Defend the Defenders | December 24, 2017
On December 22, the Higher Court of Hanoi rejected the appeal of human rights campaigner and one of the most anti-China protestors Tran Thi Nga, upholding her sentence of nine years in prison and five years under house arrest afterward given by the People’s Court of Ha Nam in late July on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
Similar to the trial on July 25, her relatives were not allowed to enter the courtroom while activists coming to support her were detained by security forces who were deployed to block all roads leading to the court area in Phu Ly city. At the hearing, the judge ignored the defense statement presented by his lawyers while Nga claimed that she is innocent.
In custody, police officers brutally beat three Hanoi-based activists Truong Van Dung, Trinh Dinh Hoa and Mai Phuong Thao, and robbed their belongings, including smartphones and IDs.
One day earlier, the People’s Court in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang convicted a group of five activists on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88, giving them total 19 years in prison and ten years of probation for hanging the flag of the U.S.-backed Southern Vietnam which ruled the southern country before falling to the communist troops in 1975.
During the week, many activists from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh and other localities complained that they were placed under house arrest as local authorities want to prevent them from gathering on the Christmas Day and going to Ha Nam province to support Ms. Nga.
President Pham Chi Dung of the unsanctioned Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam narrowly escaped death from a traffic accident which was likely organized by plainclothes.
Security forces in Lang Son kidnapped the wife of former prisoner of conscience Vi Duc Hoi after she withdrew money from a local bank, taking her to a police station where they robbed her and interrogated her for hours. They released her without returning her money of around VND4.5 million ($200).
Plainclothes agents in the central city of Hue also threw dirty mess to the private house of Catholic priest Phan Van Loi, who has been under police persecution for years.
===== December 17 =====
President of Unsanctioned Independent Journalists Association Attacked, Escaping Death in Traffic Accident
Defend the Defenders: Dr. Pham Chi Dung, president of the unsanctioned Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) has escaped death in a traffic accident intentionally caused by plainclothes agents.
The incident occurred at around 7 PM of Sunday (December 17) when Mr. Dung travelled on his motorbike near his private residence in Ho Chi Minh City.
Dung, a former government official, said a guy on another motorbike followed him, hitting his motorbike and running away. The attack made Dung’s motorbike collapsed on a street and he suffered many injuries on his left arm, two hands and legs.
Dr. Dung told Defend the Defenders that his helmet saved him.
“Today, I felt as though I had been followed… After having a telephone conversation with an international media outlet, on my way home, I nearly died.”
“A motorbike rider followed me, hit my vehicle from behind… throwing me off my vehicle. Without my protection helmet which is now dismantled and flattened, I would have died today.”
“I had to apply bandage to my injuries, my hand is also injured requiring bandage,” he noted.
“I have often been followed, even kidnapped by the police… but today was horrifying, we can say in Vietnam today, those who engage in independent journalism or speak out for [independent] civil society, democracy and human rights, are facing a lot of risks and danger.”
The assault of Mr. Dung is one of many attacks of police and plainclothes agents against political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
In its report “No Country for Human Rights Activists: Assaults on Bloggers and Democracy Campaigners in Vietnam” released in mid June, Human Rights Watch documented 36 incidents in which unknown men in civilian clothes beat rights campaigners and bloggers between January 2015 and April 2017, often resulting in serious injuries. Many victims reported that beatings occurred in the presence of uniformed police who did nothing to intervene, said the New York-based right group.
IJAVN’s website Thoibaovietnam.org is providing many articles not censored by the government with independent views on different issues of the country, many of them are critical to the communist government.
Mr. Dung and many other members of IJAVN have been subjects of intimidation and persecution from security forces who have carried out a number of measures such physical attacks, arbitrary detentions, police summoning, international travel ban and placement under house arrest to harass local activists.
Vietnam is among the world’s biggest prison for journalists, holding ten journalists and bloggers due to their journalism activities, according to the Reporters Without Borders.
===== December 19 =====
Nguyen Van Duc Do Claims He Is Wrongly Charged with Subversion
Defend the Defenders: Ho Chi Minh City-based resident Nguyen Van Duc Do has claimed that he is wrongly arrested and charged with “Carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code.
