Since March, five political prisoners have been released by Hanoi as part of its “policy of leniency.” These dissidents represent the spectrum of those individuals who have been detained by the Vietnamese government. In March, Vietnamese authorities released Nguyen Huu Cau and Dinh Dang Dinh. Nguyen Huu Cau, a poet and former officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), is said to be one of the longest jailed prisoners after having spent 32 years behind bars since 1982. He was handed a life sentence (reduced from a death sentence) for “