Mr. Tran Anh Kim (right) and Mr. Le Thanh Tung at trial on Dec 16, 2016
By Defend the Defenders, December 16, 2016
Vietnam’s communist government has imprisoned two pro-democracy activists, Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung, with heavy sentences on charges of “conducting activities aiming to overthrow the state” under Article 79 of the country’s Penal Code.
On December 16, the People’s Court of the northern province of Thai Binh found Kim and Tung guilty of the charges and handed down to them 13 years and 12 years in prison, respectively. In addition, the two will be placed under house arrest for five and four years respectively after completing their terms.
According to the indictment, Mr. Kim, 67, had the intention to establish an organization called “People Forces for Democracy Promotion” with the participation of army officers to overthrow the current regime and replace it with a democratic government. The two activists planned to publicize their organization on September 21, 2015 but Vietnam’s security forces arrested Mr. Kim a few hours before the organization’s debut.
Mr. Kim, a former lieutenant of the Vietnam People’s Army and deputy head of the military political department of Thai Binh city before the 1990s, is a former political prisoner. During 1995-2005, he participated in a number of groups which promoted multi-party democracy, including the 8406 Bloc. He assisted farmers whose land was illegally seized by local authorities in seeking justice and participated in anti-corruption campaigns.
Mr. Kim was honored with the Hellman/Hammett Prize awarded by the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch in 2009.
He was arrested in July 2009 and charged for attempts to “overthrow the people’s government” under Article 79 of the Penal Code. He was later sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail and released in July 2015.
Mr. Tung is also a former prisoner of conscience, who completed his four-year term in mid 2015. Mr. Tung is a member of pro-democracy Bloc 8406. After being freed, Mr. Tung committed to continue to fight for multi-party democracy in Vietnam.
Tung was re-arrested in mid-December 2015 when he went to work in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.
Human rights lawyer Vo An Don, who is among the group of lawyers defending the accused said his clients are innocent as their activities were simply unrealized ideas.
In order to prevent activists to attend the “open trial” against Kim and Tung, security forces in many localities blocked key activists from going out of their private residences on Thursday and Friday.
The trial against Kim and Tung is held amid an intensified crackdown against local dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders. So far, Vietnam has imprisoned around twenty activists and detained dozens of others this year. Among those jailed and arrested are prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, well-known blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who won the Civil Rights Defender Award 2015 of the Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders, and prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh, the founder and owner of newswire Anh Ba Sam.
During the sixth round of the Vietnam-EU annual enhanced human rights dialogue held in Brussels on December 8, the 28-nation bloc expressed its deep concern about the ongoing harassment and detention of an increasing number of human rights defenders and activists and urged Vietnam to release all activists who are being detained for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Both Kim and Tung are among 82 prisoners of conscience whom the London-based Amnesty International has urged Vietnam to free unconditionally and immediately.
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December 16, 2016
Two Democracy Campaigners Imprisoned with Heavy Sentences on Subversion Charges amid Intensified Crackdown
by Nhan Quyen • Le Thanh Tung, Tran Anh Kim
Mr. Tran Anh Kim (right) and Mr. Le Thanh Tung at trial on Dec 16, 2016
By Defend the Defenders, December 16, 2016
Vietnam’s communist government has imprisoned two pro-democracy activists, Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung, with heavy sentences on charges of “conducting activities aiming to overthrow the state” under Article 79 of the country’s Penal Code.
On December 16, the People’s Court of the northern province of Thai Binh found Kim and Tung guilty of the charges and handed down to them 13 years and 12 years in prison, respectively. In addition, the two will be placed under house arrest for five and four years respectively after completing their terms.
According to the indictment, Mr. Kim, 67, had the intention to establish an organization called “People Forces for Democracy Promotion” with the participation of army officers to overthrow the current regime and replace it with a democratic government. The two activists planned to publicize their organization on September 21, 2015 but Vietnam’s security forces arrested Mr. Kim a few hours before the organization’s debut.
Mr. Kim, a former lieutenant of the Vietnam People’s Army and deputy head of the military political department of Thai Binh city before the 1990s, is a former political prisoner. During 1995-2005, he participated in a number of groups which promoted multi-party democracy, including the 8406 Bloc. He assisted farmers whose land was illegally seized by local authorities in seeking justice and participated in anti-corruption campaigns.
Mr. Kim was honored with the Hellman/Hammett Prize awarded by the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch in 2009.
He was arrested in July 2009 and charged for attempts to “overthrow the people’s government” under Article 79 of the Penal Code. He was later sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail and released in July 2015.
Mr. Tung is also a former prisoner of conscience, who completed his four-year term in mid 2015. Mr. Tung is a member of pro-democracy Bloc 8406. After being freed, Mr. Tung committed to continue to fight for multi-party democracy in Vietnam.
Tung was re-arrested in mid-December 2015 when he went to work in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.
Human rights lawyer Vo An Don, who is among the group of lawyers defending the accused said his clients are innocent as their activities were simply unrealized ideas.
In order to prevent activists to attend the “open trial” against Kim and Tung, security forces in many localities blocked key activists from going out of their private residences on Thursday and Friday.
The trial against Kim and Tung is held amid an intensified crackdown against local dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders. So far, Vietnam has imprisoned around twenty activists and detained dozens of others this year. Among those jailed and arrested are prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, well-known blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who won the Civil Rights Defender Award 2015 of the Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders, and prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh, the founder and owner of newswire Anh Ba Sam.
During the sixth round of the Vietnam-EU annual enhanced human rights dialogue held in Brussels on December 8, the 28-nation bloc expressed its deep concern about the ongoing harassment and detention of an increasing number of human rights defenders and activists and urged Vietnam to release all activists who are being detained for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Both Kim and Tung are among 82 prisoners of conscience whom the London-based Amnesty International has urged Vietnam to free unconditionally and immediately.