Do, who was arrested on November 6 last year when he visited the private residence of pro-democracy activist Luu Van Vinh in HCM City, made this claim while met with his lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng last week in Chi Hoa detention facility managed by the city’s police.
Both Vinh and Do were beaten upon the arrest.
Do, an electrician worker, is a friend of Vinh, who is founder of the Coalition for Self-determined Vietnamese People but left the organization several days before being arrested. He often visited local activists to help them fix technical failures.
Do told lawyer Mieng that he has conducted no political activities and it is not true that he is a vice president of the Coalition for Self-determined Vietnamese People which aims to end the communists’ political monopoly.
“I am just a technician having good relationship with some activists including Vinh,” Do said.
Mr. Vinh confirmed the claim of his friend.
Meanwhile, Vinh also rejected the accusation that he is trying to overthrow the government, saying his activities are in line with the citizens’ rights enshrined in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
Discussion about the country’s issues cannot be considered subversion, Vinh said.
Meanwhile, HCM City’s police ended their investigation on the case and handed the case to the city’s People’s Procuracy, advising to prosecute them under Clause 1 of Article 79.
The clause states “Organizers, instigators and active participants or those who cause serious consequences shall be sentenced to between twelve and twenty years of imprisonment, life imprisonment or capital punishment.”
Vinh and Do are expected to be tried in coming months, and they will face heavy sentences given the ongoing crackdown on local activists.
Vietnam has arrested, tried or expelled abroad 25 activists so far this year. Many activists were sentenced to between five and ten years in prison on charge of anti-state activities under national security provisions of the Penal Code.
===== December 20 =====
Private Residence of Catholic Priest Attacked with Dirty Mess, Other Activists under House Arrest Few Days ahead of Christmas Day
Defend the Defenders: The private residence of Catholic priest Phan Van Loi in Vietnam’s central city of Hue has been attacked with dirty mess while many other activists in different localities have been placed under house arrest few days ahead of Christmas Day.
Outspoken priest Loi told Defend the Defenders that his private house was thrown with a mess made from decaying shrimp paste and oil lubricant waste during the night of December 19.
This is the fourth attacks with dirty substances against him in the past two years. The attacks were likely committed by local security agents who allegedly filled his locks with glue six times in a bid to prevent him from going out in recent years.
Meanwhile, many activists from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong reported that local authorities have sent plainclothes agents to their private residences, effectively placing them de facto under house arrest.
Hanoi-based writer Nguyen Tuong Thuy, vice president of the unsanctioned Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), said a group of four plainclothes agents blocked him when he tried to get in a taxi near his house in Thanh Tri district. When he filmed them, some of them tried to rob his camera.
Mr. Thuy said he was invited to attend a meeting in the Thai Ha Redemptory Church organized by the church leadership and local activists.
It is unclear why authorities are trying to block activists from going out. Someone suggested that their moves are related to the upcoming Christmas Celebration while other linked the house arrests with the appeal hearing of human rights activist Tran Thi Nga, who was convicted guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison and five years under house arrest on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code.
Earlier this week, prominent lawyer and former prisoner of conscience Le Cong Dinh said he was closely followed by plainclothes agents while IJAVN’s President Pham Chi Dung said secret police tried to assassinate him with an organized traffic accident when he travelled by a motorbike. Dung escaped the death thanks to his helmet but suffered severe injuries in his arms, hands and legs.
In order to keep the country under one-party regime amid increasing social dissatisfaction, Vietnam’s government has intensified crackdown on local political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
Vietnam has arrested, tried or expelled to foreign countries 25activists so far this year. Five activists were convicted with heavy sentences from five years to ten years in prison while 18 others were arrested and charged with controversial articles 79 and 88 of the Penal Code.
Five Vietnamese activists were arrested in 2015-2016 but still held in pre-trial detention without being tried. Prominent human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha are among them.
Hundreds of other activists have been arbitrarily detained, beaten by plainclothes agents or placed under house arrest in 2017. Private residences of many activists have been attacked with dirty mess.
——————–
Police Kidnap Wife of Former Prisoner of Conscience, Robbing Her After Hours of Interrogation
Defend the Defenders: Former prisoner of conscience Vi Duc Hoi from Vietnam’s northern province of Lang Son reported that his wife has been kidnapped, interrogated and robbed by local police.
Mr. Hoi, who was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to five years in prison and three years under house arrest on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code a year later, said his wife was detained by a group of people who introduced themselves as officers from the Ministry of Public Security when she went out of a bank where she withdrew VND4.5 million (around $200).
The kidnappers took her to a police station in Huu Lung district where they confiscated her money and interrogated her for hours about the sender.
After holding her nearly three hours, the kidnappers released her at 7 PM of Wednesday, said Mr. Hoi, who is a former communist member and ex-head of the communist party’s school in the province but was fired after publicly called for multi-party democracy.
Since being release in October 2015, Mr. Hoi has been under close surveillance of the local police. On May 19, police in Hanoi detained him when he went to the capital city to meet with local activists. He was deported to his native Huu Lung district after being held in hours in police station in Hanoi.
Robbing money from relatives of activists is common act of Vietnam’s security forces. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lanh, the wife of imprisoned pro-democracy activist Nguyen Trung Ton said she was also robbed by police in Thanh Hoa province after she withdrew from a bank.
Vietnam has little tolerance to government critics. Local security forces have persecuted, harassed and intimidated activists and their relatives.
===== December 21 =====
Five Vietnamese Activists Convicted of Anti-state Propaganda, Sentenced to Total 19 Years in Prison
Defend the Defenders: On December 21, the People’s Court in Vietnam’s southern province of An Giang convicted five activists of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code, giving them total 19 years in prison, state media reported today.
Particularly, Mr. Nguyen Tan An, 25, was sentenced to five years in prison, Ms. Huynh Thi Kim Quyen, 38, and Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quy, 25, to four years in jail each, and Mr. Pham Van Trong, 23, and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, 23, to three years in prison each. All of them will have to be in two years of probation after completing the jail sentences.
According to the indictment, the five activists were accused of making and populizing the flags of the Vietnam Republic which ruled the southern country before being overtaken by the communist troops in 1975.
The group was said to produce and disseminate “toxic messages” to defame the ruling communist party and its government on social networks, including Facebook before being arrested in early May this year.
State media said they admitted their wrongdoings so the court gave them the light sentences, adding that people who are charged with “anti-state propaganda” face imprisonment of between seven and 20 years in prison if convicted.
The arrests and conviction of the group are part of Vietnam’s intensified crackdown on local political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has arrested at least 24 activists and sentenced ten activists to between three and ten years in prison. Prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh or Mother Mushroom, land rights activist Tran Thi Nga, blogger Nguyen Van Hoa and anti-corruption activist Phan Kim Khanh are among sentenced.
Many activists have been arrested and charged with serious and controversial articles 88 and 79 (subversion) in the national security provision of the Penal Code. Five activists namely Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Thu Ha, Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do and Ho Hai were arrested in 2015-2016 but still held in pre-trial detention without being tried.
In addition, Vietnam has also expelled two pro-democracy activists Pham Minh Hoang and Dang Xuan Dieu to France.
===== December 22 =====
Vietnam Rejects Appeal of Human Rights Activist Tran Thi Nga, Sending Her Back to Prison
Defend the Defenders: The Hanoi Higher People’s Court has rejected the appeal of well-known human rights campaigner Tran Thi Nga, upholding the sentence of nine years in prison and five years of probation given by the lower court in late July on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
The one-day appeal hearing in the northern province of Ha Nam on December 22 failed to meet international standards for fair trial as the trial held by the People’s Court of Ha Nam province did on July 25, said lawyer Ha Huy Son, who defended Ms. Nga in the trial and in the appeal hearing.
Noticing examiners of the case evidences were absent, the Hanoi-based lawyer proposed the judge to postpone the hearing, however, the judge rejected his proposal.
Her lawyers also recognized inconsistence of statements of witnesses who provided unfavorable evidences for her in the trial and the hearing. However, their findings were not respected by the judge.
The appeal hearing was held without presence of the defendants’ relatives and friends as well as foreign observers. Authorities in Ha Nam deployed a large number of police, plainclothes agents and militia to block all the roads leading to the court room.
Police also detained a dozen of activists coming from Hanoi to support Ms. Nga, holding them in a local police station until the end of the appeal hearing. Activists Mai Phuong Thao (Facebook account Thao Theresa), Trinh Dinh Hoa and Truong Dung were brutally beaten by a group of around ten police officers in custody who also robbed their belongings, including six smart phones and three wallets and their ID cards.
Many activists in other localities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh were placed under house arrest today, Facebookers said.
One day prior to the appeal hearing, the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch called on Vietnam to release Ms. Nga immediately and unconditionally. “Instead of engaging in discussions with critics, the government is increasingly using harsh sentences and abusive treatment to stifle dissent,” said Brad Adams, Asia director.
Ms. Nga was a migrant worker in Taiwan. While working there, she assisted Vietnamese workers to demand Vietnamese brokers to take responsibility to ensure the rights of migrant workers.
Upon her return to Vietnam, about ten years ago, she assisted land petitioners who lost their land due to illegal seizure from local authorities.
She also participated in many anti-China demonstrations in Hanoi from 2011 to 2016 to protest China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), as well as in peaceful gatherings to demand multi-party democracy.
Due to her activities, Vietnam’s communist government, particularly authorities in Ha Nam province constantly harassed and persecuted her and her two children. She was detained many times and was placed under de facto house arrest for most of the last two years.
In May 2014, she was attacked by plainclothes agents in Hanoi who broke her right leg and caused a number of severe injuries to her body.
Police in Ha Nam also targeted her kids, throwing dirty sauce containing decaying shrimp at them. Her private residence in Phu Ly city was attacked with paint and dirty substances many times.
Despite government intimidation and assault, Nga has continued to speak out against political injustices and broader state violence. She is part of a growing community of Vietnamese bloggers using Facebook and YouTube to foster political activism and solidarity, many of whom have been detained under vague national security laws as part of the government’s ongoing crackdown on free speech.
Ms. Nga is among six distinguished women human rights activists in Southeast Asia the London-based NGO Amnesty International recognized their works on the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8) this year. Nga, Sirikan Charoensiri from Thailand, Maria Chin Abdullah from Malaysia, Tep Vanny from Cambodia, Leila de Lima from Philippines and Wai Wai Nuwho from Myanmar have faced harassment, threats, imprisonment, and violence for standing up for human rights in the region.
Since her arrest on January 21 this year, Nga has not been permitted to meet with her relatives, including her two kids at four and seven.
After her arrest, many foreign democratic governments and a number of international human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders called on Vietnam’s communist government to immediately and unconditionally release her and other activists who have been imprisoned just because of exercising the right of freedom of expression which is enshrined in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
The arrest and conviction of Nga are part of Vietnam’s ongoing crackdown on local dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has arrested at least 24 activists and sentenced ten activists to between three and ten years in prison. Prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh or Mother Mushroom, land rights activist Tran Thi Nga, blogger Nguyen Van Hoa and anti-corruption activist Phan Kim Khanh are among sentenced.
Many activists have been arrested and charged with serious and controversial articles 88 and 79 (subversion) in the national security provision of the Penal Code. Five activists namely Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Thu Ha, Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do and Ho Hai were arrested in 2015-2016 but still held in pre-trial detention without being tried.
On December 21, Vietnam convicted five activists from the southern province of An Giang on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda,” giving them total 19 years in prison and ten years under house arrest. The group was said to hang flags of the Southern Vietnam, a regime ruled the southern country but overtaken by communist troops in 1975.
“Tran Thi Nga and other Vietnamese activists put themselves at grave risk to speak out against rights violations happening in their country,” said Brad Adams from Human Rights Watch. “Vietnam’s friends and donors need to honor their fight by pushing for their unconditional release,” he said.
Vietnam has little tolerance to government critics. According to Human Rights Watch, the communist government holds over 100 political prisoners while Defend the Defenders, BPSOS and 13 other partners recently released a list of 165 prisoners of conscience on their Now! Campaign.
