Free Cuc Foshee

Feed

Image 1 of 3

Author: Liz McCausland

Started: September 26, 2006, 10:50:12 pm

Target: U.S. Congress

Category: Civil & Human Rights

Supporters:

3,658

Goal:

100,000

Goal Progress:

Status

Active

On September 8, 2005, THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE was detained by the Vietnamese government while traveling in Vietnam. She has been in a detention center in Ho Chi Minh City ever since.

We request the immediate release of THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE, a long-time citizen of the United States, who is being unjustly held by the Government of Vietnam.

THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE was born in 1948 in North Vietnam. In 1954, her family fled to South Vietnam to escape the communist occupying North Vietnam. She grew up in Nha-trang until 1967 where she met and later married, Edgar Foshee, a Sergeant major in the United States Army Special Forces. In 1971, Cuc and her family moved to Bangkok, Thailand where they resided until her husband retired from the U.S. Army. THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE became a United States Citizen and moved to Orlando, Florida where she has resided since 1973.

THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE has lived in Orlando, Florida for over thirty years, where she is a responsible member of the community, and the successful owner of a large landscaping business. She has been active in the community by registering other Vietnamese Americans to vote, and has been a role model to many people who have come to our great democracy with the hope of bettering themselves and of contributing to their new country.

THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE, like many former citizens of South Vietnam, has openly expressed her desire to see the democratic process return to the place of her birth. Beyond the expression of that belief, she has committed no act which could reasonably be viewed as threatening to the current government of Vietnam.

Nevertheless, on September 8, 2005, THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE was arrested while traveling in Vietnam. She has been held in prison for over one full year now, without being formally charged, without access to legal representation, and with limited access to medical attention. The members of her family were not allowed to see her for several months after her arrest, and are still allowed only the briefest of visits each month; meanwhile, the government of Vietnam simply says that she is "under investigation," yet this situation has dragged on with no end in sight. Caring friends and loving members of her family in the United States simply want THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE back where here she belongs.

While the United States Embassy in Hanoi is fully aware of, and involved in, this matter, it is becoming obvious that more influential powers must intercede for justice to be served. The U.S. Congress, with its influence over the trade status of Vietnam, is in a position to persuade the government of Vietnam to do what is right: to release a U.S Citizen who has been detained in clear violation of those human rights which we all view as fundamental to the democratic process.

The Communist Government of Vietnam is responsible for the incarceration of this completely innocent U.S. Citizen.

We, the undersigned, therefore urge the Members of the United States Congress to act with full vigor and with all deliberate speed to:

1. Secure the release of THUONG NGUYEN “CUC” FOSHEE from prison in Vietnam.

2. Ensure that Permanent Normalized Trade Relations are not granted to the Government of Vietnam while they are violating the human rights of this innocent United States Citizen.

3. Advise President Bush not to approve Permanent Normalized Trade Relations, an action he may consider as part of the Agenda for his upcoming visit to Vietnam, until and unless this matter is resolved.