Menschenrechte / Human Rights (2014/1)

Europa: Übereinkommen zu Zwangsarbeit aktualisieren

Fast 21 Millionen Menschen Opfer moderner Formen von Sklaverei

30.04.2014 (HRW) - (Berlin) – Europäische Regierungen sollen den Tag der Arbeit am 1. Mai 2014 zum Anlass nehmen, um ihr Engagement für neue, rechtsverbindliche Normen zur Prävention von Zwangsarbeit sowie zum Schutz und zur Entschädigung von Opfern zu unterstreichen, so Human Rights Watch. Nach Schätzungen der Internationalen Arbeitsorganisation (ILO) sind weltweit 20,9 Millionen Frauen, Männer und Kinder in Zwangsarbeit gefangen.

Die ILO schätzt, dass es in der Europäischen Union 880.000 Opfer von Zwangsarbeit gibt, weitere 1,6 Millionen in Mittel- und Südosteuropa und in der Gemeinschaft unabhängiger Staaten.

... In Vietnam sind die staatlichen Hafteinrichtungen, in denen Drogenkonsumenten „behandelt“ und „rehabilitiert“ werden sollen, letztendlich Zwangsarbeitslager. Die Betroffenen arbeiten sechs Tage pro Woche, sie verarbeiten Cashewnüsse, nähen Bekleidung oder fertigen andere Dinge an. Vu Ban war Ende 20, als er für fünf Jahre in der Einrichtung Nr. 2 (Lam Dong-Provinz) inhaftiert war. Er berichtete Human Rights Watch: „Ich hatte ein tägliches Soll von 30 Kilo [Cashewnüssen] und arbeitete so lange, bis das Soll erfüllt war. Wenn man die Arbeit verweigerte, landete man in einem Züchtigungsraum und nach einem Monat [da drin] war man froh, wieder zu arbeiten.“ [Weiterlesen]

Europe : Il faut mettre à jour la convention sur le travail forcé

Près de 21 millions de personnes sont victimes de l’esclavage moderne

30.04.2014 (HRW) - (Berlin) – Les gouvernements européens devraient marquer la Fête du Travail, le 1er mai 2014, en s’engageant à mettre en place des normes juridiquement contraignantes pour prévenir le travail forcé et pour protéger et indemniser les victimes, a déclaré Human Rights Watch aujourd'hui. L'Organisation internationale du Travail (OIT) estime que 20,9 millions de femmes, d’hommes et d’enfants sont victimes du travail forcé dans le monde entier.

L'OIT estime qu'il existe 880 000 victimes du travail forcé dans l'Union européenne, et 1,6 million d’autres victimes en Europe centrale et du Sud, ainsi que dans la Communauté des États indépendants.

Au Vietnam, les centres de détention pour toxicomanes gérés par le gouvernement, mandatés pour « traiter » et « réhabiliter » les toxicomanes, ne sont guère plus que des camps de travaux forcés où les toxicomanes travaillent six jours par semaine dans le traitement des noix de cajou, la couture de vêtements ou la fabrication d'autres articles. Vu Ban avait une vingtaine d’années quand il a été détenu au centre n° 2 (province de Lam Dong) pendant cinq ans. Il a confié à Human Rights Watch : « J'avais un quota de 30 kilos [de noix de cajou] par jour et je travaillais jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient achevés. Si vous refusiez de travailler vous étiez envoyé dans la pièce de punition et après un mois [dedans] vous acceptiez de travailler à nouveau. » [en savoir plus]

Europa debe modificar el tratado sobre trabajo forzado

Existen casi 21 millones de personas en condiciones de esclavitud moderna

30.04.2014 (HRW) - (Berlín) – El 1 de mayo de 2014, los gobiernos europeos deberían celebrar el Día del Trabajo expresando un compromiso de adoptar normas jurídicamente vinculantes para prevenir el trabajo forzado, y proteger y resarcir a las víctimas, señaló hoy Human Rights Watch. La Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) calcula que 20,9 millones de mujeres, hombres y niños en todo el mundo están en situación de trabajo forzado.

La OIT estima que existen 880.000 víctimas de trabajo forzado en la Unión Europea, y otros 1,6 millones de víctimas en países del centro y sudeste de Europa y en la Comunidad de Estados Independientes.

En Vietnam, centros de detención de drogodependientes gestionados por el gobierno, que tienen la misión de “brindar tratamiento” y “rehabilitar” a personas que consumen drogas, son en realidad poco más que campos de trabajo forzado, donde las personas allí internadas trabajan seis días por semana procesando nueces, cosiendo prendas o fabricando otros artículos. Vu Ban tenía menos de 30 años cuando ingresó al Centro N.° 2 (en la provincia de Lam Dong) para permanecer detenido cinco años. Dijo a Human Rights Watch: “Debía procesar como mínimo 30 kilos [de nueces] por día, y tenía que trabajar hasta terminar. Si te negabas a trabajar eras enviado a la sala de castigos, y luego de un mes [allí] aceptabas trabajar nuevamente”. [seguir leyendo]

Europe: Update Treaty on Forced Labor

Almost 21 Million People in Modern-Day Slavery

29.04.2014 (HRW) - (Berlin) – European governments should mark Labor Day on May 1, 2014, with a commitment to create legally binding standards to prevent forced labor and to protect and compensate victims, Human Rights Watch said today. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 20.9 million women, men, and children are trapped in forced labor worldwide.

The ILO estimates there are 880,000 victims of forced labor in the European Union, and another 1.6 million victims in central and southeastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

... In Vietnam, government-run drug detention centers, mandated to “treat” and “rehabilitate” drug users, are little more than forced labor camps where drug users work six days a week processing cashews, sewing garments, or manufacturing other items. Vu Ban was in his late 20s when he was detained in Center No. 2 (Lam Dong province) for five years. He told Human Rights Watch: “I had a quota of 30 kilos [of cashews] a day and worked until they were done. If you refused to work you were sent to the punishment room and after a month [there] you agreed to work again.” [read more]

Vietnam’s Blogosphere Poses Big Challenge to State Media, Activists Say

29.04.2014 By Rachel Vandenbrink (RFA) - Vietnam’s blogosphere is posing a big challenge to state media as social media grows in popularity and government-sanctioned newspapers lose readership, a group of Vietnamese citizen journalists and digital activists told U.S. lawmakers at a meeting in Washington Tuesday. The netizens called for tougher U.S. pressure on Vietnam to protect freedom of speech and information, citing harassment and imprisonment of those who criticize the one-party communist government online.

The six well known netizens—Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, Ngo Nhat Dang, Nguyen Dinh Ha, To Oanh, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Thanh Tung—were speaking at a congressional briefing ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Three others invited to the briefing were prevented by Vietnamese authorities from leaving their country. [read more]

Rights activists say Vietnamese trafficking victims forced to grow marijuana in Europe

29.04.2014 Author: Rachel Browne (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - TORONTO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Vietnamese grandmother doing time in an Irish prison is the face of a recent trend in human trafficking, human rights activists say.

She was lured from her rural village in Vietnam in 2012 with promises of a good job in Europe taking care of children. Instead she became a virtual prisoner, starved and forced to work as a gardener tending marijuana in a house outside Dublin, said her lawyer Aine Flynn in an interview.

“It certainly is a Europe-wide problem and what we suspect is that they might be rising across Europe and might be moving around,” said Klara Skrivankova, trafficking coordinator at Anti-Slavery International, in an interview. “We’re not talking about individuals and ad hoc cases, we’re talking about a systemic problem.” [read more]

RWB publishes profiles of “100 information heroes”

29.04.2014 (Reporters Without Borders) - For the first time ever, Reporters Without Borders is publishing a list of profiles of “100 information heroes” for World Press Freedom Day (3 May).

Through their courageous work or activism, these “100 heroes” help to promote the freedom enshrined in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the freedom to “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” They put their ideals in the service of the common good. They serve as examples.

“World Press Freedom Day, which Reporters Without Borders helped to create, should be an occasion for paying tribute to the courage of the journalists and bloggers who constantly sacrifice their safety and sometimes their lives to their vocation,” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

Not all are professional journalists. The Vietnamese citizen-journalist Le Ngoc Thanh, for example, is also a Catholic priest. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

* List of profiles of “100 information heroes”

RSF publie la liste des “100 héros de l’information”

29.04.2014 (Reporters sans frontières) - A l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de la liberté de la presse 2014, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) publie pour la première fois une liste de “100 héros de l’information”.

Dotés d’un courage exemplaire, ces “100 héros” contribuent, par leur travail ou leur combat, à promouvoir la liberté prévue par l’article 19 de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme, celle de “chercher, de recevoir et de répandre, sans considérations de frontières, les informations et les idées par quelque moyen d’expression que ce soit”. Les “100 héros” mettent leur idéal “au service du bien commun”. A ce titre, ils ont valeur d’exemple.