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December 24, 2017
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly December 18-24, 2017: Vietnam Upholds 9-year Sentence of Human Rights Defender Tran Thi Nga
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | December 24, 2017
On December 22, the Higher Court of Hanoi rejected the appeal of human rights campaigner and one of the most anti-China protestors Tran Thi Nga, upholding her sentence of nine years in prison and five years under house arrest afterward given by the People’s Court of Ha Nam in late July on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
Similar to the trial on July 25, her relatives were not allowed to enter the courtroom while activists coming to support her were detained by security forces who were deployed to block all roads leading to the court area in Phu Ly city. At the hearing, the judge ignored the defense statement presented by his lawyers while Nga claimed that she is innocent.
In custody, police officers brutally beat three Hanoi-based activists Truong Van Dung, Trinh Dinh Hoa and Mai Phuong Thao, and robbed their belongings, including smartphones and IDs.
One day earlier, the People’s Court in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang convicted a group of five activists on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88, giving them total 19 years in prison and ten years of probation for hanging the flag of the U.S.-backed Southern Vietnam which ruled the southern country before falling to the communist troops in 1975.
During the week, many activists from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh and other localities complained that they were placed under house arrest as local authorities want to prevent them from gathering on the Christmas Day and going to Ha Nam province to support Ms. Nga.
President Pham Chi Dung of the unsanctioned Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam narrowly escaped death from a traffic accident which was likely organized by plainclothes.
Security forces in Lang Son kidnapped the wife of former prisoner of conscience Vi Duc Hoi after she withdrew money from a local bank, taking her to a police station where they robbed her and interrogated her for hours. They released her without returning her money of around VND4.5 million ($200).
Plainclothes agents in the central city of Hue also threw dirty mess to the private house of Catholic priest Phan Van Loi, who has been under police persecution for years.
===== December 17 =====
President of Unsanctioned Independent Journalists Association Attacked, Escaping Death in Traffic Accident
Defend the Defenders: Dr. Pham Chi Dung, president of the unsanctioned Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) has escaped death in a traffic accident intentionally caused by plainclothes agents.
The incident occurred at around 7 PM of Sunday (December 17) when Mr. Dung travelled on his motorbike near his private residence in Ho Chi Minh City.
Dung, a former government official, said a guy on another motorbike followed him, hitting his motorbike and running away. The attack made Dung’s motorbike collapsed on a street and he suffered many injuries on his left arm, two hands and legs.
Dr. Dung told Defend the Defenders that his helmet saved him.
“Today, I felt as though I had been followed… After having a telephone conversation with an international media outlet, on my way home, I nearly died.”
“A motorbike rider followed me, hit my vehicle from behind… throwing me off my vehicle. Without my protection helmet which is now dismantled and flattened, I would have died today.”
“I had to apply bandage to my injuries, my hand is also injured requiring bandage,” he noted.
“I have often been followed, even kidnapped by the police… but today was horrifying, we can say in Vietnam today, those who engage in independent journalism or speak out for [independent] civil society, democracy and human rights, are facing a lot of risks and danger.”
The assault of Mr. Dung is one of many attacks of police and plainclothes agents against political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
In its report “No Country for Human Rights Activists: Assaults on Bloggers and Democracy Campaigners in Vietnam” released in mid June, Human Rights Watch documented 36 incidents in which unknown men in civilian clothes beat rights campaigners and bloggers between January 2015 and April 2017, often resulting in serious injuries. Many victims reported that beatings occurred in the presence of uniformed police who did nothing to intervene, said the New York-based right group.
IJAVN’s website Thoibaovietnam.org is providing many articles not censored by the government with independent views on different issues of the country, many of them are critical to the communist government.
Mr. Dung and many other members of IJAVN have been subjects of intimidation and persecution from security forces who have carried out a number of measures such physical attacks, arbitrary detentions, police summoning, international travel ban and placement under house arrest to harass local activists.
Vietnam is among the world’s biggest prison for journalists, holding ten journalists and bloggers due to their journalism activities, according to the Reporters Without Borders.
===== December 19 =====
Nguyen Van Duc Do Claims He Is Wrongly Charged with Subversion
Defend the Defenders: Ho Chi Minh City-based resident Nguyen Van Duc Do has claimed that he is wrongly arrested and charged with “Carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code.
