At three consecutive first-instance hearings on December 14-16, Vietnam’s authoritarian regime convicted three human rights defenders named Pham Doan Trang, Trinh Ba Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tam, and Do Nam Trung of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and sentenced them to a total 35 years in prison and 12 years of probation as revenge for their critics and human rights activities.
Ms. Trang, a well-known political blogger and world-recognized human rights advocate with many international and domestic prizes, was arrested on October 6 last year shortly after the 24th Vietnam-US Annual Human Rights Dialogue. Initially, she was charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code and the same allegation under Article 117 of the Criminal Code which replaced the Penal Code in 2018. Later, the Hanoi Police Department dropped the second charge and during the one-day trial on December 14, she was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Mr. Phuong and Mrs. Tam were arrested on June 24 last year on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code. On the same day, police also arrested Phuong’s mother Can Thi Theu and younger brother Trinh Ba Tu on the same charge and on May 5 this year, the People’s Court of Hoa Binh province convicted them and gave them eight years in prison followed by three years of probation each.
During the short trial on December 15, two activists Phuong and Tam were found guilty although their lawyers pointed out many shortcomings in their arrest and detentions. Mr. Phuong was sentenced to ten years in prison and five years of probation while Mrs. Tam was given six years in prison followed by three years of probation.
All the three activists Trang, Phuong, and Tam were arrested due to their voices against human rights violations and the bloody attack in Dong Tam commune on January 9, 2020 although Trang was convicted for her activities before 2018.
The third trial was also short, starting from 7 am to early afternoon of December 16, in which pro-democracy campaigner and anti-corruption activist Trung was convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117. The People’s Court of the northern province of Nam Dinh gave him ten years in prison and five years of probation.
The three first-instance hearings are not latest this year. The People’s Court of Hanoi has scheduled to hold a trial against blogger Le Trong Hung on December 31. He was arrested on March 27 this year and charged with the allegation under Article 117. It is expected that he will receive a harsh sentence between seven and 12 years in prison for his online activities.
The Higher People’s Court in Hanoi has a plan to hold an appeal hearing of Mrs. Theu and her second son Tu on December 24. There is little chance for the two activists to get lighter or be freed given the recent lengthy sentences to the four activists this week.
Also this week, on December 17, the Higher People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City rejected the appeal of blogger Vu Tien Chi, who was sentenced to ten years in prison on the allegation under Article 117 by the Lam Dong province’s People’s Court in the first-instance hearing on March 30.
After the trials against Ms. Trang, Mr. Phuong, Mrs. Tam, and Mr. Trung, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the government of the US, the EU, France, etc. as well as rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders condemned their trials and sentences, urging Vietnam’s authoritarian regime to free them immediately and unconditionally. Defend the Defenders and the California-based Vietnam Human Rights Network have also issued a joint statement criticizing the sentences and requesting Hanoi to release the four activists as well as more than 200 prisoners of conscience held in prisons and temporary detention facilities across the nation. The two organizations also call on the international community to use political and economic leverages to force Vietnam to fully implement international human rights commitments.
According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding at least 260 prisoners of conscience in severe living conditions and inhumane treatment. Due to poor-quality food and prison facilities without proper medical treatment, a number of prisoners of conscience have suffered serious diseases or have worsened health. Mr. Huynh Huu Dat, 52, who is serving his 13-year imprisonment in Xuan Loc Prison camp, had reportedly died from cancers. His family has not been informed about his death and his fate was reported from the family of prisoner of conscience Tran Hoang Phuc who is held in the same prison. Last year, high-school teacher Dao Quang Thuc died while serving his 14-year imprisonment in Gia Trung Prison camp, just two years after being arrested on the allegation of subversion.
Mr. Phuong, who was held incommunicado for the most of the pre-trial detention since his arrest in mid-2020, was reportedly tortured during the investigation. His family says four police officers beat him in his genitals and other parts of his body.
and sentenced to ten years
Prominent HRD Pham Doan Trang Convicted of “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda,” Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison
Defend the Defenders, December 14, 2021
On Wednesday (December 14), Vietnam’s authoritarian regime convicted prominent human rights advocate and political blogger Pham Doan Trang, sentencing her to nine years in prison amid intensified crackdown on local political dissidents and activists.
During the one-day trial which failed to meet international standards for a fair trial, the People’s Court of Hanoi found her guilty of “Conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 88 of the country’s Penal Code 1999 which was replaced by the Criminal Code 2015 from 2018.
Ms. Trang, who was honored by a number of international and Vietnamese rights groups such as the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Czech human rights group People In Need, and the California-based Vietnam Human Rights Network, was protected by well-known lawyers including Saigon-based human rights attorneys Dang Dinh Manh and Nguyen Van Mieng. However, the judge reportedly ignored their defense statements.
