Dienstag, 29. Januar 2013

reporters sans frontieres


Meilleurs Voeux
 

Toute l'équipe de Reporters sans frontières vous souhaite une excellente année 2013.


Chers amis,

Pour commencer 2013, le président tunisien Moncef Marzouki nous a reçus au palais de Carthage, où nous avons plaidé pour la liberté de la presse dans le pays d'origine des "printemps arabes". Le président nous a remis une récompense avec la mention : "La Tunisie, reconnaissante à Reporters sans frontières pour sa solidarité agissante pendant les années de braise".

Au Palais Wilson de Genève, nous avons remis des notes de travail à Navi Pillay, haut-commissaire pour les Droits de l'homme. A trois jours de son discours pour la saisine de la CPI sur la Syrie au Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies, elle nous a demandé des informations sur la répression des journalistes et des net-citoyens dans le pays.

Pour la Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme, dont je suis membre, et pour le gouvernement français et le législateur, nous avons rédigé des préconisations sur la "protection des sources des journalistes". La loi envisagée pour 2013 est un sujet essentiel pour tous les citoyens qui attendent plus de transparence de notre vie politique et économique.

Début janvier, Reporters sans frontières a publié un rapport d'enquête sur "Le Printemps des médias" en Birmanie. Chaque jour, nous collectons des informations partout dans le monde, grâce à notre réseau de 150 correspondants dans 130 pays. Grâce à notre pôle d'assistance, nous soutenons concrètement les acteurs de l'information.

Notre site anti-censure en français, en anglais et dans les langues d'origine, Wefightcensorship.org, nous permet de faire reculer la censure, tandis que Radio Erena, le seul média indépendant à destination de l'Erythrée (dernier pays au classement mondial de la liberté dela presse), que nous diffusons depuis Paris, a retrouvé une place sur un satellite après avoir subi des attaques technologiques.

Pour le journaliste burundais Hassan Ruvakuki, correspondant de RFI condamné pour rien, pour un simple reportage, d'abord à perpétuité, puis en appel à trois ans de prison, nous avons lancé une pétition et un mouvement de soutien dans toute l'Afrique. Nous soutenons Mansoureh Behkish, la voix des "mères en deuil en Iran", menacée d'un retour en prison, comme le prix Nobel de la Paix chinois Liu Xiaobo, qui n'en est toujours pas sorti, et tant d'autres, de la Turquie au Pakistan en passant par le Vietnam.

Au siège de Reporters sans frontières à Paris, dans nos sections, Reporter Ohne Grenzen en Allemagne et en Autriche, Reportrar utan Gränser en Suède, ou encore Reporteros sin Fronteras en Espagne, dans nos bureaux, à Washington, à Bruxelles, à Tunis ou à Tripoli où nous avons envoyé une nouvelle représentante le 1er janvier, nous nous battons pour que soit respectée la liberté de collecter, de produire et de diffuser les informations.

La liberté prévue par l'article 19 de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme est fondamentale. Je n'oublierai jamais les mots prononcés à Rangoun en septembre dernier par Win Tin, qui a passé 19 ans dans les geôles birmanes : "la liberté de l'information est celle qui permet de vérifier l'existence de toutes les autres."

Sans vous, aucunes de nos actions, aucuns de nos combats ne seraient possibles. Merci à vous tous, qui nous soutenez et qui contribuez à défendre ce droit qui nous est cher, le droit d'informer et d'être informé partout dans le monde.

Christophe Deloire,
Directeur général de Reporters sans frontières

 

Reporters Without Borders' team wishes you an excellent 2013.



Dear friends,

Our year began with Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki receiving us at the presidential palace in Carthage, where we defended the cause of media freedom in the country that gave birth to the “Arab springs.” The president gave us an award that says: “Tunisia, grateful to Reporters Without Borders for its active solidarity during the years of heat.”

We submitted memoranda to High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at Geneva’s Palais Wilson. This was three days before her address to the United Nations Security Council calling for the ICC to investigate war crimes in Syria, and she asked us for information about the crackdown on journalists and netizens there.