Do, who was arrested on November 6 last year when he visited the private residence of pro-democracy activist Luu Van Vinh in HCM City, made this claim while met with his lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng last week in Chi Hoa detention facility managed by the city’s police.
Both Vinh and Do were beaten upon the arrest.
Do, an electrician worker, is a friend of Vinh, who is founder of the Coalition for Self-determined Vietnamese People but left the organization several days before being arrested. He often visited local activists to help them fix technical failures.
Do told lawyer Mieng that he has conducted no political activities and it is not true that he is a vice president of the Coalition for Self-determined Vietnamese People which aims to end the communists’ political monopoly.
“I am just a technician having good relationship with some activists including Vinh,” Do said.
Mr. Vinh confirmed the claim of his friend.
Meanwhile, Vinh also rejected the accusation that he is trying to overthrow the government, saying his activities are in line with the citizens’ rights enshrined in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
Discussion about the country’s issues cannot be considered subversion, Vinh said.
Meanwhile, HCM City’s police ended their investigation on the case and handed the case to the city’s People’s Procuracy, advising to prosecute them under Clause 1 of Article 79.
The clause states “Organizers, instigators and active participants or those who cause serious consequences shall be sentenced to between twelve and twenty years of imprisonment, life imprisonment or capital punishment.”
Vinh and Do are expected to be tried in coming months, and they will face heavy sentences given the ongoing crackdown on local activists.
Vietnam has arrested, tried or expelled abroad 25 activists so far this year. Many activists were sentenced to between five and ten years in prison on charge of anti-state activities under national security provisions of the Penal Code.
===== December 20 =====
Private Residence of Catholic Priest Attacked with Dirty Mess, Other Activists under House Arrest Few Days ahead of Christmas Day
Defend the Defenders: The private residence of Catholic priest Phan Van Loi in Vietnam’s central city of Hue has been attacked with dirty mess while many other activists in different localities have been placed under house arrest few days ahead of Christmas Day.
Outspoken priest Loi told Defend the Defenders that his private house was thrown with a mess made from decaying shrimp paste and oil lubricant waste during the night of December 19.
This is the fourth attacks with dirty substances against him in the past two years. The attacks were likely committed by local security agents who allegedly filled his locks with glue six times in a bid to prevent him from going out in recent years.
Meanwhile, many activists from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong reported that local authorities have sent plainclothes agents to their private residences, effectively placing them de facto under house arrest.
Hanoi-based writer Nguyen Tuong Thuy, vice president of the unsanctioned Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), said a group of four plainclothes agents blocked him when he tried to get in a taxi near his house in Thanh Tri district. When he filmed them, some of them tried to rob his camera.
Mr. Thuy said he was invited to attend a meeting in the Thai Ha Redemptory Church organized by the church leadership and local activists.
It is unclear why authorities are trying to block activists from going out. Someone suggested that their moves are related to the upcoming Christmas Celebration while other linked the house arrests with the appeal hearing of human rights activist Tran Thi Nga, who was convicted guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison and five years under house arrest on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code.
Earlier this week, prominent lawyer and former prisoner of conscience Le Cong Dinh said he was closely followed by plainclothes agents while IJAVN’s President Pham Chi Dung said secret police tried to assassinate him with an organized traffic accident when he travelled by a motorbike. Dung escaped the death thanks to his helmet but suffered severe injuries in his arms, hands and legs.
In order to keep the country under one-party regime amid increasing social dissatisfaction, Vietnam’s government has intensified crackdown on local political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
Vietnam has arrested, tried or expelled to foreign countries 25activists so far this year. Five activists were convicted with heavy sentences from five years to ten years in prison while 18 others were arrested and charged with controversial articles 79 and 88 of the Penal Code.
Five Vietnamese activists were arrested in 2015-2016 but still held in pre-trial detention without being tried. Prominent human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha are among them.
Hundreds of other activists have been arbitrarily detained, beaten by plainclothes agents or placed under house arrest in 2017. Private residences of many activists have been attacked with dirty mess.
——————–
Police Kidnap Wife of Former Prisoner of Conscience, Robbing Her After Hours of Interrogation
Defend the Defenders: Former prisoner of conscience Vi Duc Hoi from Vietnam’s northern province of Lang Son reported that his wife has been kidnapped, interrogated and robbed by local police.
Mr. Hoi, who was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to five years in prison and three years under house arrest on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code a year later, said his wife was detained by a group of people who introduced themselves as officers from the Ministry of Public Security when she went out of a bank where she withdrew VND4.5 million (around $200).
The kidnappers took her to a police station in Huu Lung district where they confiscated her money and interrogated her for hours about the sender.
After holding her nearly three hours, the kidnappers released her at 7 PM of Wednesday, said Mr. Hoi, who is a former communist member and ex-head of the communist party’s school in the province but was fired after publicly called for multi-party democracy.
Since being release in October 2015, Mr. Hoi has been under close surveillance of the local police. On May 19, police in Hanoi detained him when he went to the capital city to meet with local activists. He was deported to his native Huu Lung district after being held in hours in police station in Hanoi.
Robbing money from relatives of activists is common act of Vietnam’s security forces. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lanh, the wife of imprisoned pro-democracy activist Nguyen Trung Ton said she was also robbed by police in Thanh Hoa province after she withdrew from a bank.
Vietnam has little tolerance to government critics. Local security forces have persecuted, harassed and intimidated activists and their relatives.
===== December 21 =====
Five Vietnamese Activists Convicted of Anti-state Propaganda, Sentenced to Total 19 Years in Prison
Defend the Defenders: On December 21, the People’s Court in Vietnam’s southern province of An Giang convicted five activists of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code, giving them total 19 years in prison, state media reported today.
Particularly, Mr. Nguyen Tan An, 25, was sentenced to five years in prison, Ms. Huynh Thi Kim Quyen, 38, and Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quy, 25, to four years in jail each, and Mr. Pham Van Trong, 23, and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, 23, to three years in prison each. All of them will have to be in two years of probation after completing the jail sentences.
According to the indictment, the five activists were accused of making and populizing the flags of the Vietnam Republic which ruled the southern country before being overtaken by the communist troops in 1975.
The group was said to produce and disseminate “toxic messages” to defame the ruling communist party and its government on social networks, including Facebook before being arrested in early May this year.
State media said they admitted their wrongdoings so the court gave them the light sentences, adding that people who are charged with “anti-state propaganda” face imprisonment of between seven and 20 years in prison if convicted.
The arrests and conviction of the group are part of Vietnam’s intensified crackdown on local political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has arrested at least 24 activists and sentenced ten activists to between three and ten years in prison. Prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh or Mother Mushroom, land rights activist Tran Thi Nga, blogger Nguyen Van Hoa and anti-corruption activist Phan Kim Khanh are among sentenced.
Many activists have been arrested and charged with serious and controversial articles 88 and 79 (subversion) in the national security provision of the Penal Code. Five activists namely Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Thu Ha, Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do and Ho Hai were arrested in 2015-2016 but still held in pre-trial detention without being tried.
In addition, Vietnam has also expelled two pro-democracy activists Pham Minh Hoang and Dang Xuan Dieu to France.
===== December 22 =====
Vietnam Rejects Appeal of Human Rights Activist Tran Thi Nga, Sending Her Back to Prison
Defend the Defenders: The Hanoi Higher People’s Court has rejected the appeal of well-known human rights campaigner Tran Thi Nga, upholding the sentence of nine years in prison and five years of probation given by the lower court in late July on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
The one-day appeal hearing in the northern province of Ha Nam on December 22 failed to meet international standards for fair trial as the trial held by the People’s Court of Ha Nam province did on July 25, said lawyer Ha Huy Son, who defended Ms. Nga in the trial and in the appeal hearing.
Noticing examiners of the case evidences were absent, the Hanoi-based lawyer proposed the judge to postpone the hearing, however, the judge rejected his proposal.
Her lawyers also recognized inconsistence of statements of witnesses who provided unfavorable evidences for her in the trial and the hearing. However, their findings were not respected by the judge.
The appeal hearing was held without presence of the defendants’ relatives and friends as well as foreign observers. Authorities in Ha Nam deployed a large number of police, plainclothes agents and militia to block all the roads leading to the court room.
Police also detained a dozen of activists coming from Hanoi to support Ms. Nga, holding them in a local police station until the end of the appeal hearing. Activists Mai Phuong Thao (Facebook account Thao Theresa), Trinh Dinh Hoa and Truong Dung were brutally beaten by a group of around ten police officers in custody who also robbed their belongings, including six smart phones and three wallets and their ID cards.
Many activists in other localities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh were placed under house arrest today, Facebookers said.
One day prior to the appeal hearing, the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch called on Vietnam to release Ms. Nga immediately and unconditionally. “Instead of engaging in discussions with critics, the government is increasingly using harsh sentences and abusive treatment to stifle dissent,” said Brad Adams, Asia director.
Ms. Nga was a migrant worker in Taiwan. While working there, she assisted Vietnamese workers to demand Vietnamese brokers to take responsibility to ensure the rights of migrant workers.
Upon her return to Vietnam, about ten years ago, she assisted land petitioners who lost their land due to illegal seizure from local authorities.
She also participated in many anti-China demonstrations in Hanoi from 2011 to 2016 to protest China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), as well as in peaceful gatherings to demand multi-party democracy.
Due to her activities, Vietnam’s communist government, particularly authorities in Ha Nam province constantly harassed and persecuted her and her two children. She was detained many times and was placed under de facto house arrest for most of the last two years.
In May 2014, she was attacked by plainclothes agents in Hanoi who broke her right leg and caused a number of severe injuries to her body.
Police in Ha Nam also targeted her kids, throwing dirty sauce containing decaying shrimp at them. Her private residence in Phu Ly city was attacked with paint and dirty substances many times.
Despite government intimidation and assault, Nga has continued to speak out against political injustices and broader state violence. She is part of a growing community of Vietnamese bloggers using Facebook and YouTube to foster political activism and solidarity, many of whom have been detained under vague national security laws as part of the government’s ongoing crackdown on free speech.
Ms. Nga is among six distinguished women human rights activists in Southeast Asia the London-based NGO Amnesty International recognized their works on the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8) this year. Nga, Sirikan Charoensiri from Thailand, Maria Chin Abdullah from Malaysia, Tep Vanny from Cambodia, Leila de Lima from Philippines and Wai Wai Nuwho from Myanmar have faced harassment, threats, imprisonment, and violence for standing up for human rights in the region.
Since her arrest on January 21 this year, Nga has not been permitted to meet with her relatives, including her two kids at four and seven.
After her arrest, many foreign democratic governments and a number of international human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders called on Vietnam’s communist government to immediately and unconditionally release her and other activists who have been imprisoned just because of exercising the right of freedom of expression which is enshrined in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
The arrest and conviction of Nga are part of Vietnam’s ongoing crackdown on local dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and online bloggers.
Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has arrested at least 24 activists and sentenced ten activists to between three and ten years in prison. Prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh or Mother Mushroom, land rights activist Tran Thi Nga, blogger Nguyen Van Hoa and anti-corruption activist Phan Kim Khanh are among sentenced.
Many activists have been arrested and charged with serious and controversial articles 88 and 79 (subversion) in the national security provision of the Penal Code. Five activists namely Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Thu Ha, Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do and Ho Hai were arrested in 2015-2016 but still held in pre-trial detention without being tried.
On December 21, Vietnam convicted five activists from the southern province of An Giang on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda,” giving them total 19 years in prison and ten years under house arrest. The group was said to hang flags of the Southern Vietnam, a regime ruled the southern country but overtaken by communist troops in 1975.
“Tran Thi Nga and other Vietnamese activists put themselves at grave risk to speak out against rights violations happening in their country,” said Brad Adams from Human Rights Watch. “Vietnam’s friends and donors need to honor their fight by pushing for their unconditional release,” he said.
Vietnam has little tolerance to government critics. According to Human Rights Watch, the communist government holds over 100 political prisoners while Defend the Defenders, BPSOS and 13 other partners recently released a list of 165 prisoners of conscience on their Now! Campaign.
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