Mr Nguyen, who blogs under the name Dieu Cay, has been in prison since April 2008, while Mr Phan and Mrs Ta were arrested in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Their plight has attracted worldwide condemnation, with human rights groups calling for their immediate release. On May 3rd, during a speech to mark World Press Freedom Day, President Obama singled out Mr Nguyen's case as an example of the "mass crackdown on citizen journalism in Vietnam".