“La Journée mondiale de la liberté de la presse, dont Reporters sans frontières fut à l’origine, doit être l’occasion de saluer le courage de ces journalistes et blogueurs qui sacrifient chaque jour leur sécurité et parfois leur vie à leur vocation, déclare Christophe Deloire, secrétaire général de RSF. Les “héros de l’information” sont une source d’inspiration pour toutes les femmes et tous les hommes qui aspirent à la liberté. Sans leur détermination et celle de tous leurs semblables, il ne serait pas possible d’étendre le domaine de la liberté tout court”. [en savoir plus] - [tiếng Việt]

* Lire les portraits de ces 100 héros de l’information

RSF publica la lista de los “100 héroes de la información”

29.04.2014 (Reporteros sin Fronteras) - Con ocasión del Día Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa 2014, Reporteros sin Fronteras (RSF) publica por primera vez una lista de “100 héroes de la información”.

Dotados de un valor ejemplar, estos “100 héroes” contribuyen por su lucha o su trabajo a promover la libertad, contemplada en el artículo 19 de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos, de “investigar y recibir informaciones y opiniones, y de difundirlas, sin limitación de fronteras, por cualquier medio de expresión”. Los “100 héroes” ponen su ideal “al servicio del bien común”. Y por ello, tienen el valor del ejemplo.

“El Día Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa –cuya creación fue promovida por Reporteros sin Fronteras– debe ser la ocasión de reconocer el valor de estos periodistas y blogueros que, por su vocación, cada día ponen en riesgo su seguridad y en ocasiones su vida”, afirmó Christophe Deloire, Secretario General de RSF. “Los ‘héroes de la información’ son una fuente de inspiración para todas las mujeres y todos los hombres que aspiran a la libertad. Sin su determinación y la de todos sus semejantes, no sería posible ampliar el área de la libertad simplemente”, agregó. [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

* Lista de los “100 héroes de la información”

Greenwald bis Tat: 100 "Helden der Pressefreiheit"

29.04.2014 (derStandard.at) - Anlässlich des Internationalen Tages der Pressefreiheit - US-Enthüllungsreporter Glenn Greenwald ist auch dabei Paris/Wien - Vor dem Welttag der Pressefreiheit am kommenden Samstag hat Reporter ohne Grenzen 100 "Helden der Pressefreiheit" aus 65 Ländern aufgelistet und porträtiert. "Wir wollen die Aufmerksamkeit auf diese Unerschrockenen lenken. Gerade in repressiven Staaten leisten sie einen unermesslichen Beitrag für die Entwicklung ihrer Gesellschaften", so ROG-Österreich-Präsidentin Rubina Möhring.

Bekannte Namen finden sich in der - beispielhaften und naturgemäß unvollständigen - Liste: Glenn Greenwald und Laura Poitras, die mit Edward Snowden die globale Überwachung und Spionage insbesondere der NSA aufdeckten; Wikileaks-Chef Julian Assange. Aber auch den katholischen Priester Le Ngoc Thanh aus Vietnam [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

* Liste der „Helden der Pressefreiheit“

A message from son of Vietnam blogger Nguyen Van Hai

29.04.2014 By Bob Dietz/CPJ Asia Program Coordinator (CPJ) - In preparation for today's Congressional Briefing on Media Freedom in Vietnam, organized by members of the U.S. House of Representatives and featuring a panel of Vietnamese bloggers and others, CPJ has been in close contact with the family of Nguyen Van Hai, a blogger who has been in jail since 2008. We have also met with several other bloggers from Vietnam, some of whom are in Washington, D.C. today.

While we seek the release of all imprisoned journalists in Vietnam, we have focused on Hai (also known by the name of his blog Dieu Cay, or Peasant's Pipe) because he was given, in absentia, a CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2013, and is the longest jailed journalist in Vietnam--since April 2008. [read more]

Vietnamese Women for Human Rights call for the unconditional release of Do Thi Minh Hanh, Ta Phong Tan and Ho Thi Bich Khuong

28/04/2014 (PNNQVN) Translation by Chan Minh (Defend The Defenders) - Under great pressure from the US on its human rights record, utterly powerless to stop and reverse the accelerating decline of the anemic economy, and unable to reach out and join the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty, the Government of Vietnam (GVN) recently considered its options and did something it hasn’t done in long time. It released five well known prisoners of conscience well ahead of their jail terms. The released prisoners of conscience are: MM. Cu Huy Ha Vu, Nguyen Tien Trung, Vi Đac Hoi, Đinh Đong Đinh and Nguyen Huu Cau. ... It is also very important to point out that of the 5 prisoners of conscience mentioned earlier none is a woman. Concerning three female prisoners of conscience we know well, namely Ms. Do Thi Minh Hang, Ms. Ta Phong Tan, and Ms. Ho Thi Bich Khuong, all available evidence points to the fact that they are subject to prison conditions that are much harsher than those experienced by their male counterparts. We believe this is due to their steely determination. Why aren’t women, and especially women who are sick, get priorities in prisoner releases for medical treatment as well as for humanitarian and other reasons? [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Hanoi: 1000 police suppressed Duong Noi farmers and kidnapped Mrs. Cấn Thị Thêu

26.04.2014 CTV Danlambao/Translated by Danlambao's reader - In the early hours of April 25, 2014, the authorities mobilized forces up to 1000 troops to start operation of land confiscation and suppression of farmers who were trying to keep their land in Duong Noi (Ha Dong District, Hanoi).

From early morning, the entire stretch of Le Trong Tan road -- passing through the land area to be confiscated and about 500 meters long -- was barricaded by the police with makeshift fences; vehicles cannot pass through this road. Hundreds of farmers -- who were determined to hold on to their land and were staying in makeshift tents -- were completely isolated. [read more]

Viet Nam – lift retaliatory travel restrictions on human rights defender

25.04.2014 (ICJ) - The ICJ today called on the government of Viet Nam to immediately return human rights defender Pham Chi Dung’s passport so he can travel to the United States to testify before Congress later this month.

Representatives Loretta Sanchez and Zoe Lofgren have invited Pham Chi Dung to testify before the US. Congress about media freedom on 29 April 2014. He’s also scheduled to speak at a seminar of non-governmental organizations in Washington D.C. on 1 May 2014 called “Towards a Free Media in Viet Nam.”

However, he will be unable to travel unless the authorities return his passport.

Pham Chi Dung’s passport was taken from him at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on 1 February 2014, preventing him from travelling to Geneva, Switzerland to attend a human rights meeting, being held on the margins of a session of a body of the UN Human Rights Council that was going to examine Viet Nam’s human rights record. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Bars Bloggers From Attending U.S. Congressional Briefing

25.04.2014 (RFA) - Three Vietnamese bloggers have been barred from traveling to testify at a U.S. congressional briefing in Washington next week and attend a series of events to mark World Press Freedom Day, rights groups say, criticizing the authoritarian government in Hanoi for attempting to curtail a vibrant netizen movement in the country.

Among them was Pham Chi Dung, whose passport has not been returned to him nearly three months after it was seized by Vietnamese authorities who prevented him from traveling to Geneva to attend a meeting on the margins of a U.N. Human Rights Council conference examining Vietnam’s human rights record.

“The continued withholding of Pham Chi Dung’s passport is a serious violation of his rights,” said Sam Zarifi, the International Commission of Jurists’ Asia-Pacific Regional Director, in a statement Friday. [read more]

Fotos für die Pressefreiheit 2014: Einladung zur Buchpräsentation mit André Vieira (Brasilien) am 2. Mai 2013 in Berlin

25.04.2014 (ROG) - Zum Internationalen Tag der Pressefreiheit am 3. Mai veröffentlicht Reporter ohne Grenzen das Buch „Fotos für die Pressefreiheit 2014“. Der diesjährige Band zum 20-jährigen Bestehen der deutschen ROG-Sektion stellt die Arbeiten renommierter Fotografen in den Mittelpunkt, die Bilder aus ihren Heimatländern zeigen. Oft lenken sie den Blick auf Aspekte ihrer Gesellschaften, über die die Mächtigen nur ungern sprechen.

Einige der Bilder kommen aus Ländern wie China, Brasilien und der Türkei, in denen Journalisten unter großen persönlichen Risiken arbeiten. Oder sie bringen Themen zur Sprache, über die die Medien in Indien, Vietnam, Russland oder den USA nur selten berichten. Die Bildstrecken werden durch Texte ergänzt, in denen die Fotografen über ihre Arbeit und ihre Beweggründe erzählen. [Weiterlesen]

Hanoi: 1000 police suppressed Duong Noi farmers and kidnapped Mrs. Cấn Thị Thêu

26.04.2014 CTV Danlambao/Translated by Danlambao's reader - In the early hours of April 25, 2014, the authorities mobilized forces up to 1000 troops to start operation of land confiscation and suppression of farmers who were trying to keep their land in Duong Noi (Ha Dong District, Hanoi).