The sentence was harder than the proposal of between seven and eight years in prison of the People’s Procuracy of Hanoi.
Only Trang’s mother and older brother were permitted to attend the trial while many activists were reportedly held de facto under house arrest from very early of Tuesday. The main roads leading to the court areas were blocked by security forces. Diplomats from the EU and some other countries were monitoring the hearing via TV screen in another room near the courtroom.
Ms. Trang, 43, has a little chance of getting reduced sentence or freed if she appeals today’s judgment.
The former reporter of the state-controlled VnExpress newswire was arrested on October 6 last year, a few hours after the 24th Vietnam-US Annual Human Rights Dialogue. Initially, she was accused of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code 1999 and Article 117 of the Criminal Code 2015 for her writing criticizing the authoritarian regime. Later, the second charge was dropped.
In a meeting with her lawyers before the trial, she said that she was held incommunicado for months and later placed to share a cell with other inmates who tried to beat her seven times but she fought back and won. She has suffered a number of diseases, including high blood pressure, and an injured leg which was a result of plainclothes attack in the peaceful demonstration in Hanoi on May 1, 2015 on environmental issue.
Trang was among 27 activists and bloggers being convicted so far this year, 17 of them were found guilty of “conducting anti-state propaganda” with sentences ranging from five years and 15 years in prison.
As many as 15 other activists are held in pre-trial detention on the same allegation. The regime has scheduled to try land rights activists and human rights defenders Trinh Ba Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam on December 15, corruption campaigner and democracy activist Do Nam Trung next day, and blogger Le Trong Hung on December 31. Phuong and his mother Can Thi Theu and younger brother Trinh Ba Tu were honored Vietnam Human Rights Award 2021 last week by the California-based Vietnam Human Rights Network. Both Theu and Tu were convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” in early May this year and sentenced to eight years in prison and three years of probation.
In order to maintain its absolute power, Vietnam’s authoritarian regime continues intensifying crackdown on local political dissidents, activists, and bloggers although the regime has received huge assistance from democratic governments. The country has received tens of millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses from the US, France, the UK, Australia, and Japan and other countries to deal with the ongoing infection.
According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding at least 262 prisoners of conscience in extremely hard living conditions and inhumane treatment. Hanoi always denies holding prisoners of conscience but only law violators.
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December 19, 2021
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly Report for December 14-19, 2021: Four HRDs Convicted of Controversial Accusation “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda,” Sentenced to Total 35 Years in Prison
by Defend the Defenders • [Human Rights]
Defend the Defenders | December 19, 2021
At three consecutive first-instance hearings on December 14-16, Vietnam’s authoritarian regime convicted three human rights defenders named Pham Doan Trang, Trinh Ba Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tam, and Do Nam Trung of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and sentenced them to a total 35 years in prison and 12 years of probation as revenge for their critics and human rights activities.
Ms. Trang, a well-known political blogger and world-recognized human rights advocate with many international and domestic prizes, was arrested on October 6 last year shortly after the 24th Vietnam-US Annual Human Rights Dialogue. Initially, she was charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code and the same allegation under Article 117 of the Criminal Code which replaced the Penal Code in 2018. Later, the Hanoi Police Department dropped the second charge and during the one-day trial on December 14, she was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Mr. Phuong and Mrs. Tam were arrested on June 24 last year on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code. On the same day, police also arrested Phuong’s mother Can Thi Theu and younger brother Trinh Ba Tu on the same charge and on May 5 this year, the People’s Court of Hoa Binh province convicted them and gave them eight years in prison followed by three years of probation each.
During the short trial on December 15, two activists Phuong and Tam were found guilty although their lawyers pointed out many shortcomings in their arrest and detentions. Mr. Phuong was sentenced to ten years in prison and five years of probation while Mrs. Tam was given six years in prison followed by three years of probation.
All the three activists Trang, Phuong, and Tam were arrested due to their voices against human rights violations and the bloody attack in Dong Tam commune on January 9, 2020 although Trang was convicted for her activities before 2018.
The third trial was also short, starting from 7 am to early afternoon of December 16, in which pro-democracy campaigner and anti-corruption activist Trung was convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117. The People’s Court of the northern province of Nam Dinh gave him ten years in prison and five years of probation.
The three first-instance hearings are not latest this year. The People’s Court of Hanoi has scheduled to hold a trial against blogger Le Trong Hung on December 31. He was arrested on March 27 this year and charged with the allegation under Article 117. It is expected that he will receive a harsh sentence between seven and 12 years in prison for his online activities.
The Higher People’s Court in Hanoi has a plan to hold an appeal hearing of Mrs. Theu and her second son Tu on December 24. There is little chance for the two activists to get lighter or be freed given the recent lengthy sentences to the four activists this week.
Also this week, on December 17, the Higher People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City rejected the appeal of blogger Vu Tien Chi, who was sentenced to ten years in prison on the allegation under Article 117 by the Lam Dong province’s People’s Court in the first-instance hearing on March 30.
After the trials against Ms. Trang, Mr. Phuong, Mrs. Tam, and Mr. Trung, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the government of the US, the EU, France, etc. as well as rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders condemned their trials and sentences, urging Vietnam’s authoritarian regime to free them immediately and unconditionally. Defend the Defenders and the California-based Vietnam Human Rights Network have also issued a joint statement criticizing the sentences and requesting Hanoi to release the four activists as well as more than 200 prisoners of conscience held in prisons and temporary detention facilities across the nation. The two organizations also call on the international community to use political and economic leverages to force Vietnam to fully implement international human rights commitments.
According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding at least 260 prisoners of conscience in severe living conditions and inhumane treatment. Due to poor-quality food and prison facilities without proper medical treatment, a number of prisoners of conscience have suffered serious diseases or have worsened health. Mr. Huynh Huu Dat, 52, who is serving his 13-year imprisonment in Xuan Loc Prison camp, had reportedly died from cancers. His family has not been informed about his death and his fate was reported from the family of prisoner of conscience Tran Hoang Phuc who is held in the same prison. Last year, high-school teacher Dao Quang Thuc died while serving his 14-year imprisonment in Gia Trung Prison camp, just two years after being arrested on the allegation of subversion.
Mr. Phuong, who was held incommunicado for the most of the pre-trial detention since his arrest in mid-2020, was reportedly tortured during the investigation. His family says four police officers beat him in his genitals and other parts of his body.
and sentenced to ten years
Prominent HRD Pham Doan Trang Convicted of “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda,” Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison
Defend the Defenders, December 14, 2021
On Wednesday (December 14), Vietnam’s authoritarian regime convicted prominent human rights advocate and political blogger Pham Doan Trang, sentencing her to nine years in prison amid intensified crackdown on local political dissidents and activists.
During the one-day trial which failed to meet international standards for a fair trial, the People’s Court of Hanoi found her guilty of “Conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 88 of the country’s Penal Code 1999 which was replaced by the Criminal Code 2015 from 2018.
Ms. Trang, who was honored by a number of international and Vietnamese rights groups such as the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Czech human rights group People In Need, and the California-based Vietnam Human Rights Network, was protected by well-known lawyers including Saigon-based human rights attorneys Dang Dinh Manh and Nguyen Van Mieng. However, the judge reportedly ignored their defense statements.
The sentence was harder than the proposal of between seven and eight years in prison of the People’s Procuracy of Hanoi.
Only Trang’s mother and older brother were permitted to attend the trial while many activists were reportedly held de facto under house arrest from very early of Tuesday. The main roads leading to the court areas were blocked by security forces. Diplomats from the EU and some other countries were monitoring the hearing via TV screen in another room near the courtroom.
Ms. Trang, 43, has a little chance of getting reduced sentence or freed if she appeals today’s judgment.
The former reporter of the state-controlled VnExpress newswire was arrested on October 6 last year, a few hours after the 24th Vietnam-US Annual Human Rights Dialogue. Initially, she was accused of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code 1999 and Article 117 of the Criminal Code 2015 for her writing criticizing the authoritarian regime. Later, the second charge was dropped.
In a meeting with her lawyers before the trial, she said that she was held incommunicado for months and later placed to share a cell with other inmates who tried to beat her seven times but she fought back and won. She has suffered a number of diseases, including high blood pressure, and an injured leg which was a result of plainclothes attack in the peaceful demonstration in Hanoi on May 1, 2015 on environmental issue.
Trang was among 27 activists and bloggers being convicted so far this year, 17 of them were found guilty of “conducting anti-state propaganda” with sentences ranging from five years and 15 years in prison.
As many as 15 other activists are held in pre-trial detention on the same allegation. The regime has scheduled to try land rights activists and human rights defenders Trinh Ba Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam on December 15, corruption campaigner and democracy activist Do Nam Trung next day, and blogger Le Trong Hung on December 31. Phuong and his mother Can Thi Theu and younger brother Trinh Ba Tu were honored Vietnam Human Rights Award 2021 last week by the California-based Vietnam Human Rights Network. Both Theu and Tu were convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” in early May this year and sentenced to eight years in prison and three years of probation.
In order to maintain its absolute power, Vietnam’s authoritarian regime continues intensifying crackdown on local political dissidents, activists, and bloggers although the regime has received huge assistance from democratic governments. The country has received tens of millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses from the US, France, the UK, Australia, and Japan and other countries to deal with the ongoing infection.
According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding at least 262 prisoners of conscience in extremely hard living conditions and inhumane treatment. Hanoi always denies holding prisoners of conscience but only law violators.