PEN marks International Women's Day

Yesterday the international writers' organisation, PEN, marked International Women's Day by highlighting the cases of women writers who have been silenced, imprisoned or even killed.

Harassment and intimidation of writers in Vietnam has long been of concern to PEN. Among them is Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, an author and essayist who was arrested briefly in September 2006 for articles that she posted on the internet. She was again briefly detained a few weeks later for publishing further essays. She is editor of the dissident magazine To Quoc (Fatherland). In October she was subjected to a “People’s Court” in Hanoi where police gathered 300 people to denounce and humiliate her, and her home had been attacked by mobs calling her a traitor and a prostitute. Police refused to provide protection. She is now living under virtual house arrest.