Meet the suburban lawyer who helped democracy activist Chau Van Kham walk free from a Vietnamese pri
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Dan Phuong Nguyen describes himself as suburban lawyer "on the way" from south-west Sydney, but his defense of local justice has taken on a global dimension with high-profile political prisoner case. Earlier this month, Ms. Nguyen's client and democracy activist Chau Van Kham was released from a Vietnamese prison after serving a 12-year sentence on terrorism charges. Mr. Chau was released under a prisoner transfer agreement with Australia after years of campaigning by his family, the Vietnamese community in Australia and human rights organizations. "[Kham] did nothing," said Ms. Nguyen at 7.30 am. 'No act of terrorism' It was an extraordinary time for Ms. Nguyen, who handled the case shortly before Mr. Chau's trial in late 2019. Dan Phuong Nguyen says that Mr. Chau never gave up his fight for his freedom. Until then, she had been dealing with day-to-day struggles, from leases and traffic offenses to transfers and divorces. "I've never had such a case, it happened to me by accident." Mr. Chau's wife, Thi Quynh Trang Chau, was a long time customer and called Ms. Nguyen for help. "She was so scared, she was helpless," said Ms. Nguyen. "For 71-year-old man to be sentenced to 12 years in a Vietnamese prison, it was almost death sentence for him." After Mr. Chau was sentenced, Ms. Nguyen and Ms. Chau went Canberra to lobby the Australian government fight for his release. Chau Van Kham with his wife Trang and lawyer Dan Phuong Nguyen. "I went everywhere, knocked on every door and talked to everyone who would talk to me about it," he said. "But I thought I had nowhere else to go in 2021. That was a low score for me. I was really afraid that his case would be forgotten and he would never come home." Ms. Nguyen joined forces with religious leaders, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and Justice Abroad, who took the matter to the UN. Last year, a UN working group found that Vietnam had arbitrarily detained Mr. Chau and violated his human rights. I never gave up," said Ms. Nguyen. From the refugee to the fight against global injustice Dan Phuong as Nguyen, a young girl. In 1977, at the age of 12, Ms. Nguyen fled Vietnam by boat and arrived in Australia with her family and five siblings after a month in a Malaysian refugee camp. "This little boat in big sea ... there were lot of people on the boat, crying lot, shouting and shouting lot. We used to shout 'SOS' whenever we saw a boat nearby," he said. “We were very afraid that we would die at sea and not find land. "The biggest challenge [of living in Australia] was language, and over the years I learned English, went to college, stu law, and here I am." A classically trained pianist, Ms. Nguyen had no desire for the law but was forced by her father, an Amnesty International member. Dan Phuong Nguyen runs his practice from home. Now with two offices southwest of Sydney, he is an ardent advocate of Vietnamese society, which he says is marginalized by the law. "I've seen clients come me and tell me a