We prepared recommendations on “protecting journalists’ sources” for France’s National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (of which I am a member) and for the French government and legislature. A law expected in 2013 will an essential issue for all citizens who desire more transparency in our political and economic life.

At the start of January, Reporters Without Borders issued a report on the Media Spring in Burma. We are constantly gathering information all over the world thanks to our network of 150 correspondents in 130 countries. And thanks to our assistance unit, we provide concrete support to news providers.

WeFightCensorship, our anti-censorship website in French, English and source languages, allows us to push back against censorship, while our Paris-based Radio Erena, the only independent media broadcasting to Eritrea (ranked last in the press freedom index), is back on a satellite again after being the target of technological attacks.

We have launched a petition and support movement throughout Africa for Hassan Ruvakuki, RFI’s correspondent in Burundi, who was initially sentenced to life imprisonment and then to three years in prison on appeal for nothing, for just an ordinary piece of reporting. We are also supporting Mansoureh Behkish, the spokesperson of Iran’s “Mourning Mothers,” who could be sent back to prison, Chinese Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, who is still in prison, and many others from Turkey to Pakistan and Vietnam.

At Reporters Without Borders headquarters in Paris, in our sections (including Reporter Ohne Grenzen in Germany and Austria, Reportrar utan Gränser in Sweden and Reporteros sin Fronteras in Spain) and in our bureaux in Washington, Brussels, Tunis and Tripoli, to which we sent a representative on 1 January, we are actively defending the freedom to gather, produce and impart news and information.

The freedom envisaged in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is fundamental. I will never forget what was said last September in Rangoon by Win Tin, who spent 19 years in Burmese prisons: “Freedom of information is the freedom that allows you to verify the existence of all the other freedoms.”

Without you, none of our actions, none of our fights would be possible. Thank you all, for supporting and helping us to defend this right that we care about, the right to inform and to be informed, all over the world.

Christophe Deloire,
General director of Reporters Without Borders
Reporters sans frontières
 

Montag, 28. Januar 2013

Vietnam startet eigene Produktion von Gift für Todesspritzen

 
 
Vietnam startet eigene Produktion von Gift für Todesspritzen

Vietnam will das Gift für Todesspritzen künftig selbst herstellen. Das kündigte der Minister für öffentliche Sicherheit, Tran Dai Quang, laut einem Bericht der Zeitung „Tuoi Tre“ (Donnerstag-Ausgabe) an. Nach Angaben Vietnams hatte die Europäische Union die Lieferung bestimmter Chemikalien aus Protest gegen die Todesstrafe verhindert.

Seit 2011 beschränkt die EU die Ausfuhr von Arzneistoffen, die in höherer Dosierung auch für die Hinrichtung von Menschen verwendet werden können. Da Arzneien in einigen Ländern für die Todesstrafe zweckentfremdet werden, besonders durch tödliche Überdosierungen per Injektion, unterliegt die Ausfuhr solcher Stoffe einer strengen Prüfung.

Die Todesstrafe wird in Vietnam bei Mord, Vergewaltigung von Kindern und Drogenschmuggel verhängt.

Seit Juli 2011 werden Verurteilte nicht mehr vor Erschießungskommandos gestellt, sondern mit Giftspritzen hingerichtet.

Weil die nötigen Chemikalien fehlen, ist die Todesstrafe seit anderthalb Jahren nicht mehr vollstreckt worden. Mehr als 500 Menschen sitzen in den Todeszellen.

Publiziert am 24.01.2013 

Vietnam: 22 Dissidenten droht die Todesstrafe

SIEGEL ONLINE

28. Januar 2013, 10:42 Uhr


Prozess in Vietnam


22 Dissidenten droht die Todesstrafe


In Vietnam wird eine Gruppe von Aktivisten beschuldigt, den Sturz der kommunistischen Regierung geplant zu haben. Im nun begonnen Prozess droht den Angeklagten die Todesstrafe. Hanoi geht seit Monaten immer härter gegen Dissidenten vor.

