Menschenrechte / Human Rights (2013/6)

Complaint against the Communist Government ofVietnam: Arbitrary imprisonment and infringement of the United Nations convention against torture

19.02.2014 (Dân Làm Báo) - The entire group of 21 citizens including women were beaten until covered in blood before they were locked up in a dark, dirty room for almost 48 hours. To make matters worse, the authorities did not provide food or drinking water for the detainees. This cruel mistreatment is clear evidence of the Vietnamese communist government’s violations of UNCAT. - Association of Prisoners of Conscience and Religious Freedom for Vietnam:

We are writing to protest the Vietnamese Communist Party and the Communist Government of Vietnam for their arbitrary arrests of innocent citizens and their violations of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), which Vietnam signed on November 7, 2013.

On February 11, 2014, the Government of Vietnam utilized a force of up to 1,000 security and police personnel in Long Hung Commune, Lap Vo District, Dong Thap Province, brutally ambushing a group of 21 citizens including former prisoners of conscience, Hoa Hao Buddhism worshippers, and common folks. These 21 individuals were attacked while they were on their way to visit former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Bac Truyen’s family in Hung Nhon village, Long Hung Commune, Lap Vo District, Dong Thap province. Mr. Nguyen Bac Truyen’s residence was the site of a violent attack and arrest of Mr. Truyen during which personal properties and sacred Hoa Hao shrines were destroyed on February 9, 2014. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Announcemen of the Vietnam Path Movement

On the harassment and assault of Citizen Nguyen Van Thanh by Phuoc Hoa, Da Nang’s Public Security Officers

19.02.2014 (Vietnam Path Movement) - At 10PM on the evening of February 16, 2004, public security personnel of Phuoc Hoa commune in Da Nang have assaulted citizen Nguyen Van Thanh, a member of the Vietnam Path Movement, during an “administrative residency check” while Thanh was staying at is brother’s home. In the past few months, Thanh had been harassed and evicted several times. This is not the first time Thanh was assaulted. On 10/12/13 in Hoa Minh ward – Da Nang, citizen Nguyen Van Thanh was beaten and robbed of his tablet while traveling with a number of other citizens to reclaim property confiscated illegally in another incident happened on 12/7/13.

The Vietnam Path Movement strongly objects all forms of harassment and violent behaviors used by the local government of Da Nang toward Citizen Nguyen Van Thanh.

Violent and coercion acts as mentioned above are very cruel for someone like Thanh who is suffering from congenital hemophilia. Such action can endanger his life and is a blatant infringement on his basic human rights, which includes the “right to life, liberty and personal security.” This infringement on basic rights is also unacceptable since the government of Vietnam always preach about human rights to the people and the world community. We, the Vietnam Path Movement, want to recall our announcement on 12/13/13 to affirm: “despite the crackdown and harassments from authorities and its members, The Vietnam Path Movement is determined to continue pursue our goal of disseminating and protect human rights through peaceful activities. We urge the civil organizations from within the country and abroad to join us to speak out against actions used to persecute Nguyen Van Thanh and to oppose other repressive actions used by Vietnam government against social activities. We need to act out of our conscience, for our common interests, and for the noble values of human rights humankind has created and uphold.

February 17, 2014

On behalf of the Vietnam Path Movement

Le Quoc Tuan

Prominent Vietnamese Dissident Loses Appeal on Jail Sentence

U.S. "deeply concerned" by a judgement viewed as politically motivated

19.02.2014 By Per Lilljas (Time) - A rare mass protest blocked rush hour traffic outside Hanoi People’s Court of Appeals on Tuesday, as prominent dissident Le Quoc Quan lost his appeal against imprisonment for tax evasion.

The conviction of Quan, a catholic lawyer and blogger on sensitive topics such as civil rights and religious freedom, has been denounced as politically motivated by human rights groups, and was branded “disturbing” by the U.S. government.

“The use of tax laws by Vietnamese authorities to imprison government critics for peacefully expressing their political views is disturbing,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a statement. [read more]

US concerned over Vietnamese govt. decision to uphold conviction of blogger

19.02.2014 (KUNA) - WASHINGTON - The US voiced here Tuesday its deep concern over the Vietnamese Government's decision to uphold the conviction of a human rights lawyer and blogger, calling on the government to release "prisoners of conscience." The State Department said in a statement "we are deeply concerned by the Vietnamese Government's decision to uphold the conviction of human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan to 30 months in prison on tax evasion charges." It stressed that "the use of tax laws by Vietnamese authorities to imprison government critics for peacefully expressing their political views is disturbing." "This conviction appears to be inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression and Vietnam's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and commitments reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," it affirmed. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Viet Nam: ICJ condemns Le Quoc Quan decision, calls for release

18.02.2014 (ICJ) - The ICJ condemned the decision by the Court of Appeal of the Supreme People’s Court in Hanoi to uphold the conviction and sentencing of lawyer and human rights defender Le Quoc Quan to 30 months imprisonment.

The ICJ called on Viet Nam authorities to release him immediately.

“The decision of the Court of Appeal is regrettable but not unexpected,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “The ICJ has repeatedly criticized the lack of independence of the courts in Viet Nam. This is a political case and the government of Viet Nam has again used the courts to punish a significant critical voice.”

Today’s appellate hearing lasted for four hours. Thirty minutes after the hearing ended, the court released its decision upholding Le Quoc Quan’s conviction. [read more]

Le Tribunal populaire de Hanoi confirme la peine de 30 mois de prison infligée en première instance à l’avocat dissident, Me Lê Quôc Quân

18.02.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Ce 18 février, un peu plus de trois heures auront suffi au Tribunal populaire suprême de Hanoi pour boucler le procès en appel de l’avocat catholique dissident Lê Quôc Quân et confirmer le jugement de première instance, à savoir 30 mois de prison ferme. Avant l’énoncé de cette sentence, en plein milieu des débats, vers 10h15, l’accusé, épuisé par 17 jours de jeûne consécutifs en prison, est tombé à terre évanoui.

Le procès s’est ouvert à huit heures du matin dans les bâtiments du Tribunal populaire de Hanoi. L’accusé est entré dans la salle d’audience dans un état de faiblesse extrême. De fait, il en était à son 17e jour de grève de la faim, une grève entreprise en vue d’obtenir la possibilité de lire la Bible, de consulter ses livres de droit et de rencontrer un prêtre catholique. L’accusation retenue contre lui était la même que lors du procès de première instance. Aucune allusion n’a été faite à son passé de militant social et de partisan de la démocratie, le seul vrai motif de son arrestation. Il comparaissait devant ses juges pour une prétendue fraude fiscale. [en savoir plus...]

After court rejects appeal, RWB pledges to make blogger’s voice heard

18.02.2014 (RWB) - As Vietnam’s Communist Party regime continues to say nothing in response to its critics, a Hanoi appeal court today confirmed dissident lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan’s 30-month jail sentence and fine of 40,000 euros on a trumped-up charge of tax fraud.

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the decision and reiterates its call for the blogger’s release.

“This sentence is designed to reinforce self-censorship and to deter all of Quan’s supporters and independent information providers from continuing their fight,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific desk.

“We condemn the way the hearing was conducted. Hundreds of people who had come to support Quan were kept away from the courthouse and only his mother and wife were allowed to attend.

“We also sound the alarm about Quan’s state of health. He has been on hunger strike for the past 17 days in protest against the treatment he is receiving, and he briefly lost consciousness during today’s hearing. So we call for his immediate release on humanitarian grounds. [read more] -[tiếng Việt]

“Nous ferons tout pour que la voix de Le Quoc Quan, injustement emprisonné, soit plus audible”

18.02.2014 (RSF) - Enfermé dans son mutisme, le régime du Parti communiste a confirmé, le 18 février 2014, la condamnation de Le Quoc Quan à 30 mois de prison et 40 000 euros d’amende pour “fraude fiscale”. Reporters sans frontières est profondément indignée par la décision de la Cour d’appel de Hanoï et exige la remise en liberté du blogueur.

“Cette condamnation vise à a renforcer l’autocensure et dissuader tous les soutiens de Le Quoc Quan et des acteurs libres de l’information de continuer leur combat. Nous condamnons les conditions dans lesquelles se sont déroulées le procès. Des centaines de citoyens venus soutenir Le Quoc Quan ont été tenus à l’écart du tribunal, alors que seules la mère et l’épouse de l’accusé ont pu assister à l’audience. Nous alertons également sur l’état de santé du blogueur, en grève de la faim depuis 17 jours afin de contester le traitement qu’il subit. Le Quoc Quan a même brièvement perdu connaissance durant l’audience. Nous appelons donc à sa remise en liberté immédiate pour des raisons humanitaires”, déclare Benjamin Ismaïl, responsable du bureau Asie Pacifique de Reporters sans frontières. [en savoir plus...]

VIETNAM | El tribunal de apelación ratifica la sentencia contra el bloguero Le Quoc Quan

18.02.2014 (RSF) - RSF se compromete a hacer oír la voz del abogado y bloguero, condenado a 30 meses de cárcel

Reporteros Sin Fronteras expresa su indignación por el fallo de un tribunal de apelación de Hanoi, que este 18 de febrero ha ratificado la sentencia de 30 meses de la cárcel y la multa de 40.000 euros contra el abogado y bloguero Le Quoc Quan, condenado en base a una falsa acusación de fraude fiscal.

El régimen del Partido Comunista de Vietnam sigue encerrado en su mutismo. Reporteros Sin Fronteras ha emitido un nuevo llamamiento para exigir la liberación del bloguero.

"Esta sentencia está diseñada para reforzar la autocensura y para disuadir de continuar con su lucha a todos los partidarios de Quan y proveedores de información independientes", apunta Benjamin Ismail, responsable para Asia y el Pacífico de Reporteros Sin Fronteras. [seguir leyendo]

EFF Calls For the Immediate Release of Vietnamese Blogger Le Quoc Quan

18.02.2014 By Eva Galperin (Electronic Frontier Foundation) - UPDATE 2/18/14: After a four-hour trial, Le Quoc Quan's sentence was upheld today. It took 30 minutes for the jury to reach a verdict. EFF condemns this verdict and continues to call for his immediate release.

EFF has joined with a broad coalition of NGOs and networks from around the world to call on the government of Vietnam to comply with the decision of the United Nations Working Group and release Le Quoc Quan immediately. Right now it is vitally important to remind the Vietnamese government that even as they're watching us, the world is also watching them. [read more]

Appeal court upholds Vietnamese blogger's conviction

18.02.2014 (CPJ) - Bangkok, February 18, 2014--A Vietnamese court today rejected the appeal of blogger and human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan, who was sentenced in October to 30 months in prison on tax evasion charges, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling and calls for the blogger's immediate and unconditional release.

The Hanoi People's Court of Appeals ruled in a half-day trial that Quan's appeal failed to present new evidence and that the lower court's verdict was valid, according to news reports. In announcing the verdict, court president Nguyen Van Son said that Quan "did not show regret and took a disrespectful attitude towards the court," Agence France-Presse reported.

Quan wrote a popular blog in which he reported and commented on issues of government corruption, religious freedom, political pluralism, and human rights abuses. He was first detained on December 27, 2012, nine days after he published an article on the BBC's website that criticized the Communist Party-dominated government's constitutional reform drive. [read more]

Message of EU Delegation on lawyer Le Quoc Quan's appeal trial

18.02.2014 (Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam) - HANOI - The European Union Delegation to Vietnam expresses its concern over today's rejection, by Hanoi's Supreme People's Court, of blogger and lawyer Le Quoc Quan's appeal against his earlier sentence to 30 months in prison and monetary penalties on tax evasion charges.

In August 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found his detention to be arbitrary for violation of fair trial standards and requested the Government to take necessary steps to remedy his situation.

We recall the fundamental right for all persons to hold opinions and freely and peacefully express them, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Vietnam is a party. The sentencing is particularly disappointing in light of Vietnam’s election to the UN Human Rights Council. [read more]

Prominenter vietnamesischer Dissident verliert Berufungsprozess

18.02.2014 AFP (Yahoo News Deutschland) - Ungeachtet großer Protest hat ein Berufungsgericht in Vietnam eine gegen den prominenten Dissidenten Le Quoc Quan verhängte Haftstrafe aufrechterhalten. Das Gericht in Hanoi bestätigte am Dienstag die Verurteilung des katholischen Anwalts und Bloggers im Oktober zu zweieinhalb Jahren Haft wegen eines Steuervergehens. Rund 150 Unterstützer des Dissidenten versammelten sich vor dem Gerichtsgebäude, schwenkten Plakate und riefen Slogans. Der Angeklagte, der seit Tagen im Hungerstreik ist, bezeichnete den Prozess als politisch motiviert.

"Ich bin das Opfer einer politischen Verschwörung. Ich lehne diesen Prozess ab", sagte Quan, der müde und abgemagert erschien. Laut seinem Bruder befand er sich seit 17 Tagen im Hungerstreik. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Gericht bestätigt Gefängnisstrafe für Dissidenten

18.02.2014 (NZZ) - (dpa) Der prominente vietnamesische Blogger Le Quoc Quan muss für 30 Monate hinter Gitter. Ein Berufungsgericht bestätigte die Haftstrafe des Menschenrechtsaktivisten für angebliche Steuervergehen. Human Rights Watch spricht von einem politisch motivierten Urteil.

Der vietnamesische Menschenrechtsanwalt Le Quoc Quan muss für 30 Monate ins Gefängnis. Das Berufungsgericht in Hanoi bestätigte am Dienstag die Haftstrafe für den prominenten Dissidenten, wie sein Anwalt Ha Huy Son mitteilte. Der Blogger war im Oktober wegen angeblicher Steuerhinterziehung verurteilt worden.

[Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam upholds dissident lawyer jail term

18.02.2014 (The Star) - HANOI (AFP) - One of Vietnam's most prominent dissidents lost his appeal Tuesday against imprisonment for tax evasion, as dozens of supporters protested outside the court against the communist state's crackdown on dissent.

Scores of police encircled the Hanoi People's Court of Appeals, which upheld a two and a half year jail sentence for Catholic lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan, whose conviction in October was denounced by rights campaigners as politically motivated.

"The defendant did not show regret and took a disrespectful attitude towards the court," said court president Nguyen Van Son, confirming the jail term and a fine of around $57,000.

Quan - who is on the 17th day of a hunger strike, according to his brother - looked tired and thin as he stood in the dock and appeared to swoon at one point, prompting security guards to prop him up. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamesische Polizei verhindert Kundgebung vor Dissidentenprozess

18.02.2014 (Deutschlandfunk) - In Vietnam hat die Polizei eine Solidaritäts-Kundgebung für einen prominenten Dissidenten verhindert. Wie örtliche Reporter berichteten, hinderten Sicherheitskräfte rund 200 Menschen daran, zum Berufungsgericht nach Hanoi zu ziehen. Dort kämpft der Menschenrechtsanwalt Le Quoc Quan gegen seine Verurteilung zu 30 Monaten Haft wegen Steuerhinterziehung. Menschenrechtler kritisieren die Entscheidung als politisch motiviert.

Peine confirmée en appel pour un dissident vietnamien

18.02.2014 (Huffington Post) - La justice vietnamienne a confirmé mardi en appel la condamnation à deux ans et demi de prison pour fraude fiscale d'un des plus importants dissidents du régime communiste, pendant que ses partisans manifestaient devant le tribunal.

De nombreux policiers ont fermé les routes et formé un cordon de sécurité autour de la Cour d'appel de la capitale où comparaissait Le Quoc Quan, condamné en première instance en octobre 2013.

