II. A Legal Activist
Dr. Vu became nationally known in May 2005 when he filed a lawsuit against the People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue for granting permission to build a hotel resort on Vong Canh Hill, a protected cultural heritage site. Developers eventually abandoned the project.
A year later, in May 2006, Dr. Vu caused another stir by attempting to nominate himself for the position of minister of culture, an effort which ultimately proved unsuccessful.
Dr. Vu is also known for his work as a legal advisor for the controversial website Bauxite Vietnam. A group of Vietnamese intellectuals and experts established the site in 2009 to campaign against bauxite mining in the Central Highlands.
In October 2010, Dr. Vu's law firm took on another controversial case: the defense of Catholics from Con Dau parish in Da Nang who were arrested in May 2010 after police forcibly dispersed a funeral procession to a cemetery located on disputed land. The People's Court of Cam Le district refused to grant permission for his law firm to represent the families.[8]
In addition to these bold moves, Dr. Vu is known for denouncing Lt. Gen. Vu Hai Trieu of the Ministry of Public Security in June 2010 for allegedly authorizing cyber-attacks against politically sensitive websites,[9] and for condemning Le Thanh Hai, the VCP general secretary of Ho Chi Minh City, in September 2010 for allegedly confiscating land from relatives of Vietnamese soldiers killed during the French war with Vietnam.[10]
He is perhaps most famous for his two lawsuits against Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. While Lt. Gen. To Lam and Lt. Gen. Hoang Kong Tu made reference to the lawsuits as part of the basis for the charges against Dr. Vu during the November 6 press conference, the two lawsuits were not included in the indictment against him issued on December 17, 2010. [11] The first lawsuit targeted the prime minister for signing Decision 167, dated November 1, 2007, which authorized bauxite mining in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. On June 11, 2009, the case was sent to the Hanoi People’s Court, which dismissed it on June 15.[12] The lawsuit was then sent to the Supreme People’s Court on July 3, 2009.[13]
The second lawsuit targeted the prime minister for issuing Decree 136 preventing class-action petitions. [14] The lawsuit was sent to the Supreme People’s Court on October 21, 2010.[15] Dr. Vu never received a response to this second lawsuit. Both lawsuits were posted on the Bauxite Vietnam website and reposted on various websites.
[8] Six villagers were prosecuted for “causing public disorder” and “resisting on-duty officials” under penal code articles 245 and 257, respectively. Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, cited in A Selection of Fundamental Laws of Vietnam (Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2001).
[9] Cu Huy Ha Vu, “A Denunciation and a Call for the Prosecution and Indictment of Lt. Gen. Vu Hai Trieu, deputy director of the Security General Department, Ministry of Public Security for the crimes of [conducting] ‘activities aiming to overthrow the people’s administration’, ‘to disrupt the unity policy’, and ‘to destroy or intentionally damage properties’” (To cao va de nghi khoi to va truy to Trung tuong Vu Hai Trieu, Pho tong cuc truong Tong cuc An ninh – Bo Cong an ve “toi hoat dong nham lat do chinh quyen nhan dan”, “toi pha hoai chinh sach doan ket” va “toi huy hoai hoac co y lam hu hong tai san”), Bauxite Vietnam, June 2, 2010, http://www.boxitvn.net/bai/4862 (accessed March 25, 2011).
[10]Cu Huy Ha Vu, “Bring to the Dock Vietnamese Communist Party Politburo Member Le Thanh Hai and his Clique who Knocked down the House and Stole the Land of Ms. Duong Thi Kinh, a Family Member of Three Martyred Soldiers!” (Hay dua ra vanh mong ngua ten Le Thanh Hai, Uy vien Bo Chinh tri Dang Cong san Viet Nam, va dong bon da dap nha, cuop dat cua ba Duong Thi Kinh, than nhan cua ba liet si!), Bauxite Vietnam, September 6, 2010, http://www.boxitvn.net/bai/10483 (accessed March 25, 2011).
[11]For a complete list of the documents listed in the December 17, 2010 indictment that underlie the Article 88 charge, see “Indictment of Dr. Vu,” translated by Human Rights Watch, Appendix B.
[12] Cu Huy Ha Vu, “A lawsuit against the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for illegally issuing Decision 167/2007/QD-TTg dated November 1, 2007 permitting the Plan for zoning exploration, exploitation, processing and usage of bauxite for the period of 2007-2015, with 2025 in mind” (Don khoi kien Thu tuong Chinh phu nuoc CHXHCNVN – Do da ban hanh trai phap luat Quyet dinh so 167/2007/QD-TTg ngay 01/11/2007 phe duyet Quy hoach phan vung tham do, khai thac, che bien, su dung quang bauxite giai doan 2007-2015, co xet den nam 2025), Dan Luan, June 12, 2009, http://danluan.org/node/6944 (accessed March 25, 2011); Hoang Khue and Hoang Anh, “Dismiss the Lawsuit against the Decision regarding the Bauxite Plan issued by the Prime Minister” (Bac don kien quyet dinh cua Thu tuong ve quy hoach boxit), VNExpress, June 23, 2009, http://vnexpress.net/gl/phap-luat/2009/06/3ba106fd/; accessed March 25, 2011).
[13]“Vietnamese Police Hold Press Conference about Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu,” (Cong an Viet Nam hop bao ve ong Cu Huy Ha Vu), BBC Vietnamese, November 6, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/2010/11/101106_cuhuyhavu_update.shtml (accessed March 25, 2011).
[14] Decree 136/2006/ND-CP, “Detailing and Guiding Some Provisions of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations and the Law Amending and Supplementing Some Articles of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations,” November 14, 2006.
[15]Cu Huy Ha Vu, “A Lawsuit against Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for issuing a decree, which prohibits citizens to file a collective petition, against the law and the Constitution” (Don khoi kien Thu tuong Chinh phu Nguyen Tan Dung ve hanh vi ban hanh nghi dinh cam cong dan khieu nai tap the trai Hien phap va phap luat), Bauxite Vietnam, October 28, 2010, http://boxitvn.blogspot.com/2010/10/on-khoi-kien-thu-tuong-chinh-phu-nguyen.html (accessed November 8, 2010).