Defend the Defenders | September 15, 2019
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has honored Vietnamese prominent dissident and political blogger Pham Doan Trang with its 2019 Press Freedom Prize for her contribution to promote journalistic freedom. Ms. Trang was awarded RSF’s Prize for Impact in absentia for her work which “has led to concrete improvements in journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism, or to an increase in awareness of these matters.”
As Trang could not leave the country for security reason, her fellow, Trinh Huu Long, co-founder of the civil society organization Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV), accepted RSF’s Prize For Courage on Trang’s behalf in the ceremony in Berlin on September 12.
Inits annual report released on September 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has listed Vietnam among the top ten most censored nations in the world. The list of 10 Most Censored Countries is based on CPJ’s research into the censorship tactics used by authoritarian governments, ranging from imprisonment and repressive laws to surveillance of journalists and restrictions on internet and social media access.Other countries in the group are North Korea,Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus, and Cuba.
On September 5, the People’s Court of Ninh Binh convicted local Facebooker Le Van Sinh of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the country’s Penal Code for his online posts which were considered defaming the local government and its officials. The 54-year-old Facebooker, who was arrested on February 15, was sentenced to five years in prison.
So far this year, Vietnam has convicted 21 activists and bloggers and sentenced them to a total 99 years and six months in prison for their online posts or peaceful activities to protect human rights, political rights and against systemic corruption.
According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding 239 prisoners of conscience, 28 of them are in pre-trial detention and three of them are under unknown situation.
===== September 9 =====
Vietnamese Facebooker Sentenced to Five Years in Jail for Defaming State Officials
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Ninh Binh have convicted local Facebooker Le Van Sinh of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the country’s Penal Code for his online posts which were considered defaming the local government and its officials.
In the first-instance hearing on September 5, the People’s Court of Ninh Binh sentenced the 54-year-old Facebooker to five years in prison, the local media reported.
He is accused of using his Facebook account to disseminate a number of articles during the period between May 2018 and mid-February 2019 with the content “distorts” officials from Hoa Lu district and provincial departments as well as policies of the government.
Citing the court’s judgement, the local media said he has violated the Law on Cyber Security which became effective in the beginning of this year.
Mr. Sinh is among 21 activists and Facebookers being sentenced for their peaceful activities to a total 99 years and six months in prison from early 2019.
Vietnam is among the most repressive countries in the world. In its annual report released on September 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the Southeast Asian nation, together with Saudi Arabia, China, and Iran combine traditional censorship tactics such as imprisoning and harassing journalists with the use of sophisticated surveillance technology and targeted online campaigns to silence the independent press.
In its 2019 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Vietnam at 176th out of 180 countries.
===== September 10 =====
VietnamListed among top CPJ’s 10 MostCensored Countries
In its annual report released on September 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has listed Vietnam among the top ten most censored nations in the world.
The list of 10 Most Censored Countries is based on CPJ’s research into the censorship tactics used by authoritarian governments, ranging from imprisonment and repressive laws to surveillance of journalists and restrictions on internet and social media access.
Vietnamis in the group which consists of North Korea,Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus, and Cuba. CPJsaid these countries flout international freedom of expression norms and guarantees by jailing reporters, using the state media as a mouthpiece for the regime, and forcing independent journalists into exile. Self-censorship is pervasive.
Vietnam, as well as Saudi Arabia, China, and Iran, combinestraditional censorship tactics such as imprisoning and harassing journalists with the use of sophisticated surveillance technology and targeted online campaigns to silence the independent press, said the New York-based right group.
“The internet was supposed to make censorship obsolete, but that hasn’t happened. Many of the world’s most censored countries are highly wired, with active online communities. These governments combine old-style brutality with new technology, often purchased from Western companies, to stifle dissent and control the media,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Censorship is alive and well.”
The 10 Most Censored methodology assesses countries based on the tactics that governments use to restrict press freedom, including the existence of criminal defamation or “false news” laws, digital and physical surveillance of journalists, blocking of news websites, restrictions on privately owned media, exclusion of foreign correspondents, and targeted hacking or trolling campaigns.
The list addresses only those countries where the government tightly controls the media. The conditions for journalists and press freedom in countries such as Syria, Yemen, and Somalia are also extremely difficult, but not necessarily attributable solely to government censorship. Rather, factors like violent conflict, insufficient infrastructure, and the role of non-state actors create a dangerous climate for the press.
===== September 12 =====
RSF Honors Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang for Work to Promote Press Freedom
Defend the Defenders: Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has awarded its 2019 Press Freedom Prize to prominent Vietnamese blogger Pham Doan Trang and two other female journalists from Malta and Saudi Arabia for their contribution to promote press freedom around the world.
Ms. Trang was awarded RSF’s Prize for Impact in absentia for her work which “has led to concrete improvements in journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism, or to an increase in awareness of these matters” while Saudi Arabian journalist Eman al-Nafjan was given the Prize for Courage and Maltese journalist Caroline Muscat with the Prize for Independence.
As Trang could not leave the country for security reason, her fellow, Trinh Huu Long, co-founder of the civil society organization Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV), accepted RSF’s Prize For Courage on Trang’s behalf in the ceremony in Berlin on September 12.
Related articles:
Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang Receives Award For Work to Improve Journalistic Freedom
Speech of Mr. Trinh Huu Long during RSF’s Ceremony in Berlin on September 12
=================
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September 16, 2019
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly Report for September 9-15, 2019: Prominent Dissident Pham Doan Trang Honored with RSF’s 2019 Press Freedom Prize
by Nhan Quyen • DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | September 15, 2019
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has honored Vietnamese prominent dissident and political blogger Pham Doan Trang with its 2019 Press Freedom Prize for her contribution to promote journalistic freedom. Ms. Trang was awarded RSF’s Prize for Impact in absentia for her work which “has led to concrete improvements in journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism, or to an increase in awareness of these matters.”
As Trang could not leave the country for security reason, her fellow, Trinh Huu Long, co-founder of the civil society organization Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV), accepted RSF’s Prize For Courage on Trang’s behalf in the ceremony in Berlin on September 12.
Inits annual report released on September 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has listed Vietnam among the top ten most censored nations in the world. The list of 10 Most Censored Countries is based on CPJ’s research into the censorship tactics used by authoritarian governments, ranging from imprisonment and repressive laws to surveillance of journalists and restrictions on internet and social media access.Other countries in the group are North Korea,Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus, and Cuba.
On September 5, the People’s Court of Ninh Binh convicted local Facebooker Le Van Sinh of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the country’s Penal Code for his online posts which were considered defaming the local government and its officials. The 54-year-old Facebooker, who was arrested on February 15, was sentenced to five years in prison.
So far this year, Vietnam has convicted 21 activists and bloggers and sentenced them to a total 99 years and six months in prison for their online posts or peaceful activities to protect human rights, political rights and against systemic corruption.
According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding 239 prisoners of conscience, 28 of them are in pre-trial detention and three of them are under unknown situation.
===== September 9 =====
Vietnamese Facebooker Sentenced to Five Years in Jail for Defaming State Officials
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Ninh Binh have convicted local Facebooker Le Van Sinh of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the country’s Penal Code for his online posts which were considered defaming the local government and its officials.
In the first-instance hearing on September 5, the People’s Court of Ninh Binh sentenced the 54-year-old Facebooker to five years in prison, the local media reported.
He is accused of using his Facebook account to disseminate a number of articles during the period between May 2018 and mid-February 2019 with the content “distorts” officials from Hoa Lu district and provincial departments as well as policies of the government.
Citing the court’s judgement, the local media said he has violated the Law on Cyber Security which became effective in the beginning of this year.
Mr. Sinh is among 21 activists and Facebookers being sentenced for their peaceful activities to a total 99 years and six months in prison from early 2019.
Vietnam is among the most repressive countries in the world. In its annual report released on September 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the Southeast Asian nation, together with Saudi Arabia, China, and Iran combine traditional censorship tactics such as imprisoning and harassing journalists with the use of sophisticated surveillance technology and targeted online campaigns to silence the independent press.
In its 2019 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Vietnam at 176th out of 180 countries.
===== September 10 =====
VietnamListed among top CPJ’s 10 MostCensored Countries
In its annual report released on September 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has listed Vietnam among the top ten most censored nations in the world.
The list of 10 Most Censored Countries is based on CPJ’s research into the censorship tactics used by authoritarian governments, ranging from imprisonment and repressive laws to surveillance of journalists and restrictions on internet and social media access.
Vietnamis in the group which consists of North Korea,Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus, and Cuba. CPJsaid these countries flout international freedom of expression norms and guarantees by jailing reporters, using the state media as a mouthpiece for the regime, and forcing independent journalists into exile. Self-censorship is pervasive.
Vietnam, as well as Saudi Arabia, China, and Iran, combinestraditional censorship tactics such as imprisoning and harassing journalists with the use of sophisticated surveillance technology and targeted online campaigns to silence the independent press, said the New York-based right group.
“The internet was supposed to make censorship obsolete, but that hasn’t happened. Many of the world’s most censored countries are highly wired, with active online communities. These governments combine old-style brutality with new technology, often purchased from Western companies, to stifle dissent and control the media,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Censorship is alive and well.”
The 10 Most Censored methodology assesses countries based on the tactics that governments use to restrict press freedom, including the existence of criminal defamation or “false news” laws, digital and physical surveillance of journalists, blocking of news websites, restrictions on privately owned media, exclusion of foreign correspondents, and targeted hacking or trolling campaigns.
The list addresses only those countries where the government tightly controls the media. The conditions for journalists and press freedom in countries such as Syria, Yemen, and Somalia are also extremely difficult, but not necessarily attributable solely to government censorship. Rather, factors like violent conflict, insufficient infrastructure, and the role of non-state actors create a dangerous climate for the press.
===== September 12 =====
RSF Honors Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang for Work to Promote Press Freedom
Defend the Defenders: Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has awarded its 2019 Press Freedom Prize to prominent Vietnamese blogger Pham Doan Trang and two other female journalists from Malta and Saudi Arabia for their contribution to promote press freedom around the world.
Ms. Trang was awarded RSF’s Prize for Impact in absentia for her work which “has led to concrete improvements in journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism, or to an increase in awareness of these matters” while Saudi Arabian journalist Eman al-Nafjan was given the Prize for Courage and Maltese journalist Caroline Muscat with the Prize for Independence.
As Trang could not leave the country for security reason, her fellow, Trinh Huu Long, co-founder of the civil society organization Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV), accepted RSF’s Prize For Courage on Trang’s behalf in the ceremony in Berlin on September 12.
Related articles:
Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang Receives Award For Work to Improve Journalistic Freedom
Speech of Mr. Trinh Huu Long during RSF’s Ceremony in Berlin on September 12
=================