"Il n'y a aucune réduction de la peine de l'accusé Le Quoc Quan", a déclaré le président de la Cour d'appel Nguyen Van Son. "L'accusé n'a montré aucun regret et a adopté une attitude irrespectueuse envers la Cour", a-t-il ajouté, confirmant les deux ans et demi de prison et l'amende d'environ 40.000 euros.  [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

Protestas en Vietnam por condena a líder opositor

18.02.2014 (BBC Mundo) - Una corte de apelaciones en Vietnam ha confirmado la sentencia de cárcel de dos años y medio para uno de los principales disidentes del país y abogado de derechos humanos, Le Quoc Quan.

Un centenar de personas se reunieron cerca del tribunal de la capital, Hanoi, para exigir la liberación del activista. [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

Thousands of Vietnamese, Christian and non, march for the release of Catholic lawyer

17.02.2014 by TT (AsiaNews) - Hanoi (AsiaNews ) - At least 3 thousand Vietnamese, Christian and non, have joined the candlelight vigil organized yesterday by the Redemptorist priests in Hanoi and Saigon. The participants prayed for the health of Le Quoc Quan and many other activists, dissidents, journalists and bloggers in prison for their battle for the defense of human rights and religious freedom in the country.

Tomorrow, February 18, the first hearing of the appeal process for the Catholic lawyer is scheduled to take place. Convicted on (false) charges of tax fraud, he has been on hunger strike since February 2 to protest the prison authority's refusal to provide him with legal and religious texts, including the Bible. His family and lawyers warn the state of his health his "worrying". [read more]

VIETNAM | El gobierno vuelve a desoír la petición de RSF para que se libere a los blogueros encarcelados

17.02.2014 (RSF) - Reporteros Sin Fronteras intentó sin éxito entregar una petición al Ministro de Cultura, Deporte y Turismo de Vietnam, Hoang Tuan Anh, en su visita oficial a París este 15 de febrero. Firmada por más de 32.000 personas, la carta pide la liberación de los 35 blogueros detenidos actualmente en Vietnam.

El blogueror Bui Thi Minh Hang sigue en prisión, al igual que el abogado de derechos humanos y bloguero Le Quoc Quan, cuya apelación será escuchada el 18 de febrero, pero el gobierno de Vietnam sigue siendo completamente indiferente a su suerte, ya que continúa celebrando el año franco-vietnamita. [seguir leyendo]

Miles de vietnamitas, cristianos y no, en la plaza para pedir la liberación del abogado católico

17.02.2014 de TT (AsiaNews) - Hanoi (AsiaNews ) - Hanói (AsiaNews)- Al menos 3 mil vietnamitas, cristianos y no, han adherido a la marcha de antorchas organizada en la jornada de ayer por los sacerdotes Redentoristas de Hanói y Saigón; los participantes han rezado por la salud de Le Quoc Quan y por la de los demás militantes, disidentes, periodistas y blogger que están encarcelados a causa de sus propias batallas en defensa de los derechos humanos y por la libertad religiosa en el País.

Mañana, 18 de febrero, está fijada la primera audiencia del proceso de apelación del abogado católico, condenado con falsas acusaciones de fraude fiscal. Desde el 2 de febrero él ha iniciado una huelga de hambre, para protestar por la negación de parte de los responsables de la prisión de darle textos jurídicos y religiosos, entre ellos la Biblia. En las últimas horas los familiares han dado la alarma y manifestado sus preocupaciones por sus condiciones de salud, que definen "preocupantes". [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: Quash Conviction of Le Quoc Quan

17.02.2014 (HRW) - (New York) – The Hanoi Appeal Court on February 18, 2014, should strike down the political conviction of human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan on trumped up charges of tax evasion, Human Rights Watch said today.

“People in Vietnam and around the world are scrutinizing Vietnam’s human rights record like never before, looking for the signs of improvement the government itself has promised,” said Brad Adams, Asia. “A truly independent court would overturn Le Quoc Quan’s conviction, restore his full rights to practice as a lawyer, and allow him to resume his work as one of Vietnam’s most determined human rights defenders.” [read more]

UK warned that aid to Vietnam inadvertently supports death penalty

Charities link British funding for UN anti-heroin initiatives with executions for drug-smuggling in the country

16.02.2014 Jamie Doward (The Guardian) - The UK's decision to send millions of pounds in aid to Vietnam has been called into question after the country confirmed that it is to execute 30 heroin smugglers.

Since Vietnam said in January that it will execute 21 men and nine women, human rights groups have urged governments around the world to ensure aid is not used to help the country arrest drug traffickers, given that they can face the death penalty.

No country is more vocal than the UK in opposing the death penalty, but there are concerns that by funding counter-narcotics programmes, it is indirectly supporting execution of smugglers. [read more]

RWB again tries to hand petition to Vietnamese government official

15.02.2014 (RWB) - The blogger Bui Thi Minh Hang is still in prison, as is the human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan, whose appeal will be heard on 18 February, but the Vietnamese government remains completely indifferent to their fate as it continues to celebrate France-Vietnam Year.

Reporters Without Borders tried unsuccessfully to hand a petition to Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism, Hoang Tuan Anh, during his official visit to Paris yesterday. Signed by more than 32,000 people, it calls for the release of the 35 bloggers currently detained in Vietnam. [read more]

Video of RWB

RSF tente une nouvelle fois de remettre sa pétition aux autorités vietnamiennes

15.02.2014 (RSF) - Alors que la blogueuse Bui Thi Minh Hang est toujours détenue par les autorités et qu’approche le procès en appel de l’avocat des droits de l’homme et blogueur Le Quoc Quan, prévu pour le 18 février prochain, les autorités vietnamiennes célèbrent l’année France-Vietnam dans l’indifférence la plus totale.

Le 13 février 2014, Reporters sans frontières a tenté, en vain, de remettre au ministre vietnamien de la Culture, des Sports et du Tourisme, Hoang Tuan Anh, en visite officielle à Paris, une pétition signée par plus de 32.000 personnes exigeant la libération des 35 blogueurs actuellement emprisonnés. [en savoir plus...]

Video de RSF

Douze jours de grève de la faim pourraient avoir altéré la santé du prisonnier politique Me Lê Quôc Quân

14.02.2014 (Eglises d'Asie) - A quelques jours de son procès en appel, prévu pour le 18 février prochain, la santé de l’avocat catholique dissident, Me Lê Quôc Quân, suscite de vives préoccupations. La grève de la faim que poursuit le prisonnier depuis le 2 février l’a considérablement affaibli, a déclaré un de ses avocats qui vient de donner l’alerte (1).

Selon VRNs, l’agence d’information des rédemptoristes vietnamiens, ce dernier est venu lui rendre visite dans sa prison, le 14 février, pour préparer avec lui son procès. Il n’a pu le rencontrer. Un cadre de l’administration pénitentiaire lui a affirmé que le prisonnier politique ne le recevrait pas aujourd’hui et qu’il lui donnait rendez-vous au tribunal pour le procès. L’avocat s’est étonné de ce refus, sachant que Me Lê Quôc Quân avait exprimé le désir de le voir. [en savoir plus...]

Viet Nam: Le Quoc Quan on hunger strike

14.02.2014 (PEN) - London - PEN International joins a broad coalition of NGOs and networks from around the world to call for the immediate release of blogger and human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan ahead of his appeal hearing next week.

ailed Vietnamese blogger and human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan has launched a hunger strike to protest the refusal by prison authorities to provide him access to legal counsel, access to legal and religious books, and access to a priest for spiritual guidance, ahead of his appeal trial on 18 February 2014 in Hanoi. Le Quoc Quan has been imprisoned since 27 December 2012.

In 2013, the detention of Le Quoc Quan was condemned by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as a violation of his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial. It found that Le Quoc Quan had been targeted for his work as a lawyer and blogger and called for his immediate release or for his conviction to be reviewed by an independent court. It also recommended that Viet Nam pay damages to Le Quoc Quan for his arbitrary detention. The government of Viet Nam has yet to respond to this decision. [read more]

Vietnamese Lawyer and Blogger Le Quoc Quan on Hunger Strike

Appeal trial scheduled for 18 February 2014

13.02.2014 (NGOs) - Jailed Vietnamese blogger and human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan has launched a hunger strike to protest the refusal by prison authorities to provide him access to legal counsel, access to legal and religious books, and access to a priest for spiritual guidance, ahead of his appeal trial on 18 February 2014 in Hanoi. Le Quoc Quan has been imprisoned since 27 December 2012.

A broad coalition of NGO’s and networks from around the world call on the government of Viet Nam to comply with the decision of the United Nations Working Group and release Le Quoc Quan immediately:

Media Legal Defence Initiative, Media Defence-Southeast Asia, Lawyers for Lawyers, Avocats Sans Frontières, Front Line Defenders, Access, English PEN, Reporters Without Borders, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, ARTICLE 19, Index on Censorship, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, the National Endowment for Democracy, the World Movement for Democracy, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and PEN International. [read more]

https://sites.google.com/site/fvn21medien1/pdf_int/ReleaseLeQuocQuan-20140213.pdf

Vietnam: Stop Harassment of Rights Defenders

13.02.2014 (HRW) - (New York) – On the eve of his marriage, Vietnamese police temporarily detained lawyer and former political prisoner Nguyen Bac Truyen, Human Rights Watch said today. The police also briefly detained his fiancée, Bui Thi Kim Phuong, and several visitors to their home. Although Nguyen Bac Truyen reported being questioned about supposed economic transgressions, the action was more likely motivated by his recent activism on behalf of other political prisoners.

“This looks like a shameful and personalized act of retaliation against human rights defenders,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Donors and other international actors who want to see reforms in Vietnamshould publicly call for an immediate end to such blatantly abusive security force behavior.”

According to interviews and materials posted on nongovernment online sites by Nguyen Bac Truyen and others at the scene, on February 9, 2014, police and plainclothes security officers surrounded their house in Dong Thap province, and, after his Internet connection was cut, entered the premises, ransacked part of the house, and took him away for questioning. His fiancé said she was also detained for several hours. In an interview with Voice of America, Nguyen Bac Truyen described being blindfolded, handcuffed, and transported on the afternoon of February 9 to a police station where he was interrogated about supposed financial irregularities at a company he once owned, before being released on the morning of February 10 and sent to his fiancée’s parents’ home in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Reporter ohne Grenzen veröffentlicht aktuelle Rangliste der Pressefreiheit

12.02.2014 (ROG) - Reporter ohne Grenzen (ROG) veröffentlicht heute die aktuelle Rangliste der Pressefreiheit. Sie zeigt, wie stark die Dominanz der Sicherheitsbehörden die Arbeit von Journalisten in vielen Ländern erschwert. Besonders besorgniserregend ist, dass diese Entwicklung sogar traditionelle Demokratien erfasst hat.

Die ROG-Rangliste der Pressefreiheit vergleicht die Situation der Medien in 180 Staaten und Regionen für den Zeitraum von Dezember 2012 bis Mitte Oktober 2013. An der Spitze der Rangliste stehen west- und nordeuropäische Länder, Schlusslichter sind wie seit Jahren Eritrea, Nordkorea und Turkmenistan. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Tightens the Squeeze on Its Bloggers

12/02/2014 By Shawn Crispin (CPJ) - When Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Lan Thang left his home in Hanoi to report on the trial of a group of political activists charged with anti-state crimes, he switched off his mobile phone to avoid government surveillance of his movements. Despite taking that precaution, the police raided the hotel where he was staying in the northern city of Vinh a day before the court hearing. Thang videotaped the raid from his balcony and posted the footage on his personal blog just minutes before he was arrested.

The police justified his detention without charge on the grounds that he had traveled to Vinh at a "sensitive" time. He and two other bloggers he traveled with were held in police custody for three days and were released only after the verdict in the two-day trial was announced on January 9, 2013. Thang says he was beaten during interrogations and later strip-searched by police officials looking for hidden digital camera memory cards. [read more]

Human Rights Watch - World Report 2014 Vietnam

12/02/2014 (HRW) - The human rights situation in Vietnam deteriorated significantly in 2013, worsening a trend evident for several years. The year was marked by a severe and intensifying crackdown on critics, including long prison terms for many peaceful activists whose “crime” was calling for political change.

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) continued its one-party rule, in place since 1975. While it maintained its monopoly on state power, it faced growing public discontent with lack of basic freedoms. Denial of rights and endemic official corruption are widely seen as stifling Vietnam’s political and economic progress. Political infighting and economic policy disagreements within the CPV about how to handle the crisis of legitimacy and economic stagnation created an opening for members of the public to offer their opinions, particularly through social media. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Writer Huynh Ngoc Tuan is stoned by plain-clothed police

12.02.2014 (Defend the Defenders) - At 7:30 PM, Feb 11, 2014 writer Huynh Ngoc Tuan’s house was stoned in Tam Ky city, Quang Nam province. He was hearing the sound of motorbikes coming and then the rumble of stones, bricks over his roof. Luckily they missed him seating nearby.

When he opened the door, motorbikes ran away. Neighbors said that they saw four men in plain clothe on two motorbikes threw stones before sneaking out. Writer Tuan affirmed this is a vile act of security police. In April 2013 his house was attacked with rank liquid. Recently when he made a visit to a former prisoner in Hanoi, he was kicked by policemen at the police station so that his chest bone was broken. [read more]

Genève: le Vietnam à l’épreuve des droits de l’homme

12.02.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Le 5 février dernier fut une journée d’épreuve pour les autorités vietnamiennes. Ce jour-là, en effet, l’Etat vietnamien présentait devant le Conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU, à Genève, un rapport sur la situation des droits de l’homme sur son territoire. C’était pour lui un exercice difficile mais obligatoire dans le cadre de l’« Examen périodique universel » (UPR), auquel doivent se soumettre les membres du Conseil. Le rapport présenté a été largement et vivement contesté par un ensemble de délégations nationales et d’organisations internationales. Diverses associations issues de la diaspora vietnamienne ont organisé des manifestations marquant leur désaccord avec le rapport présenté par le gouvernement vietnamien.

La délégation vietnamienne venue à Genève présenter ce compte-rendu était conduite par le vice-ministre des Affaires étrangères Ha Kim Ngoc. Ce rapport de 20 pages avait été envoyé au secrétariat du Conseil des droits de l’homme le 31 octobre 2013. Le Vietnam était l’une des 14 rations devant se soumettre à cet exercice au cours de cette 18e session du Conseil qui avait débuté le 27 janvier et s’est achevé le 7 février 1014.

... Le représentant de Reporters sans frontières a ainsi formulé son jugement : « Je voudrais dire que Hanoi ne peut plus continuer à tromper ainsi les Nations Unies et le monde. Plus que tout autre, les dirigeants de Hanoi savent clairement ce qu’ils sont en train de faire, les politiques oppressives qu’ils appliquent. La vérité est clairement exposée à la vue de tous, par exemple dans les condamnations à de longues peines de prison qu’ils infligent aux dissidents et aux blogueurs coupables d’avoir exprimé une opinion différente de la leur, ou encore dans l’utilisation de plus en plus commune de la violence pour harceler les blogueurs exaltant de la démocratie et agresser même leurs parents. C’est une vérité qui ne veut plus être cachée ! » [en savoir plus...]

Thumbing nose at UN, Vietnam beats bloggers

11.02.2014 (RWB) - Reporters Without Borders is shocked by the violence that plainclothes police officers used today against bloggers and activists in the southern province of Dong Thap.

Eight people – including the blogger Bui Thi Minh Hang, the netizen Luu Trong Kiet and two former political prisoners – were arrested as they headed to the home of Nguyen Bac Truyen, a lawyer who had just been arrested arbitrarily.

“We are appalled by the continuing persecution of independent news and information providers, whose most fundamental rights, including the freedom of assembly and the right to information, are being openly flouted,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific Desk. ...