Hanoi - Bürgerrechtler in Vietnam sprechen vom größten politischen Prozess seit Jahren:

22 Aktivisten haben angeblich die kommunistische Regierung provoziert und müssen sich vor Gericht im Süden des Landes verantworten.

Die Gruppe ist staatlichen Medien zufolge angeklagt, regierungskritische Papiere verbreitet zu haben.

In der Anklage ist es so formuliert: Die Dissidenten hätten Misstrauen gegen die Kommunistische Partei säen und andere zum Sturz der Regierung anstacheln wollen.

Sie sind zudem angeklagt, Mitglieder einer politischen Organisation zu sein und dafür Geld aus dem Ausland erhalten zu haben.

Nguyen Tan Xe, der Vater eines Aktivisten, sagte dem vietnamesischen Dienst von "Radio Free Asia", die Organisation Hoi Dong Cong An Bia Son setze sich lediglich für Moral und gute zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen ein. Die Gruppe wurde in den sechziger Jahren als religiöse Vereinigung gegründet.

Die Kommunisten lösten sie nach dem Fall von Saigon - später in Ho Chi Minh City umbenannt - im Jahr 1975 auf.

Das Gericht in der Stadt Phu Yen wollte innerhalb von fünf Tagen ein Urteil fällen, sagte ein Sprecher.

Vietnam geht seit Monaten verschärft gegen Dissidenten vor. Vor wenigen Wochen wurden 14 Aktivisten zu Gefängnisstrafen von bis zu 13 Jahren verurteilt.

kgp/dapd/dpa

Spiegel Online


 

 

 

Bloggerin Ta Phong Tan wird für Freedom of Expression Awards 2013 nominiert


Bloggerin Ta Phong Tan wird für Freedom of Expression Awards 2013 nominiert

25.01.2013 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Die britische Organisation Index on Censorship hat für ihren Freedom of Expression Awards 2013 die vietnamesische Bloggerin Ta Phong Tan zusammen mit dem grieschischen Journalist Kostas Vaxevanis, dem ägytischen Medienkollektiv Mosireen und Sadiye Eser mit den türkischen Journalisten in der Kategorie Journalismus nominiert.

Ta Phong Tan war früher Polizistin und arbeitete seit 2004 als freie Journalistin.

Im Jahr 2006 begann sie in ihrem eigenen Weblog „Gerechtigkeit und Wahrheit“ ("Công Lý và Sự Thật") über soziale Probleme zu berichten. Später schrieb sie über Machtmissbrauch und Willkür der vietnamesischen Polizei.

Jahrelang war sie immer wieder verhört und vorübergehend festgenommen worden, bis sie im September 2011 verhaftet wurde.

Wegen "Propaganda gegen den Staat" wurde Ta Phong Tan im Demzember 2012 zu zehn Jahren Haft und drei Jahre Hausarrest nach Freilassung verurteilt, in dem selben Prozess sind auch die zwei Blogger Nguyen Hoang Hai alias Dieu Cay (zwölf Jahre Haft und fünf Jahre Hausarrest nach Freilassung) und Phan Thanh Hai alias AnhBaSG (vier Jahre Haft und drei Jahre Hausarrest nach Freilassung) verurteilt worden.

Index on Censorship ist eine internationale Organisation zum Schutz der Meinungsfreiheit und Pressefreiheit mit Sitz in London, Großbritannien. Die Organisation vergibt jährlichen den "Preis der freien Meinungsäusserung" zu Ehren der Schriftsteller, Journalist und Blogger in der Welt, die wegen ihren Einsatz für Gerechtigkeit verfolgt werden. Die Nominierung wird am 27. Januar 2013 geschlossen. Die Verleihung des Freedom of Expression Awards 2013 findet am 21. März 2013 in London statt. [tiếng Việt]


 

Sonntag, 27. Januar 2013

In Vietnam, Anti-China Protests Get Creative


 

Marianne Brown VOA








































 

