O.C. activist Chanh Huu Nguyen freed

The Orange County Register ^ | Thursday, July 27, 2006 | DEEPA BHARATH

[jason1998]

A South Korean High Court today freed Chanh Huu Nguyen, an Orange County activist who has been held in that country for three months after the Vietnamese government accused him of terrorism.

[jason1998]

A South Korean High Court today freed Chanh Huu Nguyen, an Orange County activist who has been held in that country for three months after the Vietnamese government accused him of terrorism.

The 58-year-old Garden Grove resident was released from a detention facility in Seoul after today's ruling. The court turned down Vietnam's request that Nguyen be extradited, saying he is a "political dissident," according to news reports there.

"I have believed in South Korea's judicial system, and now I am grateful to the South Korean court for its fair ruling,'' Nguyen was quoted as saying by the South Korean Yonhap News agency upon his release.

Nguyen was arrested during a visit to Seoul in April when the Vietnamese government alleged that he was involved in various terrorist activities, including a failed attempt to blow up statues of Ho Chi Minh in 1999 and planting explosives in the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand in 2002.

Nguyen's family and members of the local Vietnamese community, who have proclaimed his innocence and held several local rallies supporting him, are delighted with the court's decision, said his son Vinh Nguyen of Garden Grove.

"I don't think I've ever been happier in my whole life," he said. "I cannot wait to see my father again."

Chanh Nguyen, founder of the Government of Free Vietnam exile group, is expected to fly into Los Angeles on Saturday. Hundreds of supporters plan to be at Los Angeles International Airport to welcome him, his son said.

According to news reports, South Korean law bars the deportation of a foreigner for political reasons, and according to a bilateral extradition treaty the local prosecution is barred from appealing the case to the Supreme Court, court officials said.

In Garden Grove on Wednesday night, hundreds flocked to the Government of Free Vietnam radio station to hear a message from Chanh Nguyen, said Daingu Nguyen, a spokesman for the family.

"It was a sleepless night for all of us," he said. "People were screaming and crying. It was a very emotional night. We were very happy to hear from (him)."

Chanh Nguyen's message, which came late last night, was brief.

"He thanked the Korean government and our people locally who marched and held rallies in his support," Daingu Nguyen said. "I'm sure he'll have a lot more to say when he returns."

[phoenix0468]

The Vietnamese and Koreans who emigrated here to America are pretty much unequaled in their exhuberance for freedom and democracy. They are very industrious and zealous people when it comes to a cause, and I am happy to see this man free.

[GodGunsGuts]

This is proof that S. Korea is riddled with Communists at the highest levels.

[GodGunsGuts]

I should have said, the fact that an American would be held at all, on ANY charge from a Communist dictatorship, is proof that S. Korea is penetrated by Communists at the highest levels. Let's hope they are able to purge most of them in the upcoming elections!

[jason1998]

[img]http://chinese.chosun.com/site/data/img_dir/2006/07/28/200607280000111betnam_260.jpg[/img]


[img]http://www.radicalparty.org/basket-photos/020921-Bruxelles-Photos_FREEDOM_AND_DEMOCRACY_IN_VIETNAM/020921-Bruxelles-Photos_FREEDOM_AND_DEMOCRACY_IN_VIETNAM-098.jpg[/img]

[GodGunsGuts]

PS I hope Chanh Huu Nguyen will make the Communists occupying positions of power in S. Korea PAY by launching an unrelenting campaign exposing them for being in the pocket of Communist dictatorships such as N. Korea and Red Vietnam.

[GodGunsGuts]

PSS To think of all the brave S. Korean veterans who fought against the Communists in Vietnam. And, lest we forget, many S. Koreans were out there in force demonstating with the Vietnamese (and other concerned Americans) against Chanh Huu Nguyen's bogus detention. Yes, the Commies running S. Korea need to pay for this...and pay for it big. We need to find someone who can get a hold of Mr. Ngyuyen and assist him in launching such a campaign. Very important! It would put pressure on S. Korea and Vietnam simultaneously.

[GodGunsGuts]

I can't believe the dearth of responses on this thread. Just goes to show how removed America is removed from real anti-Communism. Very sad.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #8

Bump!

[GodGunsGuts]

Thanks Tiger. I've been following your posts for a long time. When push comes to shove, you know there is always someone out there you can count on. You're one of those people. Thanks--GGG

[familyop]

I wonder if the ROK will eventually be lost to a North Korean expansion. There is much anti-American sentiment in South Korea now, along with talk of "reunification."

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #10

I would like to live up to your expectation.:)