U.S. Calls on Vietnam to Release Human Rights Defender Nominated with 2017 International Woman of Courage Prize

Imprisoned HRD Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh

By Defend the Defenders, June 30, 2017

The U.S. calls on Vietnam to release prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and all other prisoners of conscience immediately and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without fear of retribution, said Spokesperson Heather Nauert of the U.S. State Department on June 29.

At a press conference in Washington, DC on Thursday, few hours after Vietnam sentenced Ms. Quynh, a well-known blogger under pen-name Me Nam or Mother Mushroom, Spokesperson Nauert said the U.S. is “deeply concerned about the Vietnamese course and its conviction of the 2017 International Woman of Courage awardee and peaceful blogger.”

Quynh was sentenced to ten years in prison under the vague charge of conducting propaganda against the state, Ms. Nauert said, adding the Vietnamese human rights advocate was honored with the 2017 International Woman of Courage Award by First Lady Melania Trump in March.

“We’ve seen some positive steps on human rights in Vietnam over the past few years. However, the trend of increased arrests and convictions of peaceful protests since early 2016 is deeply troubling. Progress on human rights will allow the U.S.-Vietnam partnership to reach its fullest potential,” Neuert said.

Quynh, who posted numerous online articles about police torture, environmental pollution and against China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code. On June 29, 2017, the People’s Court in the central province of Khanh Hoa sentenced her to 10 years.

In addition to the U.S.’s award, Quynh received a Hellman Hammett grant from Human Rights Watch in 2010 as a writer defending free expression, the 2015 Civil Rights Defender of the Year award of the Stockholm-based NGO Civil Rights Defenders in 2015.

She is among hundreds of Vietnamese activists who are imprisoned just because exercising the basic right of freedom of expression enshrined in Vietnam’s 2013 Constitution.