Dienstag, 22. Januar 2013

Prime Minster of Canada visits Vietnamese Celebration of New Year

Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits the Vietnamese celebration of (Vietnamese) New Year in Toronto. With him was Senator Ngo Thanh Hai, a Vietnamese-Canadian Senator


click here to watch

Freitag, 18. Januar 2013

Cordula, die Lotusblume

Cordula, die Lotusblume




Das ist mein Buch: Die Kurze Beschreibung

Diese Geschichte erzählt von einer unerschütterlichen Liebe zwischen einer ungewöhnlich mutigen Krankenschwester aus Deutschland und einem aufrichtigen Piloten der südvietnamesischen Luftwaffe, beide idealistisch naiv und doch verliebt. Ihre aufwühlende Geschichte ist der Beleg dafür, dass die Wahrheit immer die Wahrheit des Andersdenkenden bleibt (frei nach Rosa Luxemburg) und entlarvt zugleich die medialen Unwahrheiten von selbst ernannten »intellektuellen und kriegsbegeisternden Friedensaposteln.« Der Autor führt Sie zurück in den Vietnam-Krieg, seine Verbrechen und seine Folgen, beleuchtet auch die andere, vergessene Seite. Er sagt: »Eine Perversion des Denkens ist für das Land Vietnam erlaubt, während und nach dem Krieg!« Der siegreiche Sozialismus sprach die Kriegsverbrechen Nordvietnams heilig, vergaß, dass die Kriegsgewinner ihre Gefangenen in »Umerziehungslager« (Vietnams Gulag) steckte, Friedhöfe der gefallenen Feinde als Racheakt schändeten, Flüchtlingsfrauen wurden vergewaltigt, entführt und in europäische Bordelle verkauft. Die Verehrer in der zivilisierten Welt schwiegen beharrlich zu »Vietnams Archipel Gulag« und zu den Millionen »Boat People«, dem »Strandgut des Sozialismus«. Nun ist es Zeit, die vietnamesische Geschichte neu zu erzählen.

Rezensionen

In Vietnam, muzzled voices

The Post’s View

In Vietnam, muzzled voices
 
By , Published: January 13
 
VIETNAM HAS become a rapidly growing Asian economy, but on human rights and political freedom it remains a backwater of repression.
 
On Wednesday, a court convicted 14 democracy activists, many of them bloggers, on flimsy charges of subversion. Thirteen got prison sentences from three to 13 years, and one got a suspended sentence. But the trial’s larger verdict was this: Vietnam’s rulers are guilty of irrational fear of free expression, pluralism and the digital revolution.
 
The 14 defendants, detained more than a year ago, were charged after attending a training course in Bangkok held by the Viet Tan organization, which led a resistance movement against the Vietnamese Communist government in the 1980s but in recent years has worked for peaceful political reform, democracy and human rights.
 
Viet Tan, based in the United States, is outlawed in Vietnam. Association with Viet Tan may not be the only thing that got the bloggers in trouble. Twelve of those charged are Catholics, and, according to Human Rights Watch, many of them are affiliated with two Redemptorist churches known for strongly backing dissidents, bloggers, and other religious and rights activists.
 
The Redemptorists are a Catholic missionary organization, active worldwide.
What did these bloggers and activists do?
 
They participated in building civil society: encouraging women not to have abortions, helping the poor, aiding the disabled, protecting the environment and standing up for workers’ rights.
 
Some were also involved in peaceful protests about Vietnam’s territorial disputes with China over the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which the government considers extremely sensitive.
 
Some bloggers also called for freedom of expression and spoke out for creation of a multiparty political system.
 
In a separate case, Vietnamese authorities have lodged charges against prominent dissident lawyer Le Quoc Quan, who has often spoken out on a blog about rule of law and human rights issues.
 
On Dec. 18 he published a piece that questioned the wisdom of an article in a new draft constitution that enshrines the leading role of the Communist Party. He was arrested Dec. 27.
 
