was detained without trial from 1978 to 1988 after he criticized national health care policy. After his release, he established a democratic-rights movement, for which he was arrested in 1990 and sentenced to another 20 years’ imprisonment.

An international coalition has sprung up demanding Que’s release on both legal and humanitarian grounds. The groups–including the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Action Network–are calling for an international letter-writing campaign on Que’s behalf.

The campaign is critical: As an emergency alert put out by the RFK Center said, “By transferring Dr. Que to a remote labor camp…the Vietnamese Government has violated his right to receive family visitations and adequate medical and psychological care, in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984, to which Vietnam is a signatory.”

Click here to send a letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai asking him to set Que free, click here for more background on Que’s work, and click here to support the work of the RFK memorial project.