Arrested activists

Bui Thi Minh Hang (blogger)

Luu Trong Kiet (netizen)

Vo Van Buu (Buddhist)

Vo Van Bao (Buddhist)

Vo Van Thanh Liem (Buddhist)

Pham Nhat Thinh

Two political prisoners [read more]

Nouvelles violences à l’encontre de blogueurs : le Vietnam se moque des Nations unies

11.02.2014 (RSF) - Reporters sans frontières est profondément choquée par les violences perpétrées par des agents de la sécurité publique en civil à l’encontre de plusieurs blogueurs et activistes, le 11 février 2013 dans la province de Dong Thap (Sud). Huit personnes, dont la blogueuse Bui Thi Min Hang et le net citoyen Luu Trong Kiet ont été arrêtées par les autorités alors qu’elles se rendaient au domicile de l’avocat Nguyen Bac Truyen, lui-même arrêté peu de temps avant de manière arbitraire.

« Nous sommes révoltés par la poursuite de la répression des autorités à l’encontre des acteurs indépendants de l’information dont les droits les plus fondamentaux, tels que la liberté de réunion et le droit à l’information, sont ouvertement violés. En ordonnant ces arrestations, le gouvernement fait un véritable bras d’honneur aux Nations unies, alors que le Vietnam vient d’être nommé membre du Conseil des droits de l’homme et que se tenait il y a quelques jours seulement son examen périodique universel. Cette évaluation avait permis à l’ensemble de la communauté internationale et à la société civile de constater le fossé gigantesque qui sépare le discours officiel des autorités et la réalité brutale à laquelle tous les cyberdissidents et les blogueurs sont exposés quotidiennement », déclare Benjamin Ismaïl, responsable du bureau Asie-Pacifique à Reporters sans frontières. ...

« Nous appelons tous les Etats engagés dans des relations commerciales avec le Vietnam, en premier lieu desquels la France et les Etats-Unis, à prendre des sanctions immédiates à l’encontre du gouvernement. Nous demandons aux différents organes onusiens de réagir fermement et de demander l’arrêt immédiat des violences des autorités à l’encontre de la société civile », ajoute Benjamin Ismaïl. [en savoir plus...]

Vietnamese Activists Barred From Home Visit After Raid

11.02.2014 (RFA) - A group of about 10 bloggers, monks, and activists were detained and beaten by police on Tuesday while trying to visit the fiancée of dissident rights lawyer Nguyen Bac Truyen following a violent police raid on the couple’s home, according to the fiancée and rights groups.

The group was stopped en route from southern Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Thap province, where hundreds of police had stormed the home over the weekend and dragged Truyen, who is also a former political prisoner, away for detention.

Prominent dissident blogger Bui Thi Minh Hang and the rest of the group had been going to investigate the reasons for Truyen’s arrest and comfort those close to him, according to global press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which said it was “shocked” by the violence. [read more]

Human rights groups urge the UN to stop anti-drug funding for Vietnam because of death penalty

11.02.2014 Associated Press in Hanoi (canada.com) - HANOI, Vietnam - The United Nations should immediately freeze anti-drug assistance to Vietnam after the communist country sentenced 30 people to die for drug-related offences, three human rights groups working to get countries to abolish the death penalty said Wednesday.

The call from Harm Reduction International, Reprieve and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty cites the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's internal human rights guidance requiring the organization to stop funding for a country if it's feared that such support may lead to people being executed. [read more]

‘Hired Thugs’ Fire on Farmers in Vietnam Land Dispute

11.02.2014 (RFA) - A group of gun-toting men hired by the developer of a satellite city on the edge of Vietnam’s capital shot Tuesday at unarmed farmers trying to reclaim rice fields which are to be flattened as part of the mega project, injuring five of them, one severely, sources said.

The farmers were among residents in Hun Yen province’s Van Giang district whose protest against the confiscation of their farmland in April 2012 was brutally suppressed by the authorities.

Nearly two years after their protest, the dispute remains unsettled and residents of Phung Cong village, where the incident took place, are among those who have continued to petition the central government to have their land returned to them.

A source from Phung Cong, who spoke to RFA’s Vietnamese Service on condition of anonymity, said that on Tuesday, agents hired by the developer of the U.S. $8 billion dollar EcoPark project used home-made guns to fire at villagers who tried to regain their rice fields.

“While we were gathered near the confiscated land, some thugs shot at us with homemade guns,” he said. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Dissident Released After Brutal Arrest

10.02.2014 Tra Mi (VOA) - A well-known Vietnamese human rights activist has been released from detention, just 24 hours after he says he was brutally arrested inside his home.

Nguyen Bac Truyen says hundreds of police and undercover agents raided his home in southern Dong Thap province Sunday, firing three gunshots before violently taking him away.

Truyen, who was released late Monday in Ho Chi Minh City, told VOA's Vietnamese service that he refused to answer any questions from the police. “I told them, ‘You have violated laws when arresting me and assaulting me. So, I won’t answer any of your questions nor will I sign any documents,'" said Truyen.

His fiancée, Bui Thi Kim Phuong, says his arrest on Sunday was very violent. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam, centenares de policías para arrestar a un abogado disidente

11.02.2014 (AsiaNews/Agencias) - Centenares de agentes de policía y funcionarios del gobierno dispararon tiros de armas de fuego e irrumpieron en la casa de un disidente y abogado vietnamita, arrestado al final del allanamiento. La operación sucedió el fin de semana, en el momento en que el Alto comisariado de la Onu acusó con pesadísimas críticas por las sistemáticas violaciones de los derechos humanos en el País asiático, que también es teatro de detenciones forzadas, cárcel y abusos contra las voces que critican al gobierno y contra la hegemonía del parido único comunista. Testigos refieren que Nguyen Truyen, ex-detenido político, fue circundado, atado, vendado y  llevado de la casa de su novia, Bin Thi Kim Phuong, en la provincia del sur de Dong Thap.

La pareja se encontraba en la casa de la mujer, para los preparativos del casamiento en programa para los próximos días. La policía rompió las ventanas, puertas, herramientas y adornos, además de secuestrar la computadora y el teléfono celular del hombre. Él da asistencia legal gratuita a las víctimas de las expropiaciones forzadas, en particular en el campo y se bate de hace tiempo por una democracia multi-partido en una nación todavía dominada por la ideología comunista. [seguir leyendo] -[tiếng Việt]

Huelga de hambre por el abogado católico en la cárcel. Presiones a Hanói por los derechos humanos

10.02.2014 De HT (AsiaNews) - Hanói (AsiaNews)- El abogado y disidente católico Le Quoc Quan inició una huelga de hambre para protestar contra la decisión tomada por las autoridades de la prisión de no darle textos jurídicos y religiosos, entre ellos la Biblia. Según cuánto refiere el hermano Le Quoc Quyet, su hermano decidió rechazar la comida hasta la audiencia. "Quan me explicó que inició una huelga de hambre el 2 de febrero- confirmó el hermano- después de haber pedido algunos libros de texto para estudiar su propia defensa en vista de la próxima apelación, en la cual se ocupará de su propia defensa en la corte, una Biblia para leer y la posibilidad de encontrar un sacerdote". Fiel y devoto, desde el inicio del período de detención en diciembre de 2012, él no ha podido encontrar un sacerdote y en los últimos tiempos los directivos del instituto han aumentado las restricciones de detención, negándole hasta instrumentos de escritura.

Activistas para los derechos humanos han subrayado diversas veces que la condena es sólo un pretexto utilizado por las autoridades comunistas vietnamitas para silenciar a una de las voces más autorizadas del disenso interno, además de un católico ferviente que se pone en primera persona en la lucha por la libertad religiosa. En los días pasados desde su propia celda el hombre publicó una carta abierta en la cual afirma que lo nutre un "fe sólida" para el futuro del pueblo vietnamita y agradece por el apoyo recibido. [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

Jailed Vietnamese Dissident Launches Hunger Strike

07.02.2014 (RFA) - Jailed Vietnamese rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan has launched a hunger strike to protest the refusal by prison authorities to provide him access to legal and religious books, and to a priest for spiritual guidance, ahead of his appeal trial this month, his brother said Friday. Quan informed his family that he began the fast this week when they met with him for about half an hour on Friday at the Hoa Lo No. 1 Prison in Hanoi, his brother Le Quoc Quyet told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. He has been serving a 30-month sentence on tax evasion charges since October. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Defending freedom of information in Vietnam at the UN

07.02.2014 (RWB) - Reporters Without Borders participated in a series of meetings and conferences on Vietnam on 3 and 4 February ahead of Vietnam’s Universal Periodic Review (an examination of its human rights performance) by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Together with other groups, we evaluated the human rights situation in Vietnam, including freedom of expression and information, and shared our recommendations, which are, above all, the immediate and unconditional release of all detained bloggers, netizens and journalists and an end to censorship and online surveillance,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific desk.

“In the light of the latest information available to us, we call on the Human Rights Council’s member states to respond to the constant violations of freedom of information and persecution of independent news providers, and to remind the Vietnamese government of the added obligations that accompany its election as a member of the Council.”

Ismaïl added: “Urgent action is needed for the human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan, who began his sixth day on hunger strike today.” [read more]

Reporters sans frontières défend la liberté de l’information au Vietnam aux Nations Unies

07.02.2014 (RSF) - Les 3 et 4 février 2013, Reporters sans frontières a participé à une série de rendez-vous et de conférences en amont de l’Examen Périodique Universel (EPU) (processus qui consiste à passer en revue les réalisations de l’ensemble des Etats membres de l’ONU dans le domaine des droits de l’homme) du Vietnam devant le Conseil des Droits de l’Homme des Nations Unies à Genève.

“Nous avons dressé, avec d’autres associations, un état des lieux de la situation des droits de l’homme, en particulier de la liberté d’expression et de l’information. Nous avons fait part de nos recommandations, au premier rang desquelles la libération immédiate et sans condition de tous les blogueurs, net-citoyens et journalistes emprisonnés, et la fin de la censure et de la surveillance du Net”, déclare Benjamin Ismaïl, responsable de la zone Asie Pacifique. “Aujourd’hui, au vu des nouvelles informations dont nous disposons, nous appelons les États membres du Conseil des droits de l’homme à réagir aux incessantes violations de la liberté de l’information et aux atteintes à l’encontre des autres acteurs indépendants de l’information. Ils doivent également rappeler au gouvernement vietnamien ses obligations accrues concomitantes à son élection en tant que membre du Conseil. Il est urgent d’agir pour l’avocat des droits de l’homme et blogueur Le Quoc Quan, qui entame aujourd’hui son 6ème jour de grève de la faim”, ajoute Benjamin Ismaïl. [en savoir plus...]

UN-Menschenrechtsrat kritisiert Vietnam wegen Todesstrafe

Mehr als 700 Gefangene warten auf ihre Hinrichtung - Rat fordert Freilassung "aller politischen Gefangenen"

06.02.2014 (derStandard) - Der UN-Menschenrechtsrat hat im Zuge einer regelmäßigen Überprüfung die Menschenrechtslage in Vietnam scharf kritisiert. Die Mitglieder des Rats lobten am Mittwoch zwar die Fortschritte bei der Armutsbekämpfung und der Schulbildung, kritisierten aber sie die weitgehende Beschränkung der Presse- und Meinungsfreiheit und den Einsatz der Todesstrafe in dem kommunistischen Staat.

Die schwedische Vertreterin Anna Jakenberg Brinck kritisierte die zunehmende Kontrolle des Internets und die Schikanierung und Festnahme von Internetnutzern. [Weiterlesen]

UN-Menschenrechtsrat kritisiert schlechte Lage in Vietnam

06.02.2014 (Die Zeit) - Der UN-Menschenrechtsrat hat im Zuge einer regelmäßigen Überprüfung der Menschenrechtslage in Vietnam den Ein-Parteien-Staat scharf kritisiert. Die Mitglieder des Rats lobten am Mittwoch bei der Anhörung in Genf zwar die Fortschritte des südostasiatischen Landes bei der Armutsbekämpfung und der Schulbildung, doch kritisierten sie ... [Weiterlesen]

New Vietnamese Decree, an Attack Against Freedom of Vietnamese Netizens?

04.02.2014 Jean-Loup Richet, Yahoo Contributor Network (Yahoo Voices) - A number of concerns have been raised this week regarding Vietnamese Internet censorship, chiefly by the United States: they are openly criticizing a new decree that would essentially outlaw the sharing of news stories online and would also require companies not based in Vietnam to comply with limitations on the content they host, and even hand over personal information of users who violate Vietnamese law. The France-based free-press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders have also been outspoken on the subject, as have the group Human Rights Watch.

The particular section of the decree which is causing controversy is clause 20.4, which states that "personal information webpage is a webpage created by individual on their own or via a social network. This page should be used to provide and exchange information of that individual only; it does not represent other individual or organization, and is not allowed to provide compiled information," according to the English translation on tuoitrenews.com. Hoang Vinh Bao, head of the Broadcast and Electronic Information Department, clarified the meaning of the ban on 'compiled information': "individuals should not quote or share information from press agencies or websites of government agencies." [read more]

Vietnam Rights Abuses Criticized at U.N. Review

05.02.2013 by Naharnet Newsdesk (Naharnet) - Vietnam came under fire Wednesday over the harassment and jailing of regime critics and its expanded use of the death penalty, during a U.N. review of its rights record. Diplomats gathered at the U.N. Human Rights Council widely condemned continued restrictions on freedom of expression, including preventing activists from attending the hearing in Geneva. "Vietnam still harasses and detains those who exercise universal rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression and association," U.S. representative Peter Mulrean told the assembly, calling on the country to "release all political prisoners".

He was one of 106 diplomats who spoke at Vietnam's so-called Universal Periodic Review, which all 193 U.N. countries must undergo every four years. [read more]

West denounces repression of bloggers, religions in Vietnam

05.02.2013 By Stephanie Nebehay (Yahoo News) - GENEVA/Reuters - Western countries on Wednesday denounced Vietnam's jailing of bloggers and curbs on the Internet and called on its Communist government to respect basic freedoms of worship and expression.

Britain's diplomat Ruth Tumer told the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council that her country regretted "recent trends to control the Internet" and, with diplomats from France and Australia, called for reducing the number of crimes punishable by death and for a moratorium on executions.

"Vietnam still harasses and detains those who exercise universal rights and freedoms, such as freedoms of expression and association," acting U.S. Ambassador Peter Mulrean said in a debate that was part of the 47-member forum's scrutiny of the record of all U.N. member states every four years....

Benjamin Ismail of Reporters Without Borders said journalist Pham Chi Dung had been prevented from coming to the U.N. talks, stopped at Saigon airport on Saturday and his passport taken. [read more]

Occidente denuncia la represión de blogueros y religiones en Vietnam

05.02.2013 (Yahoo Noticias) GINEBRA/Reuters - Algunos países occidentales denunciaron el miércoles el encarcelamiento en Vietnam de blogueros y los controles en Internet y pidieron al gobierno comunista que respete las libertades básicas de culto y expresión.

La diplomática británica Ruth Tumer dijo al consejo de Derechos Humanos con sede en Ginebra que su país lamentaba "la reciente tendencia a controlar Internet" y junto a diplomáticos de Francia y Australia pidieron reducir el número de delitos castigables con la pena de muerte y una moratoria en las ejecuciones.

"Vietnam todavía acosa y detiene a aquellos que ejercen sus derechos y libertades universales, como las libertades de expresión y asociación", dijo el embajador interino de EEUU en un debate que formaba parte de un examen de los 47 miembros del foro sobre el historial de todos los estados miembros de la ONU que se hace cada cuatro años. [seguir leyendo]

UN and US Must Press for Change in Vietnam

05.02.2013 By Shawn W. Crispin/CPJ Southeast Asia Representative (The Huffington Post) - As Vietnam’s human rights record goes before a United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) today, Hanoi’s official delegation is necessarily on the diplomatic defensive. As with past presentations to the global body, Vietnamese officials will aim to distract attention from their suppressive ways--nowhere more than in the case of imprisoned blogger Nguyen Van Hai, popularly known as Dieu Cay in Vietnam’s increasingly repressed blogosphere.

First arrested on trumped-up tax evasion charges in 2008, Hai is now serving a 12-year prison sentence for “conducting propaganda” against the state, an ill-defined criminal offense frequently used by Vietnamese authorities to stifle dissent and curb free expression. Last year, Hai staged a five-week hunger strike after prison guards put him in solitary confinement for refusing to sign a confession that his critical blogging was tantamount to an anti-state crime. [read more]

Vietnam Prepares for UN Human Rights Review, Activists Lobby for Pressure

04.02.2014 (VOA)  - Representatives from the Vietnamese government will appear before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva Wednesday for a review of its human rights record amid mounting criticism that Hanoi does not tolerate opposition voices.

Rolando Gomez, spokesman for the council, told VOA’s Vietnamese service the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which takes place every four years, is "a significant occasion for Vietnam."

Meanwhile, activists who accuse Vietnam of conducting a crackdown on critics are also gathering in Geneva to offer their perspective and put pressure on Hanoi. Blogger Nguyen Anh Tuan said a delegation of activists is meeting this week with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other U.N. bodies. [read more]

Vinh: crowd greets Chu Manh Son, a young Catholic released from prison

04.02.2014 (AsiaNews/EDA) - Vinh - The Catholic community of Vinh, northern Vietnam, is celebrating the release of Chu Manh Son, a prisoner of conscience who served in full his 30-month prison sentence for breaking Article 88 of the Penal Code.

According to the Code, anyone who promotes "propaganda against the state" is punishable. In reality, it used (and abused) by the authorities to suppress dissent and imprison activists and political opponents.

The young Catholic left his cell on Sunday afternoon and returned home where he was "warmly" welcomed by family, friends and members of the local Christian community. Local Catholic sources added that a "large crowd" had gathered for the event. Touched by the situation, it included many parishioners from Duc Lân, Diocese of Vinh in Nghe An province, and Catholic militants from all over the province as well as family members. [read more]

Vinh. Una multitud acoge al joven católico Chu Manh Son, liberado de la prisión

04.02.2014 (AsiaNews/EDA) - Vinh - - La comunidad católica de Vinh, en el norte e Vietnam, festeja la liberación de Chu manh Son, prisionero de conciencia, que descontó (por entero) la condena de 30 meses de cárcel por haber violado el art. 88 del Código penal. La norma castiga a cuantos promueven una "propaganda contra el Estado", pero en realidad es usada (y abusada) por las autoridades para reprimir el disenso y encerrar poniendo en prisión a activista y opositores políticos. El joven católico dejó su celda en la tarde del 2 de febrero y pudo volver a su casa, recibido "con calor" por familiares, amigos y miembros de la comunidad local. Fuentes católicas de la zona cuentan que una multitud "numerosa y conmovida", compuesta en gran parte por fieles de la parroquia de Duc Lan- diócesis de Vinh, en la provincia de Nghe An- por algunos familiares y muchísimos militantes católicos, llegados de toda la provincia.  [seguir leyendo]

Le Vietnam pointé du doigt par les ONG de défense des droits de l'homme

04.02.2014 (RFI) - Plusieurs ONG vietnamiennes et internationales se donnent rendez-vous ce mardi 4 février à Genève pour discuter de la situation des droits l'homme au Vietnam. Le séminaire a lieu la veille de l'examen périodique Universel du Vietnam par le Conseil des droits de l'homme des Nations unies. L'occasion pour les ONG de braquer les projecteurs sur les plus graves violations des droits humains au Vietnam.

Les ONG sont formelles : la situation des droits de l'homme au Vietnam ne cesse de se détériorer gravement. Entre 150 à 200 personnes sont actuellement emprisonnées dans les geôles vietnamiennes, selon Human Rights Watch.

Le pays figure parmi les plus répressifs en Asie du Sud-Est en matière de liberté d'expression et de liberté de la presse. Rien qu'en 2013, 63 personnes ont été arrêtées pour leurs activités en faveur des droits de l'homme. [en savoir plus...]

Hanoi: jailed Catholic lawyer shows "strong faith" in the future of the Vietnamese people

03.02.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - In the coming days, Catholic activist and lawyer Le Quoc Quan will be able to appeal his 30-month sentence after he was convicted on spurious tax fraud charges.

Ahead of his appeal trial and on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, Le Quoc Quan wrote a letter, appealing to friends, Catholics and others around the country. He is grateful for the support he has received and talks about his hope for peace and justice in Vietnam. However, each day in jail "is a day of suffering for me and my family."

In reality, he was brought before a court for conducting legal work defending human rights and democracy in Vietnam, both in the courtroom and on the internet.

In jail, he has access only to two newspapers: Nhan Dân, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, and An Ninh, the police newspaper.

He cannot read other papers, magazines or books, including the Bible he asked for (in vain). [read more]

Hanoi, abogado católico en prisión: "fe sólida" en el futuro del pueblo vietnamita

03.02.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - En los próximos días está en programa el proceso de apelación a cargo del militante y abogado católico Le Quoc Quan, condenado en primer grado a 30 meses de prisión con la acusación (un pretexto) de fraude fiscal.

En vista del proceso se apelación y en ocasión del Fin de año lunar Le Quoc Quan envía una carta-pedido a los amigos, católicos y no, esparcidos por el País. Él gardece por el apoyo y cuenta sus esperanzas de paz y justicia para Vietnam. Cada día "es un sufrimiento para mí y mi familia".

En realidad, detrás de la incriminación y la sentencia existe un trabajo del legal en defensa de los derechos humanos y de la democracia en Vietnam, tanto en las aulas de justicia como en internet. En la celda sólo puede leer 2 diarios, el órgano oficial del partido comunista- Nhan Dan- y el diario que publica la pública Seguridad, An Ninh. Prohibida la presencia de otros cotidianos, revistas y libros,en modo particular la Biblia, para la cual pidió, en vano, una excepción. [seguir leyendo]

Les souhaits de Nouvel An d’un prisonnier politique 03.02.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - L’avocat dissident Lê Quôc Quân a été arrêté en décembre 2012 et condamné en première instance à 30 mois de prison, le 2 octobre 2013, pour une prétendue fraude fiscale. Comme l’a indiqué une récente dépêche d’Eglises d’Asie, il va être jugé en appel au cours de ce mois. ...

Vietnam infos, site d’information et d’opinion de la diaspora vietnamienne, vient de mettre en ligne une lettre envoyée par le prisonnier politique à ses amis à l’occasion de la nouvelle année lunaire (31 janvier 2014). Il exprime les sentiments éprouvés par lui à la veille de son procès. [en savoir plus...]

Vietnam blocks journalist from attending UN rights review

Vietnam blocks journalist from attending UN review of its human rights record

03.02.2014 (Scoop Media) - UN Watch Press Release - GENEVA - Pham Chi Dung, a respected independent journalist and civil society advocate, was blocked by Vietnamese authorities from leaving the country yesterday evening to attend events in Geneva during the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Vietnam. He was to be a featured speaker at a UPR side event on February 4th titled “With Membership Comes Responsibility: Ensuring Human Rights in Vietnam.” [read more]  

Vietnam Activists Barred From Travel to UN Rights Review

31.01.2013 By Rachel Vandenbrink (RFA) - Vietnam has prevented local activists from traveling to Geneva ahead of a quadrennial U.N. review of the country’s “dismal” human rights record in the Swiss city next week, a rights group said Friday.

Among those barred were civil society leaders and relatives of political prisoners planning to speak at meetings on the sidelines of the “Universal Periodic Review” (UPR) of Vietnam’s rights record at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Feb. 5, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said.

Some have not been able to obtain travel documents, while others have been told by the Ministry of Public Security that they may not go to Geneva.

“The very act of interfering with their travel is itself a human rights violation,” HRW’s Asia Advocacy Director John Sifton told RFA. [read more]

HRW denuncia que Vietnam incumple sus compromisos con los derechos humanos

31.01.2014 (ABC.es) EFE - Human Rights Watch (HRW) denunció hoy el incumplimiento de Vietnam en sus compromisos con los derechos humanos e instó a los países miembros de la ONU a presionar al país asiático para mejorar su "funesto" registro.

Según la organización, las autoridades vietnamitas siguen "violando sistemáticamente" derechos en áreas clave como la libertad de expresión, reunión, asociación, religión, derechos laborales, de propiedad de la tierra y a un juicio justo.

También denuncia que Hanoi encarcela a los críticos con el régimen comunista, en dos documentos presentados a la ONU que el 5 de febrero abordará en Ginebra la Revisión Periódica Universal, que evalúa la situación de los derechos humanos en cada país. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: Honor Commitments to Human Rights Council

Hanoi Blocks Peaceful Critics from Being Heard in Geneva for UPR

31.01.2014 (HRW) - (New York) – United Nations (UN) member states should press Vietnam to make verifiable commitments to improve its dismal human rights record at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva on February 5, 2013, Human Rights Watch said today. The UPR is a process all UN member states undergo every four years to assess each country’s human rights situation. ...

“The Vietnamese government has made many human rights promises, but it has delivered very little,” said Juliette de Rivero, Geneva advocacy director. “Now is the time for UN member states to make it clear that the current situation is unacceptable and to insist that Hanoi dramatically improve the way it treats its people.” [read more]

Hanoi, date set for Catholic lawyer and dissident, Le Quoc Quan’s appeal

28.01.2014 (AsiaNews/EDA) - Hanoi - The Catholic lawyer and dissident Le Quoc Quan, imprisoned in northern Vietnam after being sentenced to 30 months, will be judged on appeal on February 8 . The news was reported by his lawyer, following the recent decision by Hanoi's People's Supreme Court. Meanwhile, his family was allowed to meet the prisoner, and described him as being in a "satisfactory" condition. According to his brother Le Quoc Quyet , after the initial sentencing he was held him in a cell with 24 fellow prisoners, half of them in jail for drugs. He can only read two newspapers, the official organ of the Communist Party - Nhân Dân - and the newspaper which belongs to police, An Ninh. Other newspapers, magazines and books, including the Bible for which he asked (in vain) are forbidden.

Among the most important and well-known Catholic activists in Vietnam , repeatedly detained and released after short periods, Le Quoc Quan was detained again by Vietnamese government officials December 27, 2012 , with false and trumped-up charges of " tax evasion" an act strongly condemned by many pro - human rights associations around the world . The sentence of 30 months in prison and a hefty fine (56 thousand dollars) arrived on October 2, at the end of a lightning trial that lasted a mere two hours. International organizations, groups of Catholic activists and representatives of the main religions in Vietnam have come to the defense of the dissident, who had fasted and prayed for a long time ahead of the trial. [read more]

Hanoi, proceso de apelación para el disidente y abogado católico Le Quoc Quan

28.01.2014 (AsiaNews/EDA) - Hanói (AsiaNews/EdA)- El abogado y disidente católico Le Quoc Quan, encerrado en una prisión del norte de Vietnam, a continuación de una condena a 30 meses de cárcel, será juzgado en apelación el próximo 8 de febrero. La noticia la dio su abogado, que refiere sobre la decisión tomada en los días pasados por la Corte suprema popular de Hanoi; mientras tanto la familia pudo ver al prisionero y describir un cuadro general de salud "satisfactorio". Según lo que dice el hermano Le Quoc Quyet, después de la sentencia de primer grado las autoridades lo han encerrado en una celda con 24 compañeros, la mitad de los cuales están encarcelados por droga. Él puede leer sólo dos diarios, el órgano oficial de Partido comunistas-Nhan Dan- y el diario que tiene como director al jefe de la seguridad pública, An Ninh. Prohibida la presencia de otros diarios, revistas y libros, entre ellos la Biblia por la cual había pedido una excepción (en vano).

Entre las figuras más importantes y significativas del activismo católico en Vietnam, varias veces detenido y liberado luego de breves períodos. Le Quoc Quan fuw arrestado nuevamente por funcionarios del gobierno vietnamita el 27 de diciembre 2012, con acusaciones pretenciosas o falsas de "fraude fiscal". Un acto condenado con fuerza por muchísimas asociaciones pro-derechos humanos de todo el mundo. La condena a 30 meses de prisión y al pago de una multa muy cara (56 mil dólares) llegó el 2 de octubre pasado, al finalizar una audiencia  rápida durada sólo 2 horas. Defienden al disidente, que había ayunado y rezado mucho en vistas del proceso, salieron en su defensa organizaciones internacionales, grupos de militantes católicos y representantes de las principales religiones de Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

L’avocat catholique Lê Quôc Quân comparaîtra devant un tribunal de seconde instance le 8 février 2014

27.01.2014 (Eglises d'Asie) - L’avocat dissident, Me Lê Quôc Quân, aujourd’hui détenu dans une prison du Nord-Vietnam, sera jugé en appel le 8 février prochain. La nouvelle a été annoncée à l’avocat chargé de sa défense, le 22 janvier, par le Tribunal populaire suprême de Hanoi.

Des nouvelles du prisonnier politique ont été diffusées peu après la visite qu’a pu lui rendre sa famille, le 21 janvier. Au cours de cette rencontre qui a permis à ses proches de lui apporter quelque ravitaillement, le prisonnier a pu s’entretenir quelque temps avec eux. Selon son frère, Lê Quôc Quyêt, l’état de santé du prisonnier est satisfaisant. [read more]

Vietnamese sweatshop boss charged over slavery in Moscow

27.01.2014 by RIA Novosti (The Moscow News) - Moscow police pressed charges Monday against the Vietnamese сo-owner of a sweatshop accused of employing 700 slaves.

The suspect, along with seven others from Vietnam, Syria, Iraq and Azerbaijan, ran an illegal sewing factory in a Moscow suburb, police said.

The factory in a warehouse was staffed by illegal migrants, mostly from Vietnam.

They spoke no Russian and sweatshop organizers had seized their documents to prevent them from leaving, according to police. [read more]

Impoverished Cambodians For Sale

24.01.2014 By Michelle Tolson (IPS) - PHNOM PENH - Many Cambodian women arrive in South Korea or China for marriage, only to find themselves being chosen as mistresses, say labour rights activists. While young Cambodian men, who travel to Thailand to work on fishing boats, often fall prey to drug abuse.

Loss of land, debt, poor pay and high prices of petrol and electricity are pushing youths from poverty-stricken Cambodia to foreign lands – sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Miserable working conditions in the garment sector have only worsened the labour trafficking scenario.  [read more]

Entre 150 et 200 prisonniers politiques sont détenus au Vietnam, selon Human Rights Watch

22.01.2014 (Eglises d'Asie) La situation des droits de l’homme continue de se détériorer gravement au Vietnam ; la population ne bénéficie pas des droits de l’homme les plus fondamentaux ; le gouvernement continue d’utiliser certains articles du Code pénal dans le seul but d’appréhender et d’interner les personnes exprimant des opinions non conformes aux lignes politiques préconisées (1).

Tels sont les propos tenus à Bangkok, le 21 janvier 2014, par le représentant de l’ONG américaine Human Rights Watch (HRW), lors de la présentation du rapport annuel de son organisation sur l’état des droits de l’homme dans le monde (2). [en savoir plus...]

Staatsminister Roth fordert Vietnam zur Aussetzung von Todesurteilen auf

22.01.2014 (Auswärtiges Amt) - Mit Blick auf 30 Todesurteile, die jüngst durch ein vietnamesisches Gericht wegen Drogenschmuggels ausgesprochen wurden, erklärte Staatsminister Roth heute:

"Die Verurteilung von 30 Vietnamesen zum Tode wegen Drogenschmuggels ist zutiefst beunruhigend. Für die Todesstrafe gibt es im 21. Jahrhundert keinerlei Rechtfertigung. Die Bundesregierung lehnt die Todesstrafe ab und fordert die vietnamesischen Behörden auf, die Todesurteile auszusetzen und in Gefängnisstrafen umzuwandeln". [Weiterlesen]

Vietnams globaler Kampf gegen kritische Blogger

22.01.2014 Josef Bordat (Blog jobo72) - Der vietnamesischen Regierung reicht es nicht, regimekritische Blogger im eigenen Land zu verfolgen, nein, sie versucht auch, im Ausland lebende Dissidenten bei ihrer Arbeit für Freiheit und Menschenrechte zu behindern. Jüngst wurden Fälle bekannt, in denen Blogger in den USA und Frankreich gezielt attackiert wurden, um sie für das kommunistische Regime in der Heimat unschädlich zu machen.

... Für meine Begriffe zeigt dies vor allem eins: die Angst des vietnamesischen Regimes vor dem Druck der westlichen Welt. Das bedeutet: Wenn diese sich auf eine Verurteilung der kommunistischen Regierung verständigen könnte, wäre die Chance zur Veränderung in dem geschundenen Land gegeben. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

UN finally tackling Asian rights abuses, says Human Rights Watch

22.01.2014 Steve Finch, Bangkok (UCA News) - The UN Human Rights Council has at last started to confront Asia’s worst rights violators including North Korea and Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report on Tuesday.

Yet despite signs that abusive regimes could be held to account, conditions worsened last year in several countries including Vietnam and Cambodia, the New York-based organization said. Religious persecution is also continuing in the region, often without punishment.

Rights organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW) had been scathing of the UNHRC after it launched in 2006.

Vietnam now claims the ominous title of holding the most political prisoners in Southeast Asia following mass amnesties in Myanmar, according to latest HRW figures. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: Communist Party Tightens Grip

21.01.2014 (HRW) - New York – Activists were increasingly targeted by the Vietnamese authorities in 2013, worsening a trend of politically motivated convictions against peaceful critics, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2014.

“Escalating repression is putting the Vietnamese government on a collision course with an increasingly politically aware and active population,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Foreign governments should use all diplomatic means to pressure Vietnam to listen to the voices of the country’s people, who are demanding an end to old-style one-party rule.”

At the end of 2013, Human Rights Watch estimated that Vietnam is holding some 150-200 known people in detention because of the exercise of their fundamental human rights, including lowland Vietnamese and upland ethnic minority prisoners, some of whom were detained at least in part in connection with their religious activities. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Worse Than Syria in Jailing Reporters

21.01.2014 By Luke Hunt (The Diplomat) - With 18 journalists behind bars, Vietnam ranks fifth in the world for imprisoning members of the press.

Vietnam has made the top 10 list of countries that jail reporters for simply doing their job. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Vietnam came in at fifth spot and along with Thailand was one of the two nations from Southeast Asia to make the list in 2013.

Eighteen journalists remained jailed in Vietnam since last year. Among them was Nguyen Van Hai, an outspoken blogger whose one-day trial, the CPJ said, was plagued with procedural irregularities. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: Gericht verhängt Todesurteile gegen 30 Drogenschmuggler

20.01.2014 (Der Spiegel) - Hanoi - Ein Gericht in Vietnam hat 30 Drogenschmuggler zum Tode verurteilt. Das teilte Richter Ngo Duc in der Provinz Quang Ninh mit. Dies sei die größte Anzahl von Menschen, gegen die in Vietnam in einem Verfahren die Todesstrafe verhängt worden sei.

Insgesamt waren 89 Menschen angeklagt, die laut Staatsanwaltschaft seit 2006 fast zwei Tonnen Heroin sowie gut zehn Tonnen andere Drogen von Laos über Vietnam nach China schmuggeln wollten. Die Schmuggler waren 2012 aufgeflogen. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam sentences 30 to death over drug smuggling

20.01.2014 (BBC) - A court in Vietnam has sentenced 30 people to death over heroin smuggling in what is said to be the largest such trial ever held in the country.

The trial, over the smuggling of nearly two tonnes of heroin, began in Quang Ninh province in early January.

Dozens of others were also given prison sentences from two years to life. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Campaign for more humane treatment of prisoners in Vietnam

18.01.2014 (Christian Today) - Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights group, has welcomed the launch of a report by the Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam.

The campaign advocates for humane treatment of detainees and prisoners in Vietnam and the elimination of the practice of torture and other abuses in Vietnamese prisons, jails, police stations, re-education centres, and other places of detention.

A news release says, "The report echoes CSW's own research, which found that the torture of prisoners, and in particular religious and political prisoners, is still widespread in places of detention in Vietnam. In 2013, the torture of several persons detained in connection with their religion or belief resulted in their deaths in police custody. In many cases, victims of torture were forced to flee to other parts of the country, or to neighboring countries." [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese Activists Tour US, Europe for Human Rights

17.01.2014 Tra Mi (VOA) - WASHINGTON — A group of Vietnamese bloggers and human rights activists is touring the United States, Europe and Australia to advocate for pressure on Hanoi to improve its rights record.

The delegation has been invited by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and NGOs. It consists of representatives from groups such as VOICE, Vietnamese Bloggers Network, Dan Lam Bao, Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, and relatives of current political prisoners. [read more]

Mother of jailed Vietnam activist warns on trade pact

17.01.2014 (The West Australian) - Washington (AFP) - The mother of a jailed Vietnamese labor activist appealed Thursday for the United States to use a Pacific trade pact as pressure to end what rights groups call widespread violations.

The mother of Do Thi Minh Hanh, one of three organizers at a shoe factory sentenced in 2010 to up to nine years in prison, said Vietnam's authorities were eager to seal the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious trade deal under negotiation among 12 nations including the United States, Japan and Australia.

"This would give a great occasion for the US to impress on Vietnam the need to release political prisoners including my daughter and to improve conditions for workers and labor rights in Vietnam," the mother, Tran Thi Ngoc Minh, told a news conference at the US Congress. [read more]

Saigon, plainclothes officers attack the leader of the Unified Buddhist Church

15.01.2014 (AsiaNews) - Plainclothes security agents "intercepted and attacked" a leading monk of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam ( UBCV) , in the context of a campaign of repression being carried out against the religious organization . The persecution of the movement has intensified in recent days , following the announcement by UBCV leaders of wanting to proceed with the formation of a new executive committee. The authorities detained the monk Thich Chon Tam , recently appointed as secretary general of the UBCV Institute of Sangha , while he was aboard his motorcycle on a street in Ho Chi Minh City. The International Buddhist Information Bureau ( Ibib ) denounced the episode in a statement issued yesterday, describing how two cars stopped at an intersection and plainclothes agents "got out from the car and began to beat him". [read more]

Saigon, agentes de paisano atacan el líder de la Iglesia Budista Unificada

15.01.2014 (AsiaNews) - o Chi Minh City (AsiaNews / Agencias) - Agentes de seguridad vestidos de civil "interceptaron y atacaron" un monje de la Iglesia Budista Unificada de Vietnam (UBCV), en el contexto de una campaña de represión que tiene lugar hacia la organización religiosa. La persecución al movimiento se ha intensificado en los últimos días, tras el anuncio de los superiores de la Iglesia Budista Unificada de que desea continuar con la formación de un nuevo comité ejecutivo. Las autoridades han detenido al monje Thich Chon Tam, recientemente nombrado como secretario general del Instituto Sangha de UBCV, mientras se encontraba a bordo de su motocicleta en una calle de Ciudad de Ho Chi Minh City. Para denunciar del ataque fue hecha por la International Buddhist Information Bureau (Ibib), que en un comunicado emitido ayer, explicando cómo los dos coches se detuvieron en una intersección y agentes de civil "descienden del auto y comenzaron a golpearlo". [seguir leyendo]

Saigon: Authorities threaten Catholics over disputed land

14.01.2014 HT (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City ( AsiaNews) - The authorities of District No. 2 in Ho Chi Minh City want to expropriate land and property of the archdiocese of Saigon, razing a two hundred year old religious institution in order to create a project of "new urbanization" . At the center of the dispute , the parish of Thu Thiem, which has been serving the community for over 150 years , and the buildings occupied by the sisters of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart (including a very busy chapel) again present in Thu Thiem for over 173 years. Already in December, the local district of the Communist People's Committee had issued seizure order number 4825/UBND and now intends to accelerate operations and expropriate the land and buildings from the Catholics.

Leaders of the Catholic community say this robbery goes against state law and constitutes a "blatant violation of religious freedom ." The district authorities cannot order the expropriation of land , so the local Communist leaders directive is a "coup" implemented through "persuasion, coercion and threats" against two religious institutes. [read more]

Saigón: amenazas y presiones contra los católicos de parte de las autoridades por los terrenos en litigio

14/01/2014 HT (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Ming City (AsiaNews)- Las autoridades del Distrito número 2 de Ho Chi Ming City, quieren expropiar terrenos y propiedades de la arquidiócesis de Saigón, cerrando dos institutos centenarios para dar vida a un proyecto de "Nueva urbanización". Al centro de la disputa está la parroquia de Thu Thien, al servicio de la comunidad de hace más de 150 años y los edificios ocupados por las religiosas de la congregación Amantes del Sagrado Corazón (entre ellos una capilla muy frecuentada) siempre en Thu Thien, presentes en el área desde hace 173 años. Ya en diciembre el distrito local del Comité popular comunista había emanado una ordenanza de secuestro, número 4825/UBND; ahora intenta iniciar una acelerada operación y expropiar a los católicos del terreno y de los relativos anexos.

Para los jefes de la comunidad católica el secuestro va contra las leyes estatales y constituye un "evidente violación de la libertad religiosa". Las autoridades del distrito no pueden disponer la liquidación y expropiación de terrenos, por esto la directiva de los vértices comunistas de la zona representa un "atropello" actuado mediante "persuasión, coerción y amenazas" contra dos institutos religiosos. [seguir leyendo]

US Congress to Examine Prisoner of Conscience Cases

13/01/2014 (VOA) - The mother of a jailed Vietnamese labor activist and the wife of a imprisoned Chinese human rights lawyer are expected to be among those testifying this week before a U.S. Congressional commission.

Thursday's hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will address the plight of prisoners of conscience around the world, including Vietnam and China.

Tran Thi Ngoc Minh, mother of Do Thi Minh Hanh, will join activists and others testifying before the Lantos Commission, a caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives. Minh Hanh a 28-year-old labor rights activist was imprisoned in 2010 for a seven-year term for distributing leaflets supporting workers demanding better pay and conditions. [read more]

Wo der Besitz der Bibel mit dem Tod bestraft wird

08.01.2014 (Die Welt) - Christen werden in vielen Ländern verfolgt und ihr Glaube unterdrückt. Hauptquelle für die Verfolgung ist häufig Islamismus – an der Spitze der Unterdrückerstaaten aber liegt Nordkorea. [Weiterlesen]

Vinh: Christmas celebration for the release of two Catholics, jailed for defending religious freedom

08.01.2014 (AsiaNews)  - Ngo Van Khoi and Nguyen Van Hai left jail on 22 December, welcomed by the Catholic community, which celebrated their liberation. A special thanks goes to Mgr Paul Nguyen Thai Hop who fought against the unjust sentence, and expressed his joy for their homecoming and the special occasion of celebration. During the recently-concluded Christmas festivities, the faithful in the Diocese of Vinh not only celebrated the birth of Jesus, but also gathered en masse around their bishop to welcome two members of My Yen parish church released by authorities after spending several months in prison. [read more]

Vinh: Navidad de fiesta por la liberación de dos fieles encarcelados por la libertad religiosa

08.01.2014 (AsiaNews)  - Ngo Van Khoi y Nguyen Van Hai han dejado la celda el 22 de diciembre. La comunidad católica los ha recibido y celebrado con ellos la liberación. Un agradecimiento especial a mons. Paul Nguyen Thai Hop que luchó contra la injusta condena. La alegría del obispo por la vuelta a casa y la ocasión especial de la fiesta. Durante las festividades de Navidad, apenas concluidas, los fieles de la diócesis de Vinh no sólo han celebrado el nacimiento de Jesús; la comunidad se reunió en masa alrededor de su obispo, para recibir a dos miembros de la parroquia de My Yen, liberados por las autoridades después de haber transcurrido diversos meses de cárcel. El arresto y la sucesiva condena en los meses pasados habían desencadenado la reacción de los católicos, apoyados en esta batalla por el obispo mons. Paul Nguyen Thai Hop y por la entera Conferencia episcopal vietnamita. Terminada la pena, poco antes de Navidad Ngo Van Khoi y Nguyen Van Hai pudieron volver a sus casas. A AsiaNews, el prelado confirmó la atmósfera de "gran alegría y felicidad" en la comunidad, que ha podido volver a abrazar a los dos parroquianos en esta especial ocasión de fiesta. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: Zwei Katholiken freigelassen

07.01.2014 (Radio Vatikan) - Zwei Katholiken aus einer Pfarrei im Norden von Vietnam sind wieder frei. Sie hatten wegen „öffentlicher Ruhestörung“ sechs Monate in Haft verbracht. Nach Darstellung der Behörden waren die beiden Kirchgänger im Mai an einem Handgemenge mit Zivilpolizisten beteiligt gewesen. Dieser Darstellung wurde aber von anderen Pfarreiangehörigen widersprochen. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

L’évêque de Vinh est venu accueillir deux catholiques de la paroisse de My Yên libérés après six mois de détention

06.01.2014 (Eglises d'Asie) - L’arrestation, le 27 juin 2013, des deux catholiques Ngô Van Khoi et Nguyên Van Hai, deux catholiques de la paroisse de My Yên, dans le diocèse de Vinh, avait déclenché ce que l’on a appelé au Vietnam « l’affaire de My Yên ». Ils ont été libérés, le 22 décembre 2013, après six mois de détention. Ils avaient été condamnés, le 23 octobre dernier, à l’issue d’un procès éclair, l’un à six mois de prison, l’autre à sept mois.

Le jour même de leur libération, leurs voisins et de très nombreux amis venus de partout leur ont exprimé leur sympathie et leur joie. Pour leur part, les deux anciens prisonniers ont dit leur reconnaissance pour la lutte menée et les sacrifices consentis en leur faveur par la paroisse tout entière, par leur diocèse et, tout particulièrement, par leur évêque. [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

Calls For The Release Of Dinh Dang Dinh

04.01.2014 (VOA) - U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear, along with the representatives of 25 other countries, sent a letter to the Government of Vietnam requesting the humanitarian release of political prisoner Dinh Dang Dinh.

“Vietnamese authorities’ use of national security laws to imprison critics for peacefully expressing their political views is inconsistent with Vietnam’s international obligations under the International covenant on Civil and Political Rights and commitments reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the letter stated.

The United States calls on the government of Vietnam to grant humanitarian release immediately to Dinh Dang Dinh, in light of the critical state of his health. [read more]

Hanoi: Buddhist leader detained, placed under house arrest

03.01.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities detained and placed under house arrest a member of the youth wing of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), after interrogating him for more than 13 hours.

Le Cong Cau, head of the UBCV's Buddhist Youth Movement and an active coordinator of human rights issues in the north central coastal province of Thua Thien-Hue, said he was detained on New Year's Day before he could take a flight to Ho Chi Minh City to meet with UBCV leader and long-time activist Thich Quang Do, who also suffered at the hands of the authorities in the past.