They are all victims of a one-party state that ruthlessly stamps out dissent. The trial and conviction of the bloggers was the largest single crackdown in recent years but not the first. In the past decade, Human Rights Watch reported, hundreds of peaceful activists have been imprisoned. The government exerts strict control over the Internet and media. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung declared in a New Year’s message that “we are regularly challenged by conspiracies to spark sociopolitical instability and violate our national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” These are words of paranoia and insecurity.
 
In recent years, the United States and Vietnam have been growing closer in economic and other ties, but human rights remains a stumbling block.
 
The United States deplored the latest arrests as “deeply troubling” and “inconsistent” with Vietnam’s international obligations.
 
But it will take more than that to persuade Vietnam’s leaders to change their repressive practice
 
 

Mittwoch, 16. Januar 2013

14-Jährige muss zur Kommunismus-Schulung

Facebook-Parodie auf Ho Chi Minh

14-Jährige muss zur Kommunismus-Schulung

Ihr Witz auf Facebook brachte einer vietnamesischen Schülerin Ärger ein: Sie hatte eine Parodie auf den Revolutionsführer Ho Chi Minh ins Netz gestellt. Doch statt Schulverbot blüht dem Mädchen jetzt Erziehung durch eine kommunistische Jugendgruppe.
 
Mit einem Nationalhelden spaßt man nicht. Schon gar nicht, wenn er Ho Chi Minh heißt und von einem ganzen Land als Vaterfigur verehrt werden muss. Das hat eine 14-jährige Schülerin in Vietnam auf die harte Tour erfahren. Das Mädchen hatte die Parodie einer berühmten Rede des Revolutionärs und späteren Staatschefs auf ihrer Facebook-Seite gepostet. Dafür wollte ihr die Schulbehörde zunächst ein Jahr lang verbieten, zum Unterricht zu kommen. Später hob sie die Strafe wieder auf.
 

Message from Franz Jessen, EU Ambassador to Vietnam


Message from Franz Jessen, EU Ambassador to Vietnam

Earlier today the EU Ambassador to Vietnam, Franz Jessen, expressed his concerns over the sentencing of 14 bloggers and journalists (activists) in Nghe An province on 9 January to prison terms ranging form 3 to13 years, for acts related to the exercise of freedom of expression.

Ambassador Jessen recalled the fundamental right for all persons to hold and freely express their opinions in a peaceful manner, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party.

He added that this sentencing appears to be inconsistent with Vietnam’s respective international obligations, and continues to the overall negative trend with sentencing of bloggers and Human Rights Defenders, as shown by the confirmation on appeal of the harsh sentencing for bloggers Dieu Cay, Anh Ba Sai Gon and Ta Phong Tan, on 28 December 2012 in Ho Chi Minh city.

The sentences in these two trials appear to be particularly severe.

The Vietnamese authorities should review the sentences immediately.

Links:

Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam

documents (pdf)

Vietnamese translation

 

 

Montag, 14. Januar 2013

UN Human Rights


The part "Vietnam"

We are seriously concerned by the convictions and harsh sentencing of 14 activists in the Supreme People’s Court of Nghe An province in Vietnam on 9 January 2013 for “subversion of the administration” under article 79 of the Criminal Code. They were accused of actively participating in and being members of the Viet Tan organization. Although Viet Tan is a peaceful organization advocating for democratic reform, the Government has deemed it to be a “reactionary organization”. None of those convicted are alleged to have been involved in violent acts.
We are alarmed by the fact that the convictions were handed down after only two days of trial. The defendants received sentences ranging between 3 and 13 years, with three receiving the 13-year sentence. All had been held in custody for more than a year prior to the trial.
These latest convictions, as well as the arrest and detention on December 27 of human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan, exemplify the limited space for critical voices in Viet Nam. We urge the Government of Viet Nam to review its use of the Criminal Code to imprison people who are critical of its policies, and to review all such cases violating freedom of expression and association in the country.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville

Petition zum Wasserrecht in der EU

Petition zum Wasserrecht in der EU

Ausnahmsweise geht es diesmal nicht um Vietnam, wohl aber auch um Vietnamesen, die in der EU leben.

a ballad of vietnamese bloggers


The Original is the song "a ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti", writen by Ennio Morricone, first interpreted by Joan Baez.

