On October 8th 2009 Vietnamese police arrested Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, a well-known writer, after she publicly defended six dissidents facing trial. Tran Khai Thanh Thuy has written many novels poems and essays and published the dissident magazine To Quoc. According to PEN has been under surveillance since September 2006, and has suffered harassment for her criticisms of the government. She is a member of the Union of Writers and the Club of Women Poets of Hanoi, and won the 2008 Hellman Hammet Award. She was detained on 8 October 2009 as she made her way to Hai Phong to support the activists as they faced trial and was reportedly beaten during her arrest.Tran Khai Thanh Thuy has subsequently been charged with assault and faces up to three years in prison. Tran Khai Thanh Thuy suffers from diabetes and tuberculosis, and there are serious concerns that her health is deteriorating in prison.

Please sign this petition in her support: http://freetrankhaithanhthuy.wordpress.com