Cau's detention is the latest in a long list of cases of violence and abuse against religious leaders in the Asian country, which have also touched the country's Christian minority whose members have been victims of targeted attacks and smear campaigns by the central government and local officials. [read more]  - [tiếng Việt]

Hanoi: líder budista detenido y en arresto domiciliario

03.01.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Las autoridades vietnamitas han detenido y puesto en arresto domiciliario a un miembro del ala juvenil de la Iglesia unificada budista de Vietnam (Ubcv), después de haberlo interrogado por más de 13 horas. Le Cong Cau, es un activista por los derechos humanos de la región costera de Thua Thien-Hue, jefe del Buddhist Youth Movement (Bym-Ubcv) y ya en pasado terminado en la cárcel por su actividad, fue detenido el día de fin de año, mientras se encontraba en el aeropuerto de Phu Bai (cerca de Hue), en espera de embarcarse en un vuelo para Ho Chi Ming City. Él tenía que encontrarse con el líder del Ubcv y activista desde hace tiempo, Thich Quang Do, también él controlado por las autoridades en el pasado. Se trata del último de una larga lista de casos de violencias y abusos contra los líderes religiosos en el país asiático, que también sufre la minoría religiosa cristiana, víctima de ataques seleccionados y con campañas difamatorias por parte del gobierno central y de los funcionarios locales.

Miembros de seguridad vietnamitas han detenido a le Cong Cau, secuestrándole la computadora y algunos documentos pertenecientes a la Iglesia budista unificada de Vietnam, considerada ilegal por el régimen comunista de Hanoi. La policía lo ha llevado a la comisaría e interrogado por diversas horas y luego lo dejaron, pero en arresto domiciliario con la acusación de haber violado "numerosas" leyes. "Me han dicho- cuenta el activista al sito de la radio Free Asia (Rfa)- que no se me permite dejar el país y no puedo encontrarme con ninguno". [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Activists Want Association to Address Public Complaints

03.01.2014 (RFA) - A group of activists in Vietnam are moving to launch a nationwide association to help address public complaints against government land grabs, police brutality, and corruption among officials in the one-party Communist state.

The activists expressed their intention to form the Association for Victims of Injustice in an open letter to Interior Minister Nguyen Thai Binh and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung on Dec. 31, asking for guidance and permission to operate.

They said if the minister did not respond to their request by March 2, they will go ahead and form the organization without official sanction.

The association will be aimed at helping victims of land disputes, people mistreated by police, relatives of those who died in custody, or others to file complaints against official government organs and seek redress for their grievances, they said. [read more]

Human rights organization reports on imprisonment of religious believers

03.01.2014 (CWN) - A European human rights organization has issued a report on the imprisonment of religious believers in 24 nations.

“The present list comprises hundreds of prisoners that were behind bars in 2013 on the ground of laws forbidding or restricting their basic rights to freedom of religion or belief,” Human Rights Without Frontiers International said in its report. The nations cited include Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Libya, Morocco, Nagorno-Karabakh (a region of Azerbaijan), North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea (over its imprisonment of some Jehovah’s Witnesses), Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. [read more]

Vietnamese Dissident Tells of Attack by 'Government Thugs'

02.01.2014 (VOA) - The younger brother of jailed human rights activist Le Quoc Quan was severely beaten by several unknown assailants.

Le Quoc Quyet told VOA's Vietnamese service he was entering the gate of his apartment complex in Ho Chi Minh City early Thursday when four men he described as "government-hired thugs" jumped out and beat him.

He alleges the men had been following him for years since his brother Le Quoc Quan had run afoul of the government for promoting democracy and pluralism in Vietnam. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Freed Vietnamese Political Prisoner Decries Jail Conditions

30.12.2013 (RFA) - A Vietnamese political prisoner released after 14 years in detention has called for better treatment for dissidents remaining in the country’s prison camps, saying he was barely able to survive his own sentence. Huynh Anh Tri, who along with his brother Huynh Anh Tu was released on Sunday, said he knew of countless fellow inmates who had died from harsh conditions since his detention in 1999. The two brothers, members of the U.S.-based Government of Free Vietnam—one of several opposition organizations set up by overseas Vietnamese—had both been convicted of “terrorism” with intent to overthrow Hanoi’s one-party, communist government. [read more]- [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese Authorities Detain Former Political Prisoners Visiting Fellow Dissident

30.12.2013 (RFA) - Vietnamese authorities on Tuesday detained and interrogated three former political prisoners, beating one of them severely, as they traveled to visit a fellow ex-prisoner of conscience at his home outside the capital, a member of the group said.

Writer Huynh Ngoc Tuan, blogger Pham Ba Hai and lawyer Le Thi Cong Nhan traveled from Hanoi to visit democracy activist Pham Van Troi at his home in Thuong Tin district’s Truong Duong village when they were approached by plainclothes police after exiting their taxi, Nhan told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese Catholics attacked while carrying Christmas gifts to orphans

30.12.2013 by Joseph Dang (AsiaNews) - Attack took place in Kontum, where a group of volunteers were blocked by police and forced to turn back. One of the assaulted, tortured by the head of the local Communist Party, ended up in hospital with multiple internal injuries.

Kontum ( AsiaNews) - The Dr. Seuss story of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" in which a creature that hates Christmas robs children's gifts has become a reality in Kontum, Vietnam.

An unwarranted attack on a group of church volunteers as they tried to bring Christmas gifts to orphans and the poor in remote areas of the province has left many children sad this festive season. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Católicos vietnamitas atacados mientras lleva los regalos de Navidad para los huérfanos

30.12.2013 de Joseph Dang (AsiaNews) - Es que sucedió en la provincia de Kontum, donde un grupo de voluntarios ha sido bloqueado por la policía y obligados a dar marcha atrás. Uno de los agredidos, torturados por el jefe del Partido Comunista local, terminó en el hospital por múltiples lesiones internas.

Kontum (Agencia Fides ) - En Kontum, Vietnam, se convirtió en una realidad la historia del Dr. Seuss "¡How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! " En el que una criatura que odia la Navidad priva a los niños de sus regalos.

Hacer de un cuento de hadas una realidad, que dejo a unos niños tristes fue lo que le pasó a un grupo de voluntarios de la Iglesia que fueron atacados y expulsados ​​cuando trataban de llevar regalos de Navidad para los huérfanos y los pobres en zonas remotas de la provincia. [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

Press Freedom Comes Under Threat in Southeast Asia

28.12.2013 By Parameswaran Ponnudurai (RFA) - ... In Vietnam, the government continues to employs brutal tactics to harass online media in the country where nearly all newspapers are controlled by the ruling Communist Party, critics say.

Early this month, plainclothes policemen brutally beat several dissident bloggers when they gathered to mark Human Rights Day in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. [read more]

Western ambassadors urge Vietnam to release jailed dissident diagnosed with cancer 20.12.2013 (The Associated Press) - HANOI, Vietnam - A group of Western ambassadors has written to Vietnam's Communist leaders to call for the release of a democracy activist described as being in the final stages of cancer. Dinh Dang Dinh, a former chemistry teacher, is serving a six-year sentence for "spreading propaganda" against the state. In a letter sent Thursday to Vietnam's foreign minister, ambassadors from the United States, European Union and other missions urged that Dinh be released on humanitarian grounds "so he can spend his remaining time at home or if necessary in a hospital." Dinh's daughter, Dinh Phuong Thao, said that her father was moved to a police hospital on Tuesday, but that the family had not been told whether he would be returning to prison. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

CPJ: Vietnam Intensifies Crackdown on Journalists

18.12.2013 Tra Mi (VOA) - WASHINGTON — The Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, says Vietnam is the fifth biggest jailer of journalists in the world, and second in the Asia-Pacific region after China.

The group Wednesday released its annual list of the world's top repressive regimes

as measured by press freedom. The CPJ report said “Vietnam was holding 18 journalists, up from 14 a year earlier, as authorities intensified a crackdown on bloggers, who represent the country’s only independent press.”

Reporters Without Borders says Vietnam also has been hostile to bloggers. [read more] - [tiếng Việt RFA] - [tiếng Việt RFI]

Second worst year on record for jailed journalists 18.12.2013 A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser (CPJ) - For the second consecutive year, Turkey was the world’s leading jailer of journalists, followed closely by Iran and China. The number of journalists in prison globally decreased from a year earlier but remains close to historical highs.

Turkey, Iran, and China accounted for more than half of all journalists imprisoned around the world in 2013, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. In its annual census, CPJ identified 211 journalists jailed for their work, the second worst year on record after 2012, when 232 journalists were behind bars.

Vietnam was holding 18 journalists, up from 14 a year earlier, as authorities intensified a crackdown on bloggers, who represent the country’s only independent press. [read more]

Bloggers celebrated in Paris, arrested and beaten in Vietnam 16.12.2013 (Reporters without borders) - The political police have been arresting and mistreating bloggers in Vietnam in recent days, both before and after an 8 December ceremony in Paris at which the Vietnam Human Rights Network and the France-Vietnam Solidarity Association paid tribute to Vietnamese bloggers. Three activists in the fight for freedom, human rights and democracy – Le Quoc Quan, a human rights lawyer, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, a blogger who heads Research for Democracy, and Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, a blogger who defends workers rights – were awarded the 2013 Vietnam Human Rights Prize at the Paris ceremony, which Reporters Without Borders and other NGOs such as Lawyers Without Borders attended. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Les blogueurs célébrés par les défenseurs des droits de l’homme mais brutalisés par le Parti

16.12.2013 (Reporters sans frontières) - Alors qu’ils ont été mis à l’honneur au cours d’une cérémonie organisée par Le Réseau des Droits de l’Homme Vietnam (Vietnam Human Rights Network) - en collaboration avec l’Association France-Vietnam d’Entraide - à Paris le 8 décembre 2013, les blogueurs vietnamiens sont toujours aussi maltraités par les autorités. L’avocat des droits de l’homme, Lê Quoc Quân, le blogueur Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức, responsable du groupe de Recherche pour la Démocratie et Nguyễn Hoàng Quốc Hùng, défenseur des droits des travailleurs, ont reçu le prix des Droits de l’Homme Vietnam 2013, lors d’une réception à laquelle Reporters sans frontières a participé avec d’autres organisations, comme Avocats sans frontières. Dans les jours qui ont précédé et suivi cet événement, plusieurs blogueurs ont été brièvement arrêtés et brutalisés par la police politique.

“Nous condamnons avec la plus grande fermeté les violences exercées par les forces de l’ordre contre des cyberdissidents et net-citoyens. Ces méthodes odieuses ne sont qu’une preuve de la faiblesse des autorités, qui cherchent par tous les moyens à museler les voix opposées au régime” a déclaré Reporters sans frontières. [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

Bloggers Prohibited to Exit the Country, Passports Seized

15.12.2013 (The Network of Vietnamese Bloggers ) - Following Vietnam's entry into the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2014-2016 term, the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers issued an annoucement, saying, “the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers will participate in and contribute to upholding core values in promoting and protecting human rights and respecting provisions that Vietnam has voluntarily committed itself to.”

... Subsequently, the Network, however, has continued its commitments by sending some of its members, including Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh (aka. Mẹ Nấm), Nguyễn Thảo Chi, Đào Trang Loan (Hư Vô), Nguyễn Hoàng Vi (An Đỗ Nguyễn), and Châu Văn Thi to regional countries in an effort to seek support from international human rights organizations for promoting human rights in Vietnam.

Two bloggers, Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh and Nguyễn Hoàng Vi, left Vietnam while they were still in bad health condition as a result of the collective assault by plainclothes police and “the governmennt-organized masses” in Vi's apartment on December 10, the International Human Rights Day.

All of the bloggers were stopped at the airport and prohibited from leaving the country. Nguyễn Hoàng Vi's and Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh's passports were confiscated. [read more] -[tiếng Việt 1] - [tiếng Việt 2]

What Kerry Needs to Say in Vietnam

14.12.2013 John Sifton (HRW) - John Kerry begins a three-day trip to Vietnam Saturday, his first trip there as US Secretary of State. Accounts of the visit are sure to mention the historical significance: as a young man, Kerry served in combat during the Vietnam War and later criticized the US government for its conduct in the war. And although he has visited Vietnam before as a senator, he has never come as the most senior diplomatic representative of the United States.

And diplomacy will likely be the order of the day. Kerry will raise with the Vietnamese government concerns about its worsening record on human rights, in particular its growing crackdown on critics, but it is unclear how public his comments will be. In a country where security forces have assaulted people for attending a “human rights picnic”, brave Vietnamese activists need and expect full-throated US support of their rights. [read more]

John Kerry appelle le Vietnam à protéger les droits individuels

14.12.2013 (Le Huffington Post) - Le secrétaire d'Etat John Kerry est arrivé samedi au Vietnam pour sa première visite en tant que chef de la diplomatie dans un pays où il a combattu pendant la guerre, exhortant Hanoï à respecter les droits de l'Homme.

Son déplacement au Vietnam, puis aux Philippines, s'inscrit dans la stratégie de rééquilibrage de la politique extérieure américaine vers la zone Asie-Pacifique, promue par le président Barack Obama.

John Kerry, catholique pratiquant, a atterri à Ho Chi Minh-Ville, la capitale économique du Vietnam (sud), où il a assisté à une messe en la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saïgon, un geste fort en direction des autorités accusées d'entrave aux libertés religieuses. [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

Kerry llega a Vietnam 44 años después de visitarlo como oficial de la Armada

14.12.2013 (Univision) - (EFE).- El secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, John Kerry, llegó hoy a Vietnam para fomentar el comercio, la seguridad y los derechos humanos en un país que visitó por primera vez hace 44 años como un joven oficial de la Armada.

Washington está dispuesto a colaborar en el desarrollo económico de Vietnam siempre que no se olviden los derechos humanos.

La semana pasada, 47 miembros del Congreso de los Diputados de EEUU firmaron una carta en la que se condenaba un aumento en la persecución de disidentes en Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

Kerry presses Vietnam leaders to protect human rights

13.12.2013 By Lesley Wroughton (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - - In his first visit to Vietnam as America's top diplomat, John Kerry urged the country's leaders to strengthen their commitment to human rights and allow more freedom of expression, including on the Internet.

More than four decades after he served in the Vietnam War, Kerry has returned as secretary of state to seek closer trade and security ties with a country that helped shape his political thinking as a young naval officer.

Even as he praised Vietnam's economic transformation, Kerry said lasting growth depended on promoting basic human rights and freedoms.

"Vietnam has proven that greater openness is a great catalyst for a stronger and more prosperous society and today Vietnam has a historic opportunity to prove that even further," Kerry told U.S. and Vietnamese leaders and students. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese Political Prisoners’ Parents Visit US to Call for Sons' Release 13.12.2013 (RFA) - The parents of two Vietnamese political prisoners held for speaking out against the government are in the United States to muster international pressure for the release of their sons, saying they are risking imprisonment and official harassment themselves by making the visit. Pro-democracy blogger Tran Huynh Duy Thuc’s father Tran Van Huynh and activist Dinh Nguyen Kha’s mother Nguyen Thi Kim Lien met with U.S. State Department officials and rights groups this month to seek their help in the campaign for their sons’ freedom. The two parents said their families have already faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities but that that would not stop them from fighting for justice, maintaining that the two men are “innocent.” [read more]

The Case of Mr. Ngô Hào’s Wife – A Victim of Severe Human Rights Violations 11.12.2013 Huynh Thuc Vy (Defend the Defenders) - Mr. Ngô Hào is a 65 year old dissident who resides at Lộc Đông village, Đông Hòa District, Phú Yên Province. A writer of articles promoting democracy and a multi-party political system, Mr. Ngô Hào was arrested on February 7, 2013 and then indicted by the Prosecutor of the People’s Court in Phú Yên for the crime of “engaging in activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s government”, per article 79 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code. On November 9, 2013, the Court of First Instance of the Phú Yên People’s Court sentenced Mr. Ngô Hào to 15 years in jail and 5 years of home detention after his release from jail. Currently being held at the Phú Yên Temporary Detention Camp, on December 23, 2013 Mr. Ngô Hào will face Phú Yên’s Court of Appeals. The court will issue the final sentencing. [read more]

Letter to Vietnamese people 10.12.2013 Jonathan D. London (The Network of Vietnamese Bloggers) - It is with great pleasure that I join you on the occasion of the inauguration of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers.

It is, of course, no coincidence, that we are celebrating the Network’s inauguration on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.

Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of association and assembly are among the most fundamental of all human rights.

And yet Vietnamese have yet to enjoy these freedoms. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

UN Tribunal Condemns the Vietnamese Government for Its Arbitrary Detention of Journalist and Lawyer Le Quoc Quan

13.12.2013 By April Glaser (Electronic Frontier Foundation) - Last week, a United Nations Rights Tribunal condemned the Vietnamese government for the arbitrary detention of Le Quoc Quan, a prominent lawyer, blogger, and human rights activist who has been imprisoned since December 27, 2012. EFF submitted a petition in March of this year with 11 other advocacy groups calling on the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to determine that Le Quoc Quan’s imprisonment violates international legal standards. This UN condemnation comes at a critical moment as the Communist Vietnamese government’s crackdown on activists, bloggers, and dissidents has been on the rise in 2012 and 2013.

Le Quoc Quan’s arrest was the culmination of years of constant surveillance and harassment over his extensive writing on civil rights, political pluralism, and religious freedom for the BBC, online newspapers, and on his blog. Le Quoc Quan was arrested for tax evasion, charges that are widely regarded as a baseless pretext for silencing his powerful, popular blog-writings that are critical of human rights violations by the Vietnamese government. This wasn’t the first time Vietnam has used tax evasion charges to jail and reign in bloggers; the same charges were used by the Vietnamese government to imprison popular, political blogger Nguyen Van Hai in 2008. [read more]

Time for Serious Approach to Vietnam Human Rights

13.12.2013 By Jared Genser and Greg McGillivary (The Diplomat) - Secretary of State John Kerry should use his trip to Vietnam to prompt Hanoi to improve its human rights performance.

During his fourth trip to Asia as Secretary of State this week, John Kerry is visiting Vietnam to “highlight the dramatic transformation in the bilateral relationship” between Washington and Hanoi. Indeed, in addition to security cooperation, bilateral trade has been thriving, up almost 60 percent in the past five years to $25 billion annually. Since the bilateral trade agreement of 2001, the United States has swiftly become Vietnam’s largest market for exports. Now, both countries are participating in negotiations on the massive Trans Pacific Partnership multilateral trade deal. Less promising, however, is the increasingly harsh reality of ongoing human rights abuses by the Vietnamese government. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Report on Suppression of Bloggers Celebrating International HR Day in Vietnam 12.12.2013 Pham Doan Trang, Vietnam (Blog Đoan Trang) - This report, compiled by the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers 1, aims to provide a full description of acts of oppression by the Vietnamese authorities against some citizens who peacefully exercised their right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in celebration of the International Human Rights Day on December 10. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Droits de l’homme : le gouvernement vietnamien est rappelé à l’ordre

12.12.2013 (Église d'Asie) - Le 12 novembre 2013, le Vietnam a obtenu un siège au Conseil des droits de l’homme des Nations Unies. Cette admission a été critiquée par un certain nombre d’instances internationales, qui ont pointé les manquements au respect des droits de l’homme dans ce pays.

Cette attention à la situation des droits de l’homme au Vietnam s’est faite encore plus vive aux alentours du 10 décembre dernier, jour anniversaire de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme. Des rappels à l’ordre concernant la situation générale du Vietnam ont été adressés aux autorités vietnamiennes par voie diplomatique. Certaines interventions ont porté sur des cas concrets de violations des droits de l’homme, tandis que des dissidents notoires obtenaient des prix de diverses associations internationales. [en savoir plus...]

Rights Groups Press for Release of Leading Vietnam Dissident

12.12.2013 Tra Mi (VOA) - A coalition of human rights organizations have issued an open letter calling for the release of prominent Vietnamese blogger, lawyer and human rights activist, Le Quoc Quan. In an interview with VOA's Vietnamese service, Benjamin Ismail, the head of the Asia-Pacific Desk at Reporters Without Borders, said his organization together with 11 other international rights groups petitioned for Quan’s acquittal based on International Human Rights standards, and the Rule of Law. "Le Quoc Quan is a special case because he is not only a blogger and a citizen jailed for using his fundamental and basic rights. But he is also a lawyer.  Someone who knows the law," he said. "And if lawyers can see their own rights denied by the regime, it means the rest of the population is even more vulnerable to human rights violations." [read more]

Vietnamese Authorities Beat Dissident Bloggers on Human Rights Day 11.12.2013 (RFA) - Authorities in Vietnam brutally beat several dissident bloggers on Human Rights Day after they publicly distributed documents promoting rights and explaining the country’s obligations as a signatory to an international convention on torture, according to sources Wednesday. Members of the VN Blogger Network were beaten by plainclothes police and unknown assailants in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in separate incidents on Tuesday, the sources said, while many rights campaigners were commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the first incident, blogger Me Nam said she, her young son and An Do Nguyen—known by her online pseudonym as Hoang Vi— were walking near Nguyen’s home in Ho Chi Minh City when plainclothes police approached them and took away a teddy bear they were holding. [read more]

47 Bipartisan Members of Congress Call on Secretary Kerry to Address Vietnam Human Rights Abuses Ahead of Trip

11.12.2013 (Congresswomen Zoe Lofgren) - WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congresswomen Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA-46), co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, released a bipartisan letter urging Secretary of State John Kerry to press the Vietnamese government to improve its abusive human rights record ahead of the Secretary’s trip to the nation later this month. The letter, signed by 47 Members of Congress, was sent on International Human Rights Day, which commemorates the adoption of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.  In the letter, the Representatives express their concerns that trade relationships, including those being negotiated under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), “needs to be conditioned upon improvements with regard to human rights.” [read more]

[Letter to Kerry]

Netizen Report: Vietnam ataca la “ideología reaccionaria” en las redes sociales

10.12.2013 Escrito por Netizen Report Team, Traducido por Sonia Ordóñez (Global Voices Español) - El Netizen Report de Global Voices Advocacy ofrece una instantánea internacional de los retos, victorias y nuevas tendencias en materia de derechos de Internet en todo el mundo. El informe de esta semana comienza en Vietnam, donde los usuarios de medios sociales pronto se enfrentarán a nuevas amenazas de sanciones por expresión política. Comentarios que pueden considerarse “propaganda contra el Estado” o “ideología reaccionaria” pronto se enfrentarán a multas [en] de 100 millones de dong (4740 dólares), a menos que merezcan cargos criminales. Otras conductas sancionables incluyen publicar mapas inconsistentes con las reclamaciones de soberanía del gobierno y operar sitios de comercio electrónico sin la licencia adecuada [en]. Aparentemente estas sanciones tienen como objetivo frenar el discurso sin necesidad de una pena de prisión, pero nadie sabe qué significará esto en un país que ha encarcelado a 46 blogueros sólo en este año. [seguir leyendo]

UN Rights Tribunal Calls for Release of Le Quoc Quan 09.12.2013 (Avocats sans Frontieres France) The detention of Vietnamese blogger, lawyer and human rights activist, Le Quoc Quan, has been condemned by a United Nations human rights tribunal as violating his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a tribunal set up under the UN’s Human Rights Council, found that Le Quoc Quan had been targeted for his work as an activist and as a blogger and called for his immediate release or for his conviction to be reviewed by an independent court. It also recommended that Viet Nam should pay damages to Le Quoc Quan for his arbitrary detention. [read more]

Expertos de la ONU condenan la detención del bloguero vietnamita Le Quoc Quan

09.12.2013 Escrito por Nani Jansen, traducido por Sonia Ordóñez (Global Voices Español) - Un grupo de expertos en derechos humanos de las Naciones Unidas ha determinado que la detención del bloguero [vi] y defensor de los derechos humanos vietnamita Le Quoc Quan representa una violación de su derecho a la libertad de expresión y a un juicio justo. Le Quoc Quan fue arrestado en diciembre de 2012 bajo falsos cargos de evasión de impuestos, destinados a impedirle llevar a cabo su legítimo trabajo de derechos humanos. Tras su arresto, estuvo recluido en régimen de incomunicación y se le negó el permiso para ver a su abogado durante dos meses. Tampoco pudo ver a ninguno de los miembros de su familia hasta el día de su juicio. [seguir leyendo]

Elever sa voix contre les atteintes aux droits de l’Homme

14.11.2013 par Tran Thu Nam (Avocats sans Frontieres France) - C’est un très grand honneur pour un avocat vietnamien de pouvoir parler aux avocats français de la situation des droits de l’Homme dans son pays.

Mais avant tout, permettez-moi de remercier le Bâtonnier des Hauts-de-Seine et Nathalie Muller- Sarallier de l’ONG Avocats sans Frontières. Ils m’ont soutenu dans des cas de défense des droits de l’Homme au Vietname tont créé desconditions qui me permettent de venir en France pour être le porte-parole de mes collègues avocats qui n’ont pas droit à la parole dans leur propre pays. [en savoir plus...]

UN Working Group Rules Favorably on Petition Filed by SLS’ Allen Weiner, Condemns Treatment of 16 Vietnamese Social and Political Activists

06.12.2013 By Anjali Abraham (SLS News) - In a decision announced on November 28, 2013, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) in Geneva ruled favorably on a petition filed by Allen Weiner, Director of the Stanford Program in International and Comparative Law at Stanford Law School, that contests the illegal arrest, conviction and ongoing detention of sixteen Vietnamese social and political activists. UNWGAD held that the detention and subsequent criminal conviction of these activists violated international human rights obligations that are binding on Vietnam and called upon the Vietnamese government to “immediate[ly] release” the detainees.

The activists were convicted under various Vietnamese criminal laws that outlaw “activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration,” the “undermining of national unity” and participating in “propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” [read more]

Police Crack Down on Human Rights Day Events in Vietnam

10.12.2013 Marianne Brown (VOA) - HANOI — Activists in Vietnam have complained of police harassment at events held to mark International Human Rights Day. To mark the day Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear issued a statement urging the country to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an agreement adopted in 1948 which outlines fundamental freedoms and rights of people across the world.

Shear said achieving demonstrable progress on human rights is vital to the relationship between the two countries and affects every facet of foreign policy. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese Activists Stopped from Holding Rights Rallies

09.12.2013 Tra Mi (VOA) - Dissidents in Vietnam say authorities have stopped them from holding gatherings to mark International Human Rights Day.

In interviews with VOA's Vietnamese service, online activists say officials dispersed crowds in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday.

Activist Trang Loan said her group was treated roughly by police. [read more]

Deutsche Botschafterin fordert Ende der Todesstrafe in Vietnam 09.12.2013 (europe online magazine) - ... Anlässlich des weltweiten Tages der Menschenrechte an diesem Dienstag forderten die beiden Botschafterinnen auch die Freilassung aller Gefangenen, die wegen öffentlicher Meinungsäußerungen verurteilt wurden [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt] 

Christians Fear More Repression Under Vietnam’s New Constitution

06.12.2013 (BosNewsLife) - HANOI, VIETNAM - Christian activists expressed concern Friday, December 6, that a revised constitution for Vietnam can be used to repress religious leaders and faith groups.

The constitution, which passed November 28 by an almost unanimous vote through parliament, has "disappointed religious leaders, intellectuals, activists and former officials hoping for political reform by preserving the dominance of the Communist Party," said Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a major advocacy group. [read more]

Vietnam: revised constitution fails to answer calls for reform

06.12.2013 (CSW) - A revised constitution for Vietnam, which was passed by a vote of almost 98% on 28 November, has disappointed religious leaders, intellectuals, activists and former officials hoping for political reform by preserving the dominance of the Communist Party.

The amended constitution will come into effect on 1 January 2014. Both the 1992 constitution and the revised version contain clauses protecting the right to follow or not follow a religion, but also include caveats prohibiting the misuse of religions or beliefs to violate the law, which officials opposed to the growth of religion can use to repress religious leaders and groups. [read more]

Chronology of Blogging Movement in Vietnam (updated 2013)

07.12.2013 Đoan Trang (Blog Đoan Trang) - ... November 13: The Vietnamese government signs Decree 174 on “administrative sanctions in the area of postal, telecommunication, IT and radio frequency”, imposing a fine of between 70,000,000 and 100,000,000 dong (approximately between 3300 USD and 4700 USD) on those who commit any of a great many acts, including “conducting propaganda against the state”, but not to the extent of penal liability examination. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Le rapporteur spécial de l’ONU pour les droits culturels demande l’intervention du gouvernement vietnamien dans l’affaire de la paroisse Côn Dâu

05.12.2013 (Églises d'Asie) - Depuis quelques mois, les informations sont devenues rares sur le sort de Côn Dâu, la paroisse catholique sacrifiée au développement tentaculaire de la ville de Danang. Le nom de cette paroisse vient cependant d’être évoqué à nouveau en public le 29 novembre dernier, à Hanoi. Farida Shaheeed, rapporteur spécial des Nations Unies pour les droits culturels, y a fait connaître, dans une conférence de presse, un premier bilan d’une visite de près de deux semaines au Vietnam. Elle a longuement mentionné la tragique destinée de la communauté catholique de Côn Dâu, qu’elle a tenu à rencontrer au cours de son voyage (1). [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese bloggers launch online network to push for human rights

05.12.2013 Alice Kirkland (Index on Censorship) - Vietnam has so far this year locked up more internet bloggers than in 2012. Vietnamese bloggers were therefore quick to react when, along with China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Cuba, the communist country was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for 2014-2016 term by creating and launching a new instrument for free expression: the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers (NVB).

The network aims to ensure that the Vietnamese government implements its obligations and commitments to the UNHRC through actions rather than mere political statements. Stating that, as Vietnam’s membership to the UNHRC means that all of its 90 million citizens are now members of the Council, the NVB will strive to uphold core values in the promoting and protection of human rights. [read more]

Appel à la libération de Le Quoc Quan

05.12.2013 (RSF) - Suite à la décision rendue par le groupe de travail des Nations Unies sur la détention arbitraire, qualifiant d’arbitraire la détention de l’avocat Le Quoc Quan, Reporters sans frontières publie le communiqué de presse commun de douze organisations de défense de la liberté d’expression et de l’information. Le communiqué, adressé aux autorités vietnamiennes, souligne les violations des normes de droit internationales subies par l’avocat et appelle à sa libération immédiate. [en savoir plus...]

Format PDF du Communiqué de presse

Joint appeal for the release of Le Quoc Quan

05.12.2013 (Reporters Without Borders) - Following a UN Human Rights Council determination that Vietnamese human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan’s detention is illegal, Reporters Without Borders is publishing a joint appeal to the Vietnamese authorities by 12 NGOs that defend free speech and freedom of information. It stresses that his detention violates international legal standards and calls for his immediate release.

PRESS RELEASE

UN Rights Tribunal Calls for Release of Vietnamese Blogger Activist 2 December 2013 The detention of Vietnamese blogger, lawyer and human rights activist, Le Quoc Quan, has been condemned by a United Nations human rights tribunal as violating his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a tribunal set up under the UN’s Human Rights Council, found that Le Quoc Quan had been targeted for his work as an activist and as a blogger and called for his immediate release or for his conviction to be reviewed by an independent court. It also recommended that Viet Nam should pay damages to Le Quoc Quan for his arbitrary detention. ... [read more]

The decision of the Working Group (A/HRC/WGAD/2013) can be downloaded from the website of the Media Legal Defence Initiative by clicking here.

PDF of the press release

Vietnamese bloggers launch online network to push for human rights

05.12.2013 Alice Kirkland (Index on Censorship) - Vietnam has so far this year locked up more internet bloggers than in 2012. Vietnamese bloggers were therefore quick to react when, along with China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Cuba, the communist country was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for 2014-2016 term by creating and launching a new instrument for free expression: the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers (NVB).

The network aims to ensure that the Vietnamese government implements its obligations and commitments to the UNHRC through actions rather than mere political statements. Stating that, as Vietnam’s membership to the UNHRC means that all of its 90 million citizens are now members of the Council, the NVB will strive to uphold core values in the promoting and protection of human rights. [read more]

Vietnam Drops Terrorism Probe Against Jailed Student Activist 03.12.2013 (VOA) - The family of a jailed Vietnamese activist says authorities have decided to drop a year-long investigation into ‘terrorism’ charges against him. Dinh Nguyen Kha’s brother says they learned of the decision during a recent visit with him in prison where he is serving a four-year sentence for anti-state propaganda. Dinh Nhat Uy says the investigation was halted because of public and international pressure on Vietnam. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Drops Terrorism Probe Against Jailed Student Activist

03.12.2013 (VOA) - The family of a jailed Vietnamese activist says authorities have decided to drop a year-long investigation into ‘terrorism’ charges against him.

Dinh Nguyen Kha’s brother says they learned of the decision during a recent visit with him in prison where he is serving a four-year sentence for anti-state propaganda.

Dinh Nhat Uy says the investigation was halted because of public and international pressure on Vietnam. [read more]

Vietnam. Feind des Internet

02.12.2013 Josef Bordat (Blog jobo72) - Feinde des Internet. Als solche bezeichnet Reporter ohne Grenzen fünf Staaten: Bahrain, China, Iran, Syrien und – Vietnam.

In Vietnam drohen künftig aufgrund eines neuen Gesetzes jedem Bürger saftige Geldstrafen, der es wagt, in Sozialen Netzen die Regierung zu kritisieren. Damit soll „gegen den Staat gerichtete Propaganda“ und die Verbreitung „reaktionärer Ideologie“ verhindert werden. Von den 90 Millionen Vietnamesen sollen derzeit rund 30 Millionen einen Internetzugang und 20 Millionen ein Facebook-Konto haben.

Erst im August war ein Gesetz verabschiedet worden, das Betreibern von Weblogs verpflichtet, ausschließlich Persönliches oder Angaben zur eigenen Firma zu veröffentlichen. Diese Regelung soll ein Aufkommen von Online-Medien in der Landessprache und insbesondere politischen Meinungsseiten verhindern. In Vietnam hat man nämlich grundsätzlich nur eine Meinung zu haben: die der kommunistischen Regierungspartei.

Hinweise darauf, dass diese nicht davor zurückschreckt, auch Nicht-Vietnamesen, die sich in Weblogs und in Sozialen Netzen kritisch mit der Menschenrechtslage in Vietnam auseinandersetzen, einzuschüchtern, kann ich, ein Anhänger der „reaktionären Ideologie“ von einer universalen Geltung elementarer Menschenrechte, nach eigenen Erfahrungen im Facebook leider nicht mehr vorbehaltlos unter „Propaganda“ verbuchen. [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: Amended Constitution a Missed Opportunity on Rights

New UN Human Rights Council Member Not Living Up to Commitments

03.12.2013 (HRW) - (New York) – The amended constitution Vietnam adopted on November 28, 2013, failed to address popular aspirations for change and reform, Human Rights Watch said today. Vietnam’s donors and development partners should redouble their efforts to press the Vietnamese government for constitutional and legal reforms to protect basic rights, such as freedom of expression and association.

When the amendment process began on January 2, the Vietnamese government and National Assembly urged members of the public to make recommendations for changing the constitution. Hundreds of thousands of people responded, in an unprecedented display of public participation in a legal reform process in Vietnam. Many comments were critical of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party, with large numbers of calls for ending one-party rule and instituting genuine periodic elections. On October 22, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Vietnam’s National Assembly urging it to accept amendments to promote and protect rights. [read more]

Urgent plea for help (From teacher Dinh Dang Dinh’s family) 02.12.2013 Mrs. Dang Thi Dinh, translated by Jasmine Tran (Dân Làm Báo) -  “Even though his health is in serious danger, my husband Dinh Dang Dinh has not been given proper treatment for his fatal cancer. For example, after stomach surgery, my husband was supposed to undergo eight continuous chemotherapy treatments, with each treatment lasting 22 days. On 4/11/2013, Dinh had his first chemo treatment, his health was deteriorating, and also he suffered some side effects. Despite all of these health problems, Dinh was not well looked after and was abruptly transferred back to the prison without any instructions from doctors. Once again, the Vietnamese Government showed no concern for the human rights of their people [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam to give big fines for social media propaganda

02.12.2013 By Christine Siagian (e27) - In a regulation bid, Vietnam has further hardened its internet laws, handing up to VND 100 million fine, anybody found in criticising the government online. Under a new law announced last week, Vietnam will hand up to VND 100 million (US$ 4,740) fines to anyone who is found violating the administrative procedures of Post and Telecommunication – not having permit to do business online, or criticising the government on social media.

There were three new laws signed last week. Those in the field of Post and Telecommunications, Information Technology and Radio Frequency, Electronic News sites and found operating without a license or after permit expiration will be fined from VND 10 million to VND 20 million. [read more]

Die Zivilgesellschaft "Vietnamese Women for Human Rights" (VNWHR) gegründet

29.11.2013 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Anfang dieser Woche haben vietnamesische Aktivistinnen die Zivilgesellschaft „Vietnamese Women for Human Rights“ (VNWHR) gegründet. Diese ist eine logische Antwort auf die Repressionspolitik der vietnamesischen Regierung, die zunehmend auch Dissidentinnen verfolgt. Eine der bekanntesten Mitglieder der VNWHR ist die Rechtsanwältin Le, Thi Cong Nhan, die wegen Propaganda gegen den Staat bereits von 2007 bis 2010 im Gefängnis war. Auch die junge Bloggerin Huynh, Thuc Vy, VNWHR-Mitglied, deren Vater Huynh, Ngoc-Tuan aufgrund kritischer Berichte über den Staat 1992 bis 2002 im Gefängnis saß und anschließend vier Jahre unter Hausarrest stand, spürt die Härte des Staates. Sie wurde und wird immer wieder von der Polizei verhaftet und schikaniert. Das Hanoier Regime fürchtet offensichtlich den freien Informationsaustausch im Internet, den die Bloggerin Huynh, Thuc-Vy trotz Verbots intensiv nutzt.  - [tiếng Việt]

• s.a. Erklärung der über die Gründung der Organisation "Vietnamesische Frauen für Menschenrechte" (VNWHR)

Vietnam: Criticize government on social media and go to jail

29.11.2013 by Dara Kerr (CNET) - The Southeast Asian nation is serving up harsh penalties, including fines and prison time, to people who post "propaganda against the state" on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites.

Vietnam is joining the ranks of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China, as being known as a country that censors its citizens on social media.

"Vietnam is fast turning into one of South East Asia's largest prisons for human rights defenders and other activists," Amnesty International Vietnam researcher Rupert Abbot said in a statement. "The government's alarming clampdown on free speech has to end." [read more]

Hasta 2,5 millones de pesos por criticar al gobierno de Vietnam en redes sociales

29.11.2013 (CNN Chile) - Desde su nacimiento en la década de 2000, las redes sociales han ido generando un cada vez más consolidado espacio de la libertad de expresión, considerando que la población se sigue volcando hacia ellas.

En Vietnam esto parece ser un problema, porque un tercio de la población ya cuenta con acceso a internet y 20 millones tiene un perfil en Facebook. La medida señala que publicar "propaganda contra el estado" o que sea de "ideología reaccionaria" enfrentará una multa de USD$4.740 (2,5 millones de pesos chilenos),

El problema se agrava más en la poca claridad de lo que son los conceptos señaladas, puesto que no están ejemplificadas las que serían consideradas así. [seguir leyendo]

UN expert on cultural rights calls for more space for people to express themselves in Viet Nam

29.11.2013 (OHCHR) HANOI – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on cultural rights, Farida Shaheed, today called on the Government of Viet Nam “to expand the space for people to articulate their views and to ensure they can contribute their knowledge, including their traditional knowledge, to the development of the country.”

“Viet Nam finds itself at an important juncture,” Ms. Shaheed noted at the end of her first mission* to Viet Nam (18-29 November) to study measures adopted by the authorities to ensure that all persons can fully enjoy their cultural rights in the country.

“It is time that the impressive progress made in reducing poverty and ensuring economic development is complemented by an increased space for public debate and the expression of a plurality of voices as the country moves forward”, she stressed. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

• • Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Visit to Viet Nam, 18 - 29 November, 2013 Preliminary conclusions and recommendations - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam to fine online critics of government

29.11.2013 by Eileen Yu (ZDNet) - A new law passed this week will see online users who criticize the Vietnamese government face fines of US$4,740, but the new ruling lacks clarity over what comments would constitute a fine rather than imprisonment.

Online users in Vietnam who criticize the government will face a fine of US$4,740 after a new law was passed this week.

In yet another move to curb online dissent, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed the legislation which states online users who make comments that do not constitute criminal offenses, but are deemed to be "propaganda against the state" or spreading "reactionary ideology", will face fines of 100 million dong (US$4,740).

This week's announcement is the latest in the Vietnamese government's efforts to clamp down on its critics online, which has seen rapid adoption in the country where a third of its estimated 90 million population now use the Internet. About 20 million have Facebook accounts, according to Reuters, citing stats from a report published at an IT seminar in September. [read more]

Vietnam verhängt hohe Strafen für Regierungskritik in Sozialen Netzen

29.11.2013 von Florian Kalenda (ZDNet) - In Vietnam drohen künftig jedem Geldstrafen in Höhe von bis zu 100 Millionen Dong (rund 3500 Euro), der die Landesregierung in einem Sozialen Netz kritisiert. Das sieht ein diese Woche verabschiedetes Gesetz vor, das dem Wortlaut zufolge “gegen den Staat gerichtete Propaganda” und Verbreitung “reaktionärer Ideologie” verhindern soll.

Reuters zufolge ist das Gesetz noch dazu schwammig formuliert. Unklar sei, welche Art Kommentare gar Straftatbestand erfüllen und daher eine Gefängnisstrafe nach sich ziehen würden, heißt es. Eine Geldstrafe wird nämlich nur bei Ordnungswidrigkeiten verhängt.

Das offenkundig gegen die Meinungsfreiheit gerichtete Gesetz ist nur der jüngste einer Reihe von Versuchen, die schnelle Ausbreitung des Internets in Vietnam zu kontrollieren. Von etwa 90 Millionen Einwohnern sollen derzeit rund 30 Millionen einen Internetzugang und 20 Millionen auch ein Facebook-Konto haben. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamese Communist Party Continues Social Media Clamp Down

Violators who criticize the government online to be hit with a fine that's about 27 times the average monthly wage

28.11.2013 By David Stout (Time) - Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party continued to tighten its authoritarian grip on Internet usage this week by passing a law that will hand out hefty fines to netizens posting material deemed critical of the state.

According to a report published by Reuters, anyone seen as criticizing the government on online social media platforms or espousing “reactionary ideology” can be hit with a fine equal to about $5,000. The average monthly income in the country is $185. [read more]

Vietnam: la critique du gouvernement sur Facebook passible d'amende

28.11.2013 (Le Parisien) - Critiquer le gouvernement sur les sites sociaux comme Facebook sera bientôt passible d'une lourde amende au Vietnam, dernier moyen de répression des internautes vietnamiens par un régime communiste à parti unique qui ne tolère aucune contestation, fût-elle en ligne.

"Une amende de 4.760 dollars sera appliquée à toute personne faisant de la propagande contre la République socialiste du Vietnam", selon le décret, numéro 174, publié sur un site gouvernemental.

Il doit entrer en vigueur à la mi-janvier 2014.

Le nouveau décret, vague, semble s'appliquer aux internautes individuels et à des "organisations et entreprises fournissant des sites sociaux", selon le texte signé à la mi-novembre par le Premier ministre Nguyen Tan Dung.

Porter atteinte à l'unité nationale, "déformer les faits historiques" et poster des commentaires "blessant la Nation" sur les sites sociaux seront également des infractions administratives passibles d'amendes diverses. [en savoir plus...]

Vietnam curbs social media 'propaganda'

28.11.2013 (ITWeb) - Vietnam will hand out fines of 100 million dong ($4 740) to anyone criticising the government on social media, under a new law announced this week, the latest measure in a widening crackdown on dissent by the country's communist rulers.

Comments that did not constitute criminal offences would trigger fines if held to be "propaganda against the state", or spreading "reactionary ideology", according to the law signed by prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung

The new decree is vaguely worded and did not say what comments amounted to a criminal offence, which can be punished with prison, or an "administrative violation" that rates a fine.

Media freedom campaigners Reporters Without Borders calls the country "an enemy of the Internet". The law would anger social media users, said Nguyen Lan Thang, a well-known Vietnamese Internet activist, who questioned the need for it.

"How could the government be destroyed by comments and the sharing of information on personal social media?" Thang said. The decree also said anyone posting online a map of Vietnam inconsistent with the country's sovereignty claims faced fines. [read more]

Vietnam to fine people for negative Facebook posts

28.11.2013 (news24) - Hanoi - Vietnam has intensified a crackdown on online dissent with a new decree that threatens fines of several thousand dollars for anybody criticising the government on Facebook.

The legislation, which will come into force in January, looks set to further narrow the space for online expression in a country already branded an "enemy of the internet" by Reporters Without Borders.

"A fine of up to $4 760 will be applied to anyone producing propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," according to a copy of "decree 174" posted on a government website. [read more]

Priests in Bac Ninh come out against bill that restricts religious freedom

27.11.2013 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi (AsiaNews/EDA) - Religious freedom, which is guaranteed by the constitution and existing regulations, "is a right and not a favour". The draft law not only has "too many unnecessary details" but creates "many obstacles and limitations," said a group of priests from the Diocese of Bac Ninh in a statement criticising the proposed new rules. The diocese is located in northern Vietnam, and borders the capital.

Called 'Provisions relating to a number of specific points on the management of religious activities in the territory of Bac Ninh,' the new rules de facto limit the religious rights of the clergy and the community of the faithful. [read more]

Los sacerdotes de Bac Ninh contra el proyecto de ley que restringe la libertad religiosa

27.11.2013 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi (Asianews/EdA) - La libertad religiosa garantizada por la Constitución y las leyes, "es un derecho y no un favor que no es concedido". El proyecto de ley que regula la aplicación, así como tener "demasiados detalles innecesarios" sienta "muchos obstáculos y límites". Es cuanto subrayan los sacerdotes de la diócesis de Bac Ninh, al norte de Vietnam, en un documento escrito criticando el decreto preparado por las autoridades de la provincia, limítrofe con la capital Hanói. Titulado "Disposiciones relativas a una serie de puntos específicos, sobre la administración de las actividades religiosas en el territorio de Bac Ninh", constituye en práctica un freno a las actividades de culto para el clero y la comunidad de los fieles. [en savoir plus...]