Twenty defendants stand trial for their role in large-scale protests at a courtroom in Bien Hoa city, July 30, 2018
Defend the Defenders, October 23, 2018
On November 9, the People’s Court of Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai will hold the appeal hearing of 15 protesters who were convicted by a lower court in late July on alleged disturbing public orders, Defend the Defenders has learned from Ho Chi Minh City-based lawyer Dang Dinh Manh, who defends them in both hearings.
The defendants were among 20 peaceful demonstrators arrested on June 10 while participating in the mass demonstration in Bien Hoa city to protest the Vietnamese parliament’s plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. They were accused of causing public disorders under Article 318 of the country’s Penal Code 2015.
On July 30, in the first-instance hearing, the People’s Court of Bien Hoa city found them guilty, sentencing 15 of them to between eight and 18 months in prison. Five protestors were given probation of one year and they have not appealed the court’s decision.
The police of Bien Hoa city reportedly confiscated cell phones and motorbikes and other items of the defendants.
After the trial, police had reportedly threatened the convicted protesters, saying they should not appeal the court’s decision, otherwise they would receive harder punishment.
The convicted protesters in Dong Nai are among hundreds of Vietnamese people arrested during and after the mass protest with the participation of tens of thousands of people in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Nha Trang, Binh Thuan and other localities to challenge government plans to grant long-term leases for foreign companies operating in special economic zones (SEZs) and the adoption of a controversial Cyber Security law. The protests prompted clashes with police that saw demonstrators beaten and an unknown number detained.
Since July, Vietnam has convicted nearly 70 mid-June protesters, sentencing 59 of them to between eight and 54 months in prison and giving eight others probation of between five months and two years.
Amnesty International has called on Vietnam’s government to release all people who joined the peaceful protest on June 10, including the people convicted in the July 30 trial by the People’s Court of Bien Hoa city, return all property belonging to protesters which was confiscated by the police or court, apologize to the protesters, and compensate protesters who have been illegally detained. The London-based right group also called on Vietnam’s National Assembly, a rubber-stamp parliament, to ensure that legal protections for demonstrators are upheld, according to stipulations in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
The convicted mid-June protesters were considered as prisoners of conscience by Now!Campaign, a coalition of 14 domestic and international NGOs, including Defend the Defenders, BPSOS, Civil Rights Defenders and Front Line Defenders. The coalition also says Vietnam is holding around 250 prisoners of conscience now.
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October 23, 2018
Appeal of 15 Mid-June Protesters Convicted in Late July Set to Be on November 9
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
Twenty defendants stand trial for their role in large-scale protests at a courtroom in Bien Hoa city, July 30, 2018
Defend the Defenders, October 23, 2018
On November 9, the People’s Court of Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai will hold the appeal hearing of 15 protesters who were convicted by a lower court in late July on alleged disturbing public orders, Defend the Defenders has learned from Ho Chi Minh City-based lawyer Dang Dinh Manh, who defends them in both hearings.
The defendants were among 20 peaceful demonstrators arrested on June 10 while participating in the mass demonstration in Bien Hoa city to protest the Vietnamese parliament’s plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. They were accused of causing public disorders under Article 318 of the country’s Penal Code 2015.
On July 30, in the first-instance hearing, the People’s Court of Bien Hoa city found them guilty, sentencing 15 of them to between eight and 18 months in prison. Five protestors were given probation of one year and they have not appealed the court’s decision.
The police of Bien Hoa city reportedly confiscated cell phones and motorbikes and other items of the defendants.
After the trial, police had reportedly threatened the convicted protesters, saying they should not appeal the court’s decision, otherwise they would receive harder punishment.
The convicted protesters in Dong Nai are among hundreds of Vietnamese people arrested during and after the mass protest with the participation of tens of thousands of people in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Nha Trang, Binh Thuan and other localities to challenge government plans to grant long-term leases for foreign companies operating in special economic zones (SEZs) and the adoption of a controversial Cyber Security law. The protests prompted clashes with police that saw demonstrators beaten and an unknown number detained.
Since July, Vietnam has convicted nearly 70 mid-June protesters, sentencing 59 of them to between eight and 54 months in prison and giving eight others probation of between five months and two years.
Amnesty International has called on Vietnam’s government to release all people who joined the peaceful protest on June 10, including the people convicted in the July 30 trial by the People’s Court of Bien Hoa city, return all property belonging to protesters which was confiscated by the police or court, apologize to the protesters, and compensate protesters who have been illegally detained. The London-based right group also called on Vietnam’s National Assembly, a rubber-stamp parliament, to ensure that legal protections for demonstrators are upheld, according to stipulations in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
The convicted mid-June protesters were considered as prisoners of conscience by Now!Campaign, a coalition of 14 domestic and international NGOs, including Defend the Defenders, BPSOS, Civil Rights Defenders and Front Line Defenders. The coalition also says Vietnam is holding around 250 prisoners of conscience now.