The Right Honourable Nguyen Tan Dung
Prime Minister of Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam

11 February 2011

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, to express our grave concern at the murder of journalist Le Hoang Hung.

According to reports, Mr Hung, an investigative reporter for the newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong [Workers], was attacked by an intruder who sprayed him with chemicals and set fire to him while he was asleep in his home in Tan An, near Ho Chi Minh City on 20 January. He received burns to more than 20 percent of his body and died in hospital on 29 January.

We are seriously concerned that Mr Hung may have been murdered for carrying out his duties as a journalist. He had reportedly received anonymous threatening SMS messages shortly before the attack and had been covering issues such as prostitution, organized crime and the corruption of local officials.

We respectfully remind you that attacks on journalists stifle criticism and can lead to self-censorship, and that it is the duty of the state to provide an environment in which journalists are able to carry out their professional duties without fear of violence.

We call on you to ensure that a thorough investigation into the murder of Mr Hung is carried out and that those responsible are quickly brought to justice.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin O’Reilly
President
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

Xavier Vidal-Folch
President
World Editors Forum

WAN-IFRA is the global organization for the world’s newspapers and news publishers, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organization groups 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.