I changed to a new ballad for vietnamese bloggers.

----------------------------------------------

Father, yes, I am a prisoner
Fear not to relay my crime
The crime is loving the forsaken
Only silence is shame
And now I'll tell you what's against us
An art that lives too many years
Go through the years and you will find
What's blackened all of the truth
Against us is the law
With its immensity of strength and power
Against us is the law
Police know how to make a man
A guilty or an innocent
Against us is the power of police
The shameless lies that men have told
Will ever more be paid in gold
Against us is the power of China
Against us is China’s power
And the simple fact that we are poor

My father dear, I am a prisoner

Don't be ashamed to tell my crime
The crime of love and brotherhood
And only silence is shame
With me I have my love, my innocence
The people and the citizens
For all of this I'm safe and strong
And hope is mine
Democracy and freedom don't need China
They need this instead
Imagination, suffering, light and love
And care for every human being
You never steal, you never kill
You are a part of hope and life
The democracy goes from man to man
And heart to heart
And I sense when I look at the stars
That we are children of life, death is small


Vietnam – Hoffnungen haben sich noch nicht erfüllt

Vietnam – Hoffnungen haben sich noch nicht erfüllt

 

Sonntag, 13. Januar 2013

US Congress


Letter to US ambassador David Shear

Australia in Vietnam



EMBASSY ACTIVITY - Đại sứ Hugh Borrowman gặp 

Tổng giám mục giáo phận Hà Nội 


Là một phần trong chương trình của cuộc họp 

các nhà lãnh đạo tôn giáo Việt Nam, Đại sứ 

Borrowman gặp Tổng giám mục Công giáo Nguyễn 

Văn Nhơn tại Hà Nội vào ngày 06 tháng 1.
-------------
EMBASSY ACTIVITY - Ambassador Hugh Borrowman 

meets the Archbishop of Hanoi

As part of a program of meeting Vietnamese 

religious leaders, Ambassador Borrowman met 

Catholic Archbishop Nguyen Van Nhon in Hanoi 

on 6 January. 


Foto: EMBASSY ACTIVITY - Đại sứ Hugh Borrowman gặp Tổng giám mục giáo phận Hà Nội 

Là một phần trong chương trình của cuộc họp các nhà lãnh đạo tôn giáo Việt Nam, Đại sứ Borrowman gặp Tổng giám mục Công giáo Nguyễn Văn Nhơn tại Hà Nội vào ngày 06 tháng 1.
-------------
EMBASSY ACTIVITY - Ambassador Hugh Borrowman meets the Archbishop of Hanoi

As part of a program of meeting Vietnamese religious leaders, Ambassador Borrowman met Catholic Archbishop Nguyen Van Nhon in Hanoi on 6 January.

Freitag, 11. Januar 2013

Menschenrechtsbeauftragter fordert Freilassung politischer Gefangener in Vietnam

Menschenrechtsbeauftragter fordert Freilassung politischer Gefangener in Vietnam
(Info von http://www.trendkraft.de)

Der Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Markus Löning, erklärte heute (10.01.) zu den Verurteilungen von Bloggern in Vietnam:

Zusatzinformationen

Ich bin betroffen über die Verurteilung von 14 Aktivisten zu hohen Haftstrafen wegen ihres Einsatzes für Demokratie und Menschenrechte. Die Betroffenen haben von ihrem Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung Gebrauch gemacht. Vietnam hat sich mit dem UN-Übereinkommen über bürgerliche und politische Rechte verpflichtet, die Meinungsfreiheit seiner Bürger zu gewährleisten.
Ich fordere die Regierung Vietnams auf, die 14 Personen sowie alle anderen politischen Gefangenen umgehend freizulassen und ihren menschenrechtlichen Verpflichtungen nachzukommen.


Hintergrund

Am 9. Januar 2013 wurden in der vietnamesischen Provinz Nghe An 14 Menschenrechtsaktivisten wegen ihres Einsatzes für politische Reformen, Demokratisierung und Menschenrechte zu Gefängnisstrafen von bis zu 13 Jahren verurteilt. In einem Fall wurde die Strafe zur Bewährung ausgesetzt.

Quelltext lesen








 
 
 
 

Donnerstag, 10. Januar 2013

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Vietnam: Release Convicted Activists


HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Vietnam: Release Convicted Activists

The conviction and harsh prison sentences of 14 activists by the People’s Court of Nghe An province on January ­­­9 marks a sharp escalation of government attacks on critics, Human Rights Watch said today. The 14 should be released immediately, as should the prominent blogger, Le Quoc Quan, arrested in late December.

The 14 were charged after attending a training course in Bangkok held by the banned Viet Tan organization. Eleven were charged with being members of Viet Tan, while three were charged with actively participating in the organization. 

Viet Tan is an organization that in the 1980s led a resistance movement against the Vietnamese communist government but for the past few decades has worked for peaceful political reform, democracy, and human rights in Vietnam

As in numerous previous cases, the government relied on loosely-worded national security laws – in this instance article 79 of the penal code, which vaguely prohibits activities aimed at “overthrowing the government” – to prosecute people engaged in the exercise of their fundamental human rights.

Showing the sensitivity of the case, large numbers of police were deployed at the court. Police detained a number of bloggers who attempted to attend the trial.

“The conviction of yet more peaceful activists is another example of a government that is increasingly afraid of the opinions of its own people,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of imprisoning critics, the Vietnamese government should be honoring them for their efforts to address the myriad problems facing the country that the government itself has also identified.”

The 14 convicted are Dang Ngoc Minh, Dang Xuan Dieu, Ho Duc Hoa, Ho Van Oanh, Le Van Son, Nguyen Dang Minh Man, Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Nguyen Van Duyet, Nguyen Van Oai, Nguyen Xuan Oanh, Nong Hung Anh, Thai Van Dung, and Tran Minh Nhat (for biographical information on each, see the appendix). They were arrested between August and December 2011 and held for more than a year before being put on trial.

A number of the defendants, including Nguyen Xuan Anh, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Ho Duc Hoa, and Dang Xuan Dieu, had participated in volunteer activities in their local neighborhoods in Vinh, including encouraging women not to have abortions, supporting the poor and people with disabilities, founding the Vinh Human Development Foundation, and working to protect the environment. Others, such as Nong Hung Anh, Thai Van Dung, Tran Minh Nhat, Ho Van Oanh, Nguyen Van Oai, and Nguyen Van Duyet, have participated in peaceful protests related to China or were involved in attempting to manifest support of legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu during the 2011 trial that sentenced him to prison for the peaceful exercise of his fundamental rights. Nguyen Van Oai, Nguyen Van Duyet, and Ho Van Oanh participated in activities that protect workers’ rights in Binh Duong province, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Three lesser known people in the group are Dang Ngoc Minh, her daughter Nguyen Dang Minh Man, and her son Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc, from the city of Tra Vinh in Tra Vinh province. According to the indictment, in April 2010, Dang Ngoc Minh and Nguyen Dang Minh Man “under the direction of Viet Tan, bought black paint and painted the letters ‘HS.TS.VN’ on the outside of a sewer and on the wall” of an old school in Trung Ngai commune, Vung Liem district, Vinh Long province “in order to incite people to protest” so that they could take pictures and send them to the Viet Tan Party. “HS.TS.VN” stands for the Spratly and Paracel islands, one of the major sources of territorial disputes between Vietnam and China, an issue which the Vietnamese authorities deem highly sensitive.

Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Dang Xuan Dieu, Nong Hung Anh, Thai Van Dung, and Tran Minh Nhat have blogged in favor of freedom of expression and in support of the establishment of a multi-party and pluralist political system. Before the trial, Dang Xuan Dieu said, 

“I have done nothing contrary to my conscience, so although the authorities may punish me physically and impose a severe sentence upon me, the government is only thereby trampling on the eternal good morals of the Vietnamese nation, which as its affair is a matter for which it must bear responsibility.”

Human Rights Watch said that the case of Le Van Son (also known as Paulus Le Son), a 27-year-old blogger whose postings reported on land disputes, assaults by local authorities on fellow activists, police abuse, and discrimination against HIV patients, shows the misuse of the courts for political purposes. Before he was arrested, Le Van Son tried to observe the trials of other dissidents, such as the prominent legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu

As Le Van Son wrote in one posting, “After all, those who are charged with ‘anti-government crimes’ are the ones who use precious construction material to … point out the cracks, the holes and the deep abyss in a political regime which faces the danger of collapse.”

Many of the 14 are affiliated with the Redemptorist Thai Ha church in Hanoi and Ky Dong church in Ho Chi Minh City, known for strongly backing bloggers and other peaceful religious and rights activists. Over the last two years, both churches have regularly held prayer vigils expressing support for those they consider prisoners of conscience and detainees otherwise held for their political or religious belief. Dang Xuan Dieu, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Nguyen Van Duyet, Ho Van Oanh, Tran Minh Nhat, Thai Van Dung, Nong Hung Anh, and Le Van Son either took media courses organized by the Redemptorist churches or contributed writing to its website. 

The Redemptorists, formally known as the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, are a Catholic missionary congregation founded in Italy in 1732 that currently operate in more than 77 countries worldwide.

Redemptorist activists have been a growing voice among Vietnamese movements for democracy and human rights in recent years, especially in areas where they have a considerable presence, such as Nghe An, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City. Some Redemptorist churches and parishes have become centers of dissent. Religiously affiliated activists have been targeted for arrest and other forms of harassment and intimidation, including restrictions on movement, violent assaults on individuals, and the deployment of armed security forces around churches.

“It is not clear if those convicted were targeted for alleged affiliations with Viet Tan, being members of the Redemptorist church, or simply for their activism,” said Adams. 

“Whatever the reason, the government appears despotic to its own people and the world when it says that someone who tries to uphold the rights of others is a threat to the state.”

The Case of Le Quoc Quan


Human Rights Watch also called for politically motivated charges to be dropped against prominent dissident Le Quoc Quan, who was arrested on December 27, 2012, nine days after he wrote an article entitled, “Constitution or a contract for electricity and water service?” The piece criticized the National Assembly for keeping article 4 in the new draft constitution and other issues related to the constitution. 

Article 4 states that the Communist Party has the leading role in Vietnam. Le Quoc Quan’s piece opened by stating, “I know my following lines will probably be thrown into a garbage can by the Communist Party. Worse, I may be put in prison. Nevertheless, my belief in human beings, the importance of the issue and the consciousness of a citizen urged me to write.” The piece was published on December 18 by the BBC.

Le Quoc Quan’s arrest is only the latest in a long series of efforts by the authorities to put an end to his advocacy for human rights and the rule of law, including efforts to turn the official promise of religious freedom into reality. He has been a prolific blogger on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from law to Vietnam’s relations with China. 

He was imprisoned for a period in 2007, repeatedly threatened with re-arrest after release, subject to police interrogation and detention, and beaten up by mysterious assailants. Politically motivated charges of tax evasion have been used to imprison other political dissidents, including blogger Nguyen Van Hai (a.k.a Dieu Cay). Two of Le Quoc Quan’s relatives, his brother Le Dinh Quan and his cousin Nguyen Thi Oanh, have been detained as a result of the same allegation. His arrest followed shortly after he circulated a commentary condemning constitutional guarantees of Communist Party leadership of the Vietnamese political system.

“The government has targeted Le Quoc Quan because of the power of his ideas and the fact that many people in Vietnam agree with him,” said Adams. “It is time for Vietnam’s donors to tell the government that it can no longer conduct business as usual while it keeps locking up people whose only crime is wanting the right to speak their minds and set the country on the path of democracy.”

Human Rights Watch