December 12, 2014

Vietnam Court Upholds Jail Sentence for Well-known Anti-China Activist

by • Bui Thi Minh Hang

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by Vu Quoc Ngu, Dec 12, 2014
Defend the Defenders
The People’s Court in Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Thap on Dec 12 rejected appeals of Bui Thi Minh Hang, a well-known land rights advocate and anti-China activist, and upheld a three-year imprisonment for her for bogus traffic allegation.
bui thi minh hangMs. Hang, one of the leading figures in demonstrations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the 2011-2013 period against the Chinese violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, was arrested in February this year, together with two other activists named Nguyen Van Minh and Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh when they were on their way to visit former political prisoner Nguyen Bac Truyen in Dong Thap province.
The trio was accused of causing public disorder under Article 245 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, and the trial hearing in August found them guilty. Hang was sentenced to three years in jail while Minh and Quynh received respective 30 months and 24 months in prison.
The Friday court announced its decision afternoon. Similar to the trial hearing, relatives of the trio were not allowed to enter the courtroom while outside of the court, security forces detained dozens of social activists coming from other localities to support the trio.
The court’s final decision matched with earlier predictions of local observers who said Vietnam’s government has launched crackdown on political dissidents and social activists ahead of the ruling communist party’s National Conference slated in 2016. In the first week of December, Vietnam arrested two bloggers Hong Le Tho and Nguyen Quang Lap, who have posted articles condemning China’s aggressive moves in the East Sea.
Ms. Hang’s case attracted international attention. According to international human rights bodies, the case is politically motivated, aiming to suppress social activists who have voiced against corruption, economic mismanagement and weak response against the Chinese violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
Ms. Hang was arrested two times in 2011. In August, she was detained for participating in protests against China for cutting cables of state-run PetroVietnam’s ship in the country’s exclusive economic zone in the East Sea. Three months later, she was arrested against and held in re-educational facility where the government holds criminals and sex workers until April next year due to strong protest of social activists and foreign pressure.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of the Human Rights Watch, said that the Vietnamese government is now resorting to bogus traffic offenses to criminally prosecute activists.

In one-party Vietnam, the communist government has tolerated any criticism which challenges the communist political monopoly.

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