From early morning, the entire stretch of Le Trong Tan road -- passing through the land area to be confiscated and about 500 meters long -- was barricaded by the police with makeshift fences; vehicles cannot pass through this road. Hundreds of farmers -- who were determined to hold on to their land and were staying in makeshift tents -- were completely isolated. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Report on Violations of Freedom of Religion by the Government of Vietnam for First Quarter of 2014

24.04.2014 (VRNs) - Saigon - However from January 1st through March 31st of 2014, there had been numerous cases of violations of freedom of religion by offices in the Vietnamese government system upon individuals and religious organizations.

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Report on Violations of Freedom of Religion by the Government of Vietnam

Report Numbered 01/2014 for First Quarter of 2014

Article 24 of the 2013 Version of Vietnamese Constitution, which was approved by Congress on November 28th, 2013 and became effective on January 1st, 2014, defines:

1. Everybody is entitled to freedom of religion. A person can choose to practice any religion of their choice or remains atheist. All religions are equal by laws.

2. The government respects and guarantees freedom of religion. 3. No person can violate freedom of religion for another, and no person can abuse freedom of religion to breach the laws.

However from January 1st through March 31st of 2014, there had been numerous cases of violations of freedom of religion by offices in the Vietnamese government system upon individuals and religious organizations. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

How the Vietnamese Government is Using Its Political Prisoners to Gain Leverage

22.04.2014 By Leila Chacko (Amnesty International USA) - In the past couple of weeks, Viet Nam has released 3 prominent prisoners of conscience: Nguyen Tien Trung, Vi Duc Hoi and Cu Huy Ha Vu.

The release of the 3 prisoners seems, at first glance, to be a step in the right direction for human rights. But, is this Viet Nam playing the old “shell game?” In the shell game, a swindler on the street puts a pea under one of three shells. The shells are shuffled around. Someone in the audience makes a bet as to where the pea is hiding. The swindler uses sleight of hand to move the pea in his favor, thus taking the bettor’s money.

Viet Nam plays its shell game by having revolving prison doors. The government moves prisoners of conscience in and out of prison, whenever it seems like a favorable move. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Kontum: Easter among Vietnamese Catholics is stronger than Communist repression

22.04.2014 by TT (AsiaNews) - For many communities in the diocese, Christmas and Easter are the only time when they can attend Mass. The local bishop celebrated Mass in a private home because the local administration has not allowed the construction of a place of worship. He performed the rite of the 'Washing of the Feet' to 100 people, including women and children.

Despite the fear of arrest and repression, but boosted by a strong faith, Catholics celebrated the rites of Holy Week and Easter in the remote and mountainous areas of the Diocese of Kontum, in the central highlands of Vietnam. For many people, the solemn celebrations for the death and resurrection of Jesus, along with Christmas, are the only opportunity to attend Mass. [read more]

Kontum: la Pascua de vietnamitas católicos, más fuerte que la represión de las autoridades comunistas

22.04.2014 de TT (AsiaNews) - Para muchas comunidades de la diócesis, Navidad y Pascua son las únicas maneras para que participen en la misa. El obispo celebró la misa en una casa particular, debido a que la administración local impide la construcción de un lugar de culto. Se ha realizado el rito del lavatorio de los pies para 100 fieles, entre ellos mujeres y niños.

En el temor de detenciones y la represión, pero siempre con el apoyo de una gran fe, los católicos en las zonas remotas y montañosas de la diócesis de Kontum - en las tierras altas centrales de Vietnam - han celebrado los ritos de la Semana Santa y Pascua. Para muchos las celebraciones solemnes de la muerte y resurrección de Jesús son, junto con la Navidad, las únicas ocasiones para asistir a misa. Al igual que con la comunidad de la ciudad de Kanat, en el distrito de K'Bang, donde el obispo. Michael Đức Hoàng Oanh celebró misa el 17 de abril, Jueves Santo. [seguir leyendo]

Authorities in Vietnam Incite Villagers to Attack Christian Converts

15.04.2014 (Morning Star News) – Inciting social hostility appears to have become a key way government officials in rural Vietnam try to contain, or at least slow, the growth of Christianity among ethnic minorities, sources said.

Ethnic Hmong Christians were the targets of two incidents the past two months in Vietnam’s northwest. Village officials in Son La Province dragged a couple from their home in late March, and the previous month authorities in neighboring Dien Bien Province incited a mob to beat a Christian family – including a 9-year-old girl – and drive them from the village.

In the latter case in Dien Bien Dong District, Public Security officers Hang Da Sinh and Cu Ninh Vang recruited some 30 villagers of Trun Phu Village, Na Song Commune, to accompany them to the home of Hang A Khua the evening of Feb. 26, according to Khua. Backed by an intimidating mob, the officers ordered Khua and his family of nine to recant their Christian faith and immediately and publicly signify their sincerity by re-establishing a family altar and worshipping their ancestors. [read more]

Airport Border Gate’s Colonel: “I am law!”

14.04.2014 Cui Cac – Truong Hoa Minh (Blog Cùi Các) - “I am law!”- Such are the words uttered by Senior Lieutenant Colonel of Vietnam’s Public Security Force Vu Xuan Ai when he responded while on duty to Ms. Huyen Trang, a reporter from the Vietnamese Redemptorists’ News (VRNs), who was prohibited from leaving the country at Tan Son Nhat border gate in Ho Chi Minh city last Saturday.

At around 9pm on April 12th, Trang’s passport was unexpectedly confiscated by the airport’s security officers when she was going though passport control. Those officers, however, failed to cite neither a reason nor legal basis for their confiscation.

Regarding such behavior as arbitrary, Trang requested them to adhere to formal immigration procedures as provided by law. It was then that she was physically abused. In particular, a male officer punched her throat before 3 other male ones started holding her neck and dragged her outside.

After the incident, the VRNs reporter said neither was there a written record for the confiscation of her passport, nor did the airport authority present an official Decision forbidding her from leaving the country. Rather, all she got was Colonel Ai’s titular claim. [read more]

State of Political Blogging in Vietnam

16.04.2014 Written by Mong Palatino (GlobalVoices) - Doan Trang observed that a growing number of Vietnamese bloggers have been tackling human rights and other political issues by.

"writing commentaries and analyses, even finding supplementary facts. Despite the emotional style which may sometimes reveal their non-professionalism, they filled the vacuum left by the mainstream media which in most cases would only report news without producing any in-depth analysis".

But only few are writing in English ... [read more]

La situation du blogging politique au Vietnam

16.04.2014 Ecrit par Mong Palatino, Traduit par Claire Ulrich (GlobalVoices) - Doan Trang remarque qu'un nombre croissant de blogueurs vietnamiens s'attaquent à la question des droits humains, ainsi qu'à d'autres sujets politiques, en "publiant des opinions et des analyses, et en recherchant même parfois des données et faits inédits. En dépit de leur style parfois ‘émotif', qui peut trahir le fait qu'ils ne sont pas (des journalistes) professionnels, ils remplissent le vide laissé par les médias traditionnels sur ces sujets, qui, dans la plupart des affaires, répercuteraient uniquement l'information sans l'accompagner d'une analyse en profondeur".

Mais quelques uns seulement de ces blogueurs publient en anglais ... [en savoir plus]

Menschenrechtler aus Vietnam nicht vergessen

11.04.2014 Martin Patzelt, MdB (Martin Patzelt Newsletter) - Trotz der Haushaltsberatungen tagten weiterhin die Ausschüsse. Ich konnte als Mitglied des Ausschusses für Menschenrechte und humanitäre Hilfe ein Gespräch mit Frau Thi Ngoc Minh Tran aus Vietnam, der Mutter einer inhaftierten Menschenrechtlerin, initiieren. Bewegt schilderte Frau Thi Ngoc Minh Tran, wie es Ihrer Tochter im Gefängnis, 1700 km von ihrer Heimat entfernt, ergeht. Frau Do Thi Minh Hanh, geboren 1985, engagierte sich bereits seit dem 16. Lebensjahr für die Opfer sozialer Ungerechtigkeiten in Vietnam, später auf Gewerkschaftsebene. 2010 wurde sie wegen Störung der öffentlichen Ordnung zu 7 Jahren Haft verurteilt. [Weiterlesen]

Son of prisoner of conscience Nguyen Xuan Nghia banned from exiting Vietnam

16.04.2014 Phạm Thanh Nghiên (Danlambao) / Translate by Như Ngọc (Danlambao) - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thuy, 26, son of prisoner of conscience Nguyen Xuan Nghia, is currently detained at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Reportedly, Thuy was accepted for resettlement in the United States. While the staffs of the International Organization of Migration were guiding Thuy with customs procedures, the airport security informed his name is on the list of people banned from exiting Vietnam.

At least two airport security officials, Mr. Le Duc Tho, shield No. 003 582, and Mr. Le Hong Thai, deputy airport police, are directly working on his case. The reason for the ban is said to be made upon the request of Hai Phong police. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Leveraging the TPP for Human Rights in Vietnam

16.04.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc (Asia Sentinel) - Hanoi’s recent release of political prisoners is nothing more than a distraction. The US should use the TPP to demand serious reform

Since March, five political prisoners have been released by Hanoi as part of its “policy of leniency.” These dissidents represent the spectrum of those individuals who have been detained by the Vietnamese government.

In March, Vietnamese authorities released Nguyen Huu Cau and Dinh Dang Dinh. Nguyen Huu Cau, a poet and former officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), is said to be one of the longest jailed prisoners after having spent 32 years behind bars since 1982. He was handed a life sentence (reduced from a death sentence) for “undermining unity” after daring to write poems and songs about government corruption and abuse of powers – this following his six-year ordeal in a re-education camp after his capture in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. [read more]

Vietnam lässt Dissidenten frei

15.04.2014 Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Seit Jahren geht die Regierung Vietnams mit Kritikern hart ins Gericht. Jetzt wurden in zwei Wochen gleich drei freigelassen. Experten vermuten, dass Verhandlungen über ein Wirtschaftsabkommen der Grund sind.

Niemand hat damit gerechnet, doch seit Samstag (12.04.2014) ist der vietnamesische Dissident Nguyen Tien Trung frei. Der 30-jährige Aktivist, der 2009 von vietnamesischen Sicherheitsbehörden verhaftetet wurde, hatte mehrfach demokratische Reformen gefordert und die Studentenorganisation "Demokratische Jugend Vietnams" gegründet. Der Vorwurf der Behörden damals: "Verschwörung zum Umsturz der Regierung". Das Urteil: sieben Jahre Gefängnis. Namhafte Experten im In- und Ausland, wie der emeritierte australische Südostasienwissenschaftler Carlyle Thayer, kritisierten die Verhaftung als Versuch, Regierungskritiker mundtot zu machen.

Auch Vi Duc Hoi ist seit Freitag (11.04.2014) frei. Das ehemals hochrangige Mitglied der Kommunistischen Partei Vietnams (KPV) stammt aus der an China grenzenden Lang Son Provinz. Er war in Ungnade gefallen, als er 2006 ein Mehrparteiensystem und mehr Demokratie forderte. Nach dem Parteiausschluss engagierte er sich als Blogger. Er veröffentlichte online ein Buch, in dem er schilderte, wie und warum er sich der Demokratiebewegung anschloss. 2010 folgte dann die Verhaftung und unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit die Verurteilung zu fünf Jahren Gefängnis mit anschließendem dreijährigen Hausarrest. Amnesty International kritisierte das Urteil scharf und fordert auch heute die Freilassung aller politischen Gefangenen. [Weiterlesen]

Senator Thanh Hai Ngo hosts Religious Freedom Roundtable at the Senate of Canada

15.04.2014 (Rallying for Democracy) - OTTAWA – On April 11th 2014, the Honourable Senator Thanh Hai Ngo hosted a religious freedom roundtable with numerous religious leaders from the Vietnamese-Canadian community. He was joined by Mrs. Lois Brown, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, and representatives from the Department of Religious freedom and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.

Members of Vietnamese religious groups representing the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), Hoa Hao Buddhism, Cao Dai, the Catholic Church of Vietnam, the Montagnard and the Lay Buddhist Group joined in the roundtable discussion of religious freedom in Vietnam.

“The testimonies and recommendations from the religious groups made it clear that the human rights situation in Vietnam remains dire. Religious groups in Vietnam are facing ongoing systematic oppression based on their beliefs and personal faith, resulting in fundamental violations of international human rights standards” said Senator Ngo after the roundtable. [read more]

Viet Nam: Prisoners of conscience released but dozens remain jailed

14.04.2014 (AI) - The early release in Viet Nam of several prisoners of conscience is welcome, but serves to highlight the situation of at least 70 others who remain jailed for peacefully expressing their opinions, Amnesty International said today.

Nguyen Tien Trung, Vi Duc Hoi and Cu Huy Ha Vu have all been released over the past week.

“We are delighted that these men are out of prison but they should never have been locked-up in the first place,” said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

“The releases are a step in the right direction for freedom of expression and we hope that they reflect a shift in Viet Nam’s commitment to respecting human rights.”

Amnesty International has documented the cases of 75 individuals who have been imprisoned after being tried and convicted for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, and raised some of these cases in a recent visit to Viet Nam. [read more]

Debido a las presiones internacionales, Hanói excarcela a dos activistas pro-democracia

14.04.2014 (AsiaNews) - En los días pasados han dejado la cárcel Nguyen Tien Trung de 31 años y Duc Hoy de 57. Ambos fueron arrestados y condenados por propaganda anti-gobierno y tentativo de derribar al gobierno. En realidad piden sólo un sistema multi-partítico y reforma institucionales. Decisiva la obra diplomática del extranjero. Después de fuertes presiones de la comunidad internacional, que pide progresos decisivos en tema de derechos humanos, el gobierno vietnamita- guiado por el único Partido comunista- liberó a dos disidentes de primer plano, de hace tiempo encarcelados. Se trata del activista pro-democracia Nguyen Tien Trung y del blogger y escritor Vi Duc Hoy, liberados el 12 de abril, después de casi 5 años detrás de las barras y antes de haber completamente expiado la condena. Trung, hoy tiene 31 años, fue arrestado en julio de 2009 y condenado a 7 años en 2010 por haber "intentado derrocar al gobierno" y la dirigencia comunista favoreciendo la formación de un partido de oposición. Hoy, 57 años, ex miembro el Partido comunista, fue detenido en octubre de 2010 y castigado en 2011 a 8 años de reclusión- reducidos después a 5- por "propaganda anti-gobierno" en internet, mediante artículos y comentarios que pedían respeto por los derechos humanos y reformas. [seguir leyendo]

Un ancien étudiant rennais, détenu au Vietnam, vient d'être libéré

14.04.2014 Par Stéphane Grammont (France 3 Bretagne) - Nguyen Tien Trung, diplômé de l'INSA en 2007, avait été mis en prison pour avoir appelé à plus de libertés au Vietnam. Il vient d'être libéré après plus de 4 ans d'enfermement. Il reste en liberté surveillée.

Nguyen Tien Trung avait été condamné en 2010 à 7 ans de prison et 3 ans de liberté surveillée. On lui reproche d'avoir disséminé des dizaines d'écrits sur son blog, discréditant le régime Vietnamien. Il a été arrêté et accusé de "tentative de renversement du régime communiste".

Il vient d'être libéré de prison, mais reste soumis aux 3 ans de résidence surveillée. "C'est un soulagement, bien sûr" a déclaré Philippe Echard, le Président du comité de soutien, "on attend maintenant de savoir quelles vont être les conditions de la liberté surveillée". [en savoir plus ...]

Vietnam lässt Dissidenten frei

14.04.2014 (ORF) - Vietnam hat überraschend zwei Dissidenten freigelassen. Nguyen Tien Trung war 2010 wegen Umsturzversuchen zu sieben Jahren Haft verurteilt worden, Vi Duc Hoi bekam ein Jahr später acht Jahre Haft wegen „Propaganda gegen den Staat“.

„Sie sagten, ich profitiere von einer Amnestie des Präsidenten“, sagte Hoi heute laut der Nachrichtenagentur dpa. Er stehe aber weiter unter Hausarrest. Die Freilassung von Trung bestätigte dessen Vater.

Zusammenhang mit Freihandelsplänen? [Weiterlesen]

Two netizens released from prison, 31 others still held

14.04.2014 (RWB) - Reporters Without Borders is relieved to learn that two netizens who had spent several years in prison – Vi Duc Hoi and Nguyen Tien Trung – were released on 11 and 12 April respectively although they are now assigned to a form of house arrest. Arrested in October 2010, Hoi was sentenced in 2011 to five years in prison on a charge of anti-government propaganda under article 88 of the 1999 penal code for writing articles critical of the state. A former Communist Party official who ran a training centre in the northern province of Lang Son, he is now due to spend three years under house arrest. Trung was arrested in July 2009 on charges of anti-government propaganda and “subverting the people’s administration,” and was sentenced to seven years in prison under article 79 of the penal code. He should have been released from prison in January 2015 in order to begin a period of house arrest. [read more]

Deux net-citoyens sortent de prison, 31 restent en détention

14.04.2014 (RSF) - Reporters sans frontières est soulagée d’apprendre la sortie de prison de Nguyen Tien Trung et Vi Duc Hoi intervenue respectivement le 11 et le 12 avril 2014. Les deux hommes restent cependant assignés à résidence.

Vi Duc Hoi, en prison depuis octobre 2010, avait été condamné en 2011 à cinq ans de prison pour “propagande contre l’État”, sur la base de l’article 88 du code pénal de 1999, alors qu’il écrivait des articles critiquant l’État. Ancien membre du parti communiste à la tête d’un centre de formation de la province de Lang Son (Nord), il est maintenant assigné à résidence pendant trois ans. Vi Duc Hoi avait pourtant rejeté les conditions initialement posées à sa sortie de prison, à savoir l’abandon de toute activité politique visant à promouvoir la démocratie ainsi que l’écriture d’articles reflétant son point de vue. Les raisons de l’assouplissement de son régime de liberté n’ont pas été officiellement expliquées.

Nguyen Tien Trung avait été arrêté en juillet 2009 pour “propagande contre l’État” et “subversion de l’administration populaire”, et condamné à sept ans de prison sur la base de l’article 79 du code pénal. Il aurait dû sortir de prison en janvier 2015 et terminer sa peine en assignation à résidence. [en savoir plus ...]

Le Vietnam libère deux autres célèbres dissidents

14.04.2014 (Le Huffington Post) - Le Vietnam a libéré deux militants politiques célèbres, quelques jours après la libération d'un dissident de premier plan, alors que le régime communiste est sous pression internationale concernant les droits de l'Homme.

Le blogueur Nguyen Tien Trung a déclaré lundi à l'AFP que lui-même et Vi Duc Hoi, un ancien responsable du Parti communiste devenu dissident, avaient été libérés samedi.

Trung, 30 ans, purgeait une peine de sept ans de prison à Ho Chi Minh-Ville (sud, ex-Saïgon) pour "tentative de renversement de l'administration du peuple", et Hoi avait été condamné à cinq ans de prison pour "propagande contre l'Etat". [en savoir plus ...] - [tiếng Việt]

Wegen Freihandelsabkommen mit USA und EU

Vietnam lässt überraschend zwei Dissidenten frei

14.04.2014 (n-tv) - Überraschend hat die Regierung Vietnams zwei Dissidenten freigelassen. Nguyen Tien Trung war 2010 wegen Umsturzversuchen zu sieben Jahren Haft verurteilt worden, Vi Duc Hoi bekam ein Jahr später acht Jahre Haft wegen "Propaganda gegen den Staat". "Sie sagten, ich profitiere von einer Amnestie des Präsidenten", sagte der 57-jährige Hoi. Er stehe aber weiter unter Hausarrest. Die Freilassung des 31-jährigen Nguyen Tien Trung bestätigte dessen Vater. Die Behörden des Einparteienstaates äußerten sich nicht. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam frees two high-profile dissidents

14.04.2014 (The Malay Mail Online) - HANOI, April 14 — Vietnam has released two political activists, the latest high-profile dissidents to be freed as the communist nation comes under increasing international pressure over its human rights record.

Blogger Nguyen Tien Trung told AFP that he and Vi Duc Hoi, a Communist Party official turned democracy campaigner, had been freed on Saturday.

Trung, 30, was serving a seven-year term in Ho Chi Minh City for ‘subverting the people’s administration’, while Hoi was jailed for five years for ‘anti-state propaganda’.

Trung’s term was due to end in January next year and he said he would remain under house arrest for three more years. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam libera a otros dos disidentes políticos

14.04.2014 (Martí noticias) - Vietnam, bajo presión internacional para que respete los derechos humanos, liberó este fin de semana a dos conocidos militantes políticos pocos días después de la puesta en libertad de otro destacado disidente.

El bloguero Nguyen Tien Trung anunció el lunes a la AFP que había sido liberado el sábado junto a Vi Duc Hoi, un exresponsable del Partido Comunista, que se convirtió en disidente. Trung, de 30 años, cumplía una pena de siete años de prisión por "intento de derrocar a la administración del pueblo", mientras que Hoi había sido condenado a cinco años de prisión acusado de "propaganda contra el Estado".

Los grupos de defensa de los derechos humanos y los gobiernos occidentales acusan a Vietnam de reprimir la disidencia política y de violar sistemáticamente la libertad religiosa. [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Frees Two Prominent Dissidents Following Foreign Pressure

12.04.2014 (RFA) - Vietnam on Saturday freed two prominent dissidents following international pressure on the one party communist state to improve its human rights record. Pro-democracy activist Nguyen Tien Trung and writer and blogger Vi Duc Hoi were released after serving up to nearly five years in prison and prior to completion of their full sentences, family members said. Trung (right picture), 31, was arrested in July 2009 and sentenced the next year to seven years in prison on charges of attempting to "overthrow the government" by supporting the formation of an opposition party to the ruling Vietnam Communist Party. Hoi (left picture), 57, a former member of the Communist Party, was arrested in October 2010 and sentenced the next year to eight years in prison — which was later reduced to five years — for "conducting propaganda" against the government, based on his articles and internet postings advocating human rights and democratic reforms. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Is Getting Better, and Worse

Some see small signs of freedom even as the country moves up the list of top persecutors

10.04.2014 Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra (Christianity Today) - Secretary of State John Kerry's December trip to Vietnam was meant to improve relations and urge greater protection of human rights in a country that climbed three spots on a list of the world's worst persecutors of Christians...

The 2014 World Watch List, a ranking from Open Doors of the countries that most persecute Christians, put Vietnam at No. 18, up from No. 21 last year. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) again recommended that the State Department designate Vietnam a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC), citing at least 13 Vietnamese imprisoned for religious practice or advocating for religious freedom. (Though the USCIRF has recommended Vietnam be a CPC since 2001, the State Department has kept it off the list since 2006.)... [read more]

The Vietnamese Buddhist leader whose temple is his prison

Thich Quang Do's only crime against the state is his religious belief.

27.03.2014 ucanews reporter (ucanews) - The small temple compound on the edge of downtown Ho Chi Minh City is Thich Quang Do’s world, and has been for more than a decade. The men who perch on motorbikes across the road from the temple are there every day, plain-clothed spooks who keep watch on his every move, logging details about the handful of visitors who come and go each year, and trailing the 87-year-old on the rare occasions he is permitted to leave for hospital. The famed leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) pities the men. “Many of the secret police have families to support so they are compelled to follow the communists. I think some of them don’t support the government’s ideology; they just support their families.” He’s grown used to the round-the-clock surveillance. His ongoing spell under house arrest in the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery is just the latest in a long line of incarcerations beginning in 1975, when the communist government consolidated control over South Vietnam, rounded up critics and put them behind bars. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Dinh Dang Dinh, detenido político vietnamita, muerto "como hijo de Dios"

11.04.2014 (AsiaNews) - Encarcelado por "propaganda contra el Estado", el famoso profesor y activista contra la minas de bauxila descubre que tiene un tumor. Las autoridades lo liberan, para que se cure, sólo en el estado terminal de la enfermedad. En los últimos días pide ser bautizado y se hace católico. Los redentoristas de Saigón celebran las exequias, delante de una multitud de activistas y ciudadanos.

Antes de morir por un cáncer al estómago, quiso ser "hijo de Dios", usando sus propias palabras, haciendo su propio ingreso en la Iglesia católica. Algunos días más tarde, la noche del 4 de abril, expiró en paz y serenidad con el afecto de sus familiares, después de haber transcurrido los últimos dos años en una cárcel vietnamita. Es la historia del profesos de liceo Dinh Dang Dinh, uno de los más famosos disidentes vietnamitas, cuya desaparición provocó gran desconsuelo entre los que lo conocieron y vivido con él, admirando su coraje y su heroico testimonio. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnamese political prisoner Dinh Dang Dinh dies as a 'son of God'

11.04.2014 (AsiaNews) - Jailed for "anti-state propaganda," the teacher and famous anti-bauxite mining activist developed a tumour behind bars. The authorities eventually released him for medical care, but only when the disease was in its final state. As the end was approaching, he asked to be baptised and become Catholic. Saigon Redemptorists celebrated his funeral in front of a crowd of activists and ordinary people.

Before dying from stomach cancer, he wanted to become, as he put it, a 'son of God' by joining the Catholic Church.

A few days later after his baptism, on the evening of 4 April, he died peaceful surrounded by the affection of his family, after spending his last two years in a Vietnamese prison.

The death of high school teacher Dinh Dang Dinh, one of Vietnam's best-known dissidents, caused great distress among those who knew and admired his courage and life story. [read more]

Confronting the suffering in Vietnam's prisons

10.04.2014 By Bob Dietz/CPJ Asia Program Coordinator (CPJ) - Dinh Dang Dinh, a former Vietnamese schoolteacher and blogger, died on April 3 from cancer of the stomach. Near death, he had been released from his six-year prison sentence on March 21, and allowed to return home to die in Dak Nong province in Vietnam's Central Highlands. His crime, to which he had pled not guilty, had been to blog about corruption and environmental issues. He was found guilty under Article 88-1 (c) of the Criminal Code for "conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."

Dinh's death leaves at least 17 other journalists, mostly bloggers, in jail. That number makes Vietnam the world's fifth worst jailer of journalists, behind China, Iran, Turkey, and Eritrea. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam releases high-profile dissident

09.04.2014 (The West Australian) - Hanoi (AFP) - One of Vietnam's most prominent dissidents, who was jailed after trying to sue the prime minister, has been freed and has left for the United States, a US official said Tuesday.

French-trained lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu, the son of a Vietnamese revolutionary leader, was sentenced in April 2011 to seven years in prison for "anti-state activity".

The release of the 55-year-old, who last year staged a hunger strike to draw attention to his treatment in jail, followed intense campaigning by rights groups and foreign governments.

"We welcome the decision by Vietnamese authorities to release prisoner of conscience Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu," US Embassy spokesman Spencer Cryder told AFP.

"Dr. Vu and his wife decided to travel to the United States after his release from prison and arrived in Washington DC on Monday," he added. [read more]

Land grab victims assaulted at public office in Hanoi

09/04/2014 Như Ngọc (Danlambao) - On the morning of April 8, 2014, several land grab victims were brutally beaten and strangled by plainclothes police and regime-hired thugs while waiting to file petitions at the “People’s Reception Center” at 1 Ngo Thoi Nhiem Street in Hanoi, RFA’s Vietnamese service reported. Victims of the assault were among a group of more than 50 poor and landless farmers from various provinces across the country coming to the capital to file petitions and complaints.

“I was at the “People’s Reception Center” on Ngo Thoi Nhiem Street with other women but they did not accept any petitions. Then we just called them the daylight robbers who suppress us; so, some police and regime-hired thugs came over to suppress us, to strangle me. They attempted to drag me to the ward (a police station) but other [petitioners] surrounded me so they gave up,” said Ms. Huong, a victim of today attack. [read more]

Vietnam: libération d'un dissident de premier plan

08.04.2014 (Huffington Post Quebec) - Un dissident vietnamien de premier plan, condamné après avoir porté plainte contre le Premier ministre, a été libéré de prison et a quitté le pays pour les Etats-Unis, a indiqué mardi un responsable américain.

Cu Huy Ha Vu, fils d'un compagnon de route du fondateur du Vietnam communiste Ho Chi Minh, avait été condamné en 2011 à sept ans d'emprisonnement pour propagande contre l'Etat.

La libération de cet avocat, dont le dossier était considéré comme l'un des plus politiques des dernières années, avait été réclamée avec insistance par les défenseurs des droits de l'Homme et des gouvernements étrangers.

"Nous saluons la décision des autorités vietnamiennes de libérer le prisonnier de conscience Dr Cu Huy Ha Vu", a déclaré à l'AFP Spencer Cryder, porte-parole de l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Hanoï. [en savoir plus ...] - [tiếng Việt]

Dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu freigelassen

08.04.2014 (NZZ) - (dpa) Der prominente vietnamesische Dissident und Menschenrechtsaktivist Cu Huy Ha Vu ist wieder frei. Wie ein Sprecher der US-Botschaft in Hanoi am Dienstag bestätigte, reisten Vu und seine Frau bereits in die USA aus und kamen am Montag in Washington an.

Vu, ein Anwalt, war 2011 wegen der Verbreitung von Propaganda gegen den Staat zu einer siebenjährigen Gefängnisstrafe verurteilt worden. [Weiterlesen]  - [tiếng Việt]

I am Đinh Đăng Định

08.04.2014 (VRNs) - Amnesty International Student Network - section Central Norway - On Monday evening, April 7, 2014, the annual board meeting for the 2013/2014 season took place in Central Norway. The idea of paying tribute to Đinh Đăng Định at the end of the scheduled program for the upcoming annual board meeting was initiated by the young group members of Amnesty International, after a press statement by Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director, Robert Abbott, on the pass away of Đinh Đăng Định was released on Friday. These young men and women felt dutiful to pay tribute to this remarkable former prisoner of conscience, a peaceful environmental activist and remember his contributions.  [read more]

Freed Vietnamese anti-govt activist arrives in United States

08.04.2014 (Reuters) - A dissident jailed for criticising Vietnam's leadership has been freed and is now in Washington, family friends and a U.S. official said on Tuesday, a rare concession by a country long criticised for its human rights record. French-educated lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu left Vietnam on Sunday with his wife after his release three years into a 10-year sentence of both jail and house arrest for conducting "anti-state propaganda". "We welcome the decision by Vietnamese authorities to release prisoner of conscience Dr Cu Huy Ha Vu," said Spencer Cryder, a spokesman for the U.S embassy in Hanoi. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Un des plus célèbres dissidents découvre Dieu peu avant de mourir

07.04.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Dans la soirée du 4 avril 2014, l’un des plus célèbres dissidents du Vietnam, le professeur Dinh Dang Dinh, est décédé des suites d’un cancer. Peu avant sa mort, il avait voulu devenir « enfant de Dieu » (selon ses termes) au sein de l’Eglise catholique. Sa disparition a provoqué une grande tristesse ...chez les nombreuses personnes qui, de près ou de loin, avaient été témoins de son héroïque combat et avaient été influencées par lui.

Le professeur Dinh Dang Dinh, ancien militaire devenu professeur de chimie, était en effet pour beaucoup, une icône du vrai patriotisme. Il avait consacré toute une partie de sa vie à la lutte contre un projet d’exploitation de la bauxite sur les Hauts Plateaux, projet qu’il considérait comme néfaste pour l’environnement de cette région où lui-même habitait ainsi que pour l’équilibre écologique de l’ensemble de son pays [en savoir plus ...]

Half a million Cambodian victims of land disputes and forced evictions

 03.04.2014 (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Phnom Penh - Since 2000, more than half a million Cambodians have been involved in conflict with the authorities regarding land and property; in the first months of 2014 over 2 thousand households across the country have been subjected to violent forced evictions. This is what Licadho activists denounce in an appeal to the government to put an end to land expropriations. The pro human rights group also criticize a directive promulgated in May 2012 , by Prime Minister Hun Sen, suspending all new land concessions and ordering a review of the ones already in place. The activists point out , has failed to "limit" the number of disputes.

Licadho director Naly Pilorge describes the latest figures as "shocking" and adds that many of those involved in the conflicts face "huge and long-term difficulties". Without land, said the activist, they "have no means of subsistence" to be able "to lead a decent life". In addition, the government refuses to consider complaints from activists and NGOs on forced seizures and land disputes, calling them " biased" because "in the service of donor countries, which oppose the government agenda". [read more]

Vietnam: Taufe im Gefängnis

04.04.2014 (Radio Vatikan) - Und noch einmal riskierte er sein Leben: „Ich habe mich heimlich im Gefängnis taufen lassen“, gab der älteste politische Gefangene Vietnams in diesen Tagen bekannt. Über den Fall berichtet die französische Agentur „Eglises d’Asie“. Nguyên Huu Câu sei nach einer 37-jährigen Haftstrafe am 21. März freigekommen. Im Gefängnis habe er zum Katholizismus gefunden und habe sich von seinem Mithäftling Nguyên Công Doan, dem ehemaligen Provinzial der Jesuiten in Vietnam, taufen lassen, gab Huu Câu an. [Weiterlesen]

Death of activist Dinh Dang Dinh should be ‘wake-up call’ for Viet Nam

04.04.2014 (AI) - Amnesty International has paid tribute to Dinh Dang Dinh, the Vietnamese environmental activist, blogger and former prisoner of conscience, who has died aged 50. The activist was unjustly jailed in 2011 after starting a petition against a mining project and was diagnosed with cancer while in prison. The authorities only allowed Dinh Dang Dinh to be treated in hospital from January 2014, where he was kept under constant surveillance. He was released temporarily on medical grounds in February, before being released permanently in March. “The tragedy of Dinh Dang Dinh’s passing should be a wake-up call for Viet Nam,” said Rupert Abbott “Viet Nam must immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience who - like Dinh Dang Dinh - have done no more than peacefully express their opinion.” [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Cancer-Stricken Vietnamese Former Political Prisoner Dies

04.04.2014 (RFA) - A prominent Vietnamese former political prisoner who received a presidential amnesty two weeks ago has died of cancer, according to his family, in what an international rights group said was a tragedy that should be a “wake-up call” for the country.

Dinh Dang Dinh, 50, an environmental activist and blogger who had spent two years in jail on anti-state charges, died Thursday night at his home in southern Vietnam’s Dak Nong province, his daughter Dinh Thi Phuong Thao said. [read more]

Libéré après 37 années de détention, le plus ancien prisonnier politique du Vietnam révèle qu’il a été baptisé en prison

04.04.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Le 21 mars dernier, après 37 années de détention, le plus ancien prisonnier politique du Vietnam, Nguyên Huu Câu, a été libéré. Dimanche dernier, 30 mars, à la grande surprise de beaucoup, il participait à la messe célébrée chaque semaine aux intentions de la justice et de la paix en l’église Notre-Dame du Perpétuel secours à Saigon (1). Au cours de l’eucharistie, il a confié aux fidèles présents l’itinéraire spirituel qui l’a conduit à sa conversion au christianisme et au baptême. C’est son compagnon de prison, le P. Nguyên Công Doan, qui lui a secrètement administré le sacrement du baptême. Ce prêtre jésuite, ancien supérieur provincial pour le Vietnam, purgeait alors, lui aussi, une peine de prison, infligée par le Tribunal populaire de Saigon en 1983. [en savoir plus ...]

US House commission holds hearing on religious persecution in Vietnam

04.04.2014 CWN (CatholicCulture) - The United States House of Representatives’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission has conducted a hearing on religious persecution in Vietnam.

The bipartisan commission, once known as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, has the mission of promoting human rights.

Among those on the witness list at the March 26 hearing was Father Phan Van Loi, editor-in-chief of “Freedom of Speech” and co-founder of the Association of Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience.

“Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by the Communist Party,” said Eric Schwarz, a member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in his testimony. [read more]

2013 Human Rights Report On Vietnam

03.04.2014 (VOA) - The State Department recently released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 for Vietnam. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Uzra Zeya, at the release of the 2013 Human Rights Report, said, “We continue to call on the Government of Vietnam at the highest levels to make progress to comply with its international human rights obligations and commitment, and we’ve made clear that doing so will allow us to further the bilateral relationship.”

According to the report, in Vietnam, “the most significant human rights problems ... continued to be severe government restrictions on citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government; increased measures to limit citizens’ civil liberties; corruption in the judicial system and police; and limit of freedom of speech and press.” [read more]

Religious Persecution in Vietnam: Government Spies, Forced Renunciations of Faith

03.04.2014 By Gary Feuerberg (Epoch Times) - Persecution for religious belief in Vietnam is growing worse, according to witnesses that appeared at the a recent congressional hearing.

For the first time in the history of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission commission, witnesses testified from Vietnam via video. All the witnesses agreed that the Vietnam regime is tightening up on freedom of expression and association as well as imprisoning religious leaders, dissidents, and human rights defenders, some with long sentences.

Further, the regime has adopted insidious practices designed to disrupt religious expression. One particularly egregious violation of freedom of religion is the government’s common practice of requiring renunciation of faith.

Speaking live from Vietnam on March 26, Father Phan Van Loi said, through translation, that many practical activities of the Catholic church are limited or forbidden by the regime’s decrees. Religious organizations are not recognized as legal entities. The government controls the recruitment, ordination, and assignment of the clergy, he said. It also strictly controls travel abroad of church members and clergy.

Loi revealed devious means the regime uses to undermine religion and religious organizations.

“The government created a fake civil society organization, namely, the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics … to manipulate the internal affairs of the Catholic church and deceive the outside world,” said Loi. [read more]

Vietnam, Con Dau Catholics suffer more land seizures and demolitions

02.04.2014 (AsiaNews/EDA) - Ho Chi Minh City - Authorities in Da Nang want to seize the land to build a tourist resort. Latest raid just days ago with the expulsion of several families and the demolition of their homes. Police, public security and the army take part in raid. The faithful try to resist evictions, but their number is progressively dropping.

Several families driven from their homes, houses razed to the ground and land seized: Vietnamese authorities continue to subject Catholics to raids against in Cồn Dầu, Cẩm Lệ district, Da Nang province (south-central Vietnam), at the center of a land ownership controversy. For six years, Hanoi has tried in every possible way to justify its actions with claims that they are motivated by "ecological" needs, although in reality the real goal is the construction of a luxury tourist resort. The faithful try to resist and keep the historical community alive, even if their number is dwindling with the passage of time.

The latest abuse, perpetrated by the authorities in a police raid, took place on March 27, with the expulsion of several families and the demolition of their homes. Local witnesses report that "at 7am the police surrounded the neighborhood" and blocked "access to all areas" . The sources add "there were police officers, security agents and the army", with "bulldozers and ambulances". [read more]

Vietnam, nuevos secuestros y demoliciones contra los católicos de Con Dau

02.04.2014 (AsiaNews/EDA) - Las autoridades de Da Nang quieren secuestrar los terrenos para realizar un resort turístico. En los días pasados el último atropello, con expulsiones de diversas familias y la demolición de sus casas. Protagonistas del atropello la policía, la pública seguridad y el ejército. Los fieles tratan de resistir a las expropiaciones, pero el número se reduce en manera progresiva.

Varias familias desalojadas de sus propias casas, habitaciones demolidas y terrenos secuestrados, continúan los allanamientos de las autoridades vietnamitas en contra de los católicos de Con Dau, en el distrito de Cam Le, provincia de Da Nang (centro sur de Vietnam), en el centro de una controversia que desde hace años se disputa por la propiedad de las tierras. Desde hace 6 años Hanói trata en cualquier modo secuestrar el área tras la motivación de carácter "ecológico", si bien en realidad el verdadero objetivo es la construcción de un resort turístico de lujo. Los fieles tratan de resistir a la cancelación y mantener en vida la histórica comunidad si bien el número de ellos disminuye siempre más con el pasar del tiempo.

El último abuso en orden al tiempo, perpetrado por las autoridades con la colaboración de la policía fue el 27 de marzo pasado, con la expulsión de varias familias y la demolición de sus casas. Testigos locales refieren que "a las 7 de la mañana, las furzas de policía han rodeado al pueblo" y bloqueado "todas las áreas de acceso". Quienes cumplieron el ataque, agregan las fuentes, "habían agentes de policía, de la seguridad pública y el ejército", acompañados por diversos medios entre los cuales "máquinas allanadoras y ambulancias". [seguir leyendo]

I, a poet and South Vietnamese soldier, found God and the Virgin in communist prisons

01.04.2014 by HT (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City - During his years in prison he encountered Christianity and decided to convert, receiving baptism, and later was able to transform the chains that kept him imprisoned, consisting of 90 rings, into a rosary recited up to five times a day. Faith alone enabled him to face and overcome nearly 40 years spent in prison in Vietnam, while his body was marked by deafness and almost total blindness caused by suffering. However, his spirit is still able to give thanks for the gift of faith received. And even forgive his captors : "The love of God and the Virgin Mary has changed me. I no longer hate my 'brothers and sisters' (of the communist regime )".

This is the story of 68-year old J.B Nguyễn Hữu Cầu (born in 1945), poet, musician, composer and captain of the army of the Republic of South Vietnam before the reunification in 1975. He is one of the longest serving political prisoners in the Asian nation, since the seizing of power by the communists in the North. Arrested at the end of the war, he spent six years in a re-education through labor camp and in 1982 was imprisoned, because of his work as a poet and composer critical at times of the communist regime. [read more]

Yo, poeta y soldado sud-vietnamita, en las cárceles comunistas he encontrado a Dios y a la Virgen

01.04.2014 by HT (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Ming City - Durante los años de prisión encontró el cristianismo y decidió convertirse, haciéndose bautizar; luego supo transformar la cadena que lo tenía prisionero, formada por 50 eslabones, en un Rosario que recitaba hasta 5 veces al día. Sólo la fe le permitió enfrentar y superar los casi 40 años de permanencia en las cárceles vietnamitas, el físico marcado por la sordera, una casi total ceguera, por los sufrimientos, pero con un espíritu todavía capaz de agradecer por el don de la fe recibido Y hasta de perdonar a sus carceleros: "El amor de Dios y de la Virgen María me han cambiado. No odio más a mis "hermanos y hermanas" (del régimen comunista).

La historia del 68 añero, J.B. Nguyen Huu Cau (nació en 1945), poeta, músico, compositor y capitán del ejército de la República del Sur de Vietnam antes de la reunificación de 1975, él es uno de los detenidos políticos que transcurrió más tiempo en las cárceles del País asiático, a partir de la toma del poder por parte de los comunistas del Norte. Arrestado al final de la guerra, él transcurrió 6 años en un campo de reeducación y trabajo; en 1982 es encarcelado, a causa de su actividad de poeta y compositor a momentos crítico hacia el régimen comunista. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam cracks down on Christians as Easter nears

01.04.2014 Julia A. Seymour (WORLD) - Even during Lent, Catholics imprisoned in communist Vietnam are not allowed to attend Mass or receive Bibles, and priests are not allowed to visit prisoners.

Conditions in Vietnamese prisons vary considerably, but little food, manual labor, rampant disease, and cramped solitary confinement are common, according to International Christian Concern’s Ryan Morgan. In 2013, authorities arrested at least 50 Christians, adding to the many pastors and church leaders already imprisoned. [read more]

Recent violations of religious freedom by the goverment of Vietnam

29.03.2014 (VRNs) - TESTAMENT FROM VIETNAMESE INTER-FAITH ASSOCIATION ON RECENT VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM BY THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM

During the session for Human Rights Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland on February 5th, 2014, Vietnam’s Deputy Secretary of State Ha Ngoc Kim stated that: “The consistent policy from the government of Vietnam is to respect and accommodate everyone’s wish to practice freedom of religion and belief, to respect the harmony and agreement between religions, to prohibit discrimination against religious and belief backgrounds, and to protect religious activities with laws” (page 32), and “for ethnic minorities, religious freedom and equality are protected and supported by the government” (page 34).

In the afternoon of February 7th, 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed to the Vietnamese representatives 227 recommendations from member countries, many of which demand the government of Vietnam to respect freedom of religion, especially freedom of religion for Vietnamese ethnic minorities. The government of Vietnam promised to correspond to these recommendations at the 26th meeting of the United Nations in June, 2014. In addition, the government of Vietnam also promised to allow an inspection by UN’s Special Rapporteur in Religious Freedom in July of 2014. [read more]

Une poignée de paroissiens de Côn Dâu résiste encore à l’expropriation

28.03.2014 (Églises d'Asia) - Voilà près de six ans que la paroisse de Côn Dâu été condamnée à disparaître pour laisser la place à une zone urbaine dite « écologique ». Pourtant, un certain nombre de paroissiens encore sur place continuent de résister à l’ordre d’expropriation, obligeant les forces de police à venir les expulser et détruire leur demeure.

Hier encore, le 27 mars 2014, les autorités du district de Cam Lê (duquel dépend la paroisse) ont utilisé la force pour expulser plusieurs familles et détruire leur maison. Les familles concernées avaient reçu, une semaine auparavant, un avis officiel fixant au 26 mars l’intervention policière. Celle-ci a été repoussée au lendemain en raison d’une fête officielle devant se dérouler le jour prévu.

La page Facebook « Côn Dâu, mon village », on peut lire : « A 7 heures du matin, les forces policières ont cerné le quartier où devait avoir lieu l’expulsion et bloqué tous les chemins y accédant. Les forces mobilisées, très nombreuses, étaient composées d’agents de la police, de la Sécurité publique, de l’armée. Elles étaient accompagnées de toutes sortes de véhicules, y compris de bulldozers et d’ambulances… » [en savoir plus ...]

Hero who fought forced evictions jailed and fined

27.03.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - A Court of appeal dismissed fish farmer Doan Van Vuon's demand for compensation for material and moral damages over his courageous family's fight against forced evictions by the Vietnamese government.

The court, issued yesterday by the Court of Appeals in Hai Phong (northern Vietnam), confirmed Mr Doan's five-year sentence and imposed a 23 million dong (US$ 1,090) fine.

His lawyers had asked for 30 billion dong (US$ 1.4 million) in compensation, but the court rejected what they deemed a baseless claim.

The story starring Doan Van Vuon and his family epitomises the abusive behaviour by Vietnam's central and local authorities when it comes to land and property, this in a country where virtually everything belongs to the Communist state. In fact, some 70 per cent of all such cases involve land, and the rights of individuals are neither protected nor recognised. [read more]

Report: Executions rise in 2013, China tops the list

27.03.2014 By Sophie Brown (CNN) -- Virtual "killing sprees" in Iran and Iraq led to a spike in the number of executions globally last year, according to Amnesty International, at odds with a steady decline in the use of the death penalty around the world over the last two decades.

Executions by beheading, electrocution, firing squad, hanging and lethal injection rose by almost 15 percent in 2013 on the previous year, the organization said in its latest report on the death penalty released Thursday.

China executed more people than any other country last year. Although Chinese authorities treat official execution statistics as a state secret, Amnesty International estimates thousands are killed under the death penalty every year, more than the rest of the world combined. [read more]

Hanói, cárcel y multa para el héroe que lucha contra las expropiaciones forzadas

27.03.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanói  - El tribunal de apelación rechazó la causa de indemnización por "daños materiales y morales", intentada por Peter Doan Van Vuon, empresaio de pescados de la "familia coraje", protagonista de la lucha contra las expropiaciones forzadas actuadas por el gobierno vietnamita. La sentencia, emanada por la Corte De Apelación de Hai Phong, en el norte del País, confirma la condena a 5 años de prisión e impone el pago de una multa de 23 millones de dong (poco más de mil dólares). Los abogados del hombre habían pedido una indemnización de 30 billones de dong (1,4 millones de dólares, pero los jueces habían rechazado el pedido considerándolo privado de fundamentos.

La cuestión que tiene como protagonista a Doan Van Vuon y la familia es emblemática por los abusos cometidos por las autoridades centrales y locales vietnamitas, en particular en materia de terrenos y vienen, en una nación -regida por un gobierno comunista- en el cual la propiedad está asignada al Estado. Si bien el 70% de las causas y de los pedidos se refieren justamente a las disputas sobre las tierras, los derechos de los individuos no son protegidos ni reconocidos. [seguir leyendo]

UN human rights experts denounce land-grabbing case in Viet Nam

26.03.2014 (UN News) - A group of United Nations independent human rights experts today called on the Vietnamese Government to “intervene urgently” in a case of forced eviction of the last remaining residents of Con Dau, a small village located on the outskirts of Da Nang city in the centre of the country.

“This appears to be a clear case of land grabbing for the benefit of private entrepreneurs and at the expense of local communities,” said Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing.

According to a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in 2007, the local government of Da Nang city decided to expropriate the residential and farming land of Con Dau village, for the purpose of leasing it to a private eco-resort company called Sunland. [read more]

Vietnam Appeals Court Upholds Conviction of ‘Folk Hero’ Farmer

26.03.2014 (RFA) - A Vietnamese appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a former soldier-turned farmer who was jailed for five years for putting up an armed fight against security forces who evicted him and his family from their farm in a high-profile case.

The Hai Phong Appeals Court in northern Vietnam also dismissed fish farmer Doan Van Vuon’s demand for compensation of 30 billion Vietnamese dong (U.S. $1.4 million) from the local authorities in Hai Phong’s Tien Lang district over the case, which had highlighted public resentment over government land grabs.

“We knew this would happen,” his wife Nguyen Thi Thuong told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. She could not attend the court hearing as she was ill and had asked her sister-in-law to represent her.

Vuon was ordered to pay 23 million dong (U.S. $1,090) in damages for losing the case. [read more]

Vives tensions entre les forces de l’ordre et les bouddhistes Hoa Hao à l’occasion de la commémoration de la mort du fondateur

27.03.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Depuis les premiers jours du mois de février, alors que les fidèles du bouddhisme Hoa Hao originel se préparaient à célébrer l’anniversaire de la mort tragique de leur fondateur Huynh Phu Sô, on a pu constater de très vives tensions dans les relations entre cette communauté bouddhiste et les forces de la Sécurité publique. Celles-ci ont mené contre les fidèles Hoa Hao des actions policières, accompagnées de violences, de saccage de biens et de nombreuses arrestations. La cérémonie de commémoration a été interdite. Un communiqué signé par des représentants de diverses religions au Vietnam (bouddhisme, caodaïsme, catholicisme, protestantisme) vient de dénoncer cette répression religieuse [en savoir plus ...]

Crackdown on Vietnam bloggers unacceptable, says Senator Boswell

24.03.2014 (Boswell Media Release) QUEENSLAND - Senator Ron Boswell today said the Vietnamese government’s decision to jail two bloggers in the space of a fortnight for alleged “anti-state activity” was an unacceptable violation of human rights, and called for their immediate release.

“In the last two weeks, the Communist Party of Vietnam has sentenced prominent opposition bloggers Pham Viet Dao to 15 months jail and Truong Duy Nhat to two years jail for putting posts online that criticised government policies,” Senator Boswell said.

“These popular journalists have a universal right to point out the Party’s shortcomings. Their jailing is part of a serious escalation in the government’s infringements on free speech in the country.” [read more]

Investigative Reporting in Ghana Leads to Freeing of Vietnamese Sex Slaves

24.03.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Investigative reporting helped police in Ghana to break up a forced prostitution ring and rescue six Vietnamese women.

The ring, allegedly run by two Chinese men in the coastal city of Sekondi Takoradi, was broken up this month thanks in part to the reporting of Anas Aremeyaw Anas of The New Crusading Guide newspaper.

Anas told VOA's Vietnamese service that it took six months for him and Ghanaian police to investigate the case with assistance from the International Criminal Police Organization.

He said the victims are being taken care of at a safe place.  [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Tight Security as Vietnamese Court Orders Two More Hmongs Jailed

20.03.2014 (RFA) - A provincial court in northern Vietnam on Thursday ordered two Hmongs jailed for defying a government campaign forcing the ethnic minority group to return to older funeral practices now considered wasteful by many in the community.

The court hearing in northeastern Tuyen Quang province was held under tight security as police kept protesting Hmong villagers at bay.

Ly Van Dinh, 50, and Duang Van Tu, 47, were sentenced to 21 months and 15 months in jail respectively for violating Article 258 of Vietnam’s penal code, their lawyer Tran Thu Nam told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Thursday.

Article 258 is a vague legal provision routinely used to prosecute people for exercising their right to freedom of expression, rights groups say. [read more]

Tight Security as Vietnamese Court Orders Two More Hmongs Jailed

20.03.2014 (RFA) - A provincial court in northern Vietnam on Thursday ordered two Hmongs jailed for defying a government campaign forcing the ethnic minority group to return to older funeral practices now considered wasteful by many in the community.

The court hearing in northeastern Tuyen Quang province was held under tight security as police kept protesting Hmong villagers at bay.

Ly Van Dinh, 50, and Duang Van Tu, