International Community Urges Vietnam to Release Prominent Human Rights Defender

By Defend the Defenders, October 13, 2016

The U.S. and the EU and a number of international human rights organizations have called on Vietnam to release prominent human rights defender and blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who was detained on October 10 on allegation of anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the country’s Penal Code.

In his statement released on October 12, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius said he is deeply concerned about Vietnam’s recent acts against local human rights defenders and social activists, including the arrest of Ms. Quynh and the convictions of prominent bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (aka Nguyen Ngoc Gia) and land rights activist Can Thi Theu.

The ongoing suppression against local dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders threatens to overshadow Vietnam’s progress on human rights, said Ambassador Osius. Washington calls on Hanoi to release these individuals and all other prisoners of conscience, and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their political views online and offline without fear of retribution, he said in a statement posted on the embassy’s website.

The U.S. also urges Vietnam’s government to ensure its laws and actions are consistent with the human rights provisions of Vietnam’s 2013 Constitution, and Vietnam’s international obligations and commitments, the statement said.

Meanwhile, one day earlier, Ambassador Bruno Angelet, head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, said the arrest of Quynh goes against Vietnam’s international and domestic human rights obligations, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party since 1982, and the country’s Constitution.

Reiterating that support for human rights defenders is a long-established element of the bloc’s human rights external relations policy, Ambassador Angelet calls on Vietnam’s authorities to release Ms. Quynh immediately.

It is important to ensure the safety of human rights defenders and protect their rights to express their opinions peacefully, freely, without threats or impediments, in line with Vietnam’s international obligations, he noted.

The embassies of the UK and Germany also urged Vietnam to release Quynh.

Few days after Quynh’s detention, a number of international human rights organizations such as the Dublin-based Front Line Defenders and the Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders urged Vietnam to release Ms. Quynh and other human rights defenders unconditionally and ensure safe environment for them to carry out their human rights advocacy activities.

On October 13, Amnesty International released a statement calling for urgent action for Ms. Quynh. It warned that she may be tortured or treated inhumanely in detention.

Foreign media has covered the arrest of Quynh, who has conducted numerous activities in human rights enhancement, environmental protection and the country’s sovereignty protection.

If found guilty, Quynh may face imprisonment of up to 20 years in prison, according to Vietnam’s current law.

Vietnam has been criticized by many foreign democratic governments and international human rights organizations for using a number of articles such as 79, 88 and 258 of the Penal Code to silence local political dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders.

According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding around 130 prisoners of conscience while Hanoi always denies the accusation and says it imprisons only law violators.

Recently, Amnesty International urged Vietnam to release 82 prisoners of conscience, including blogger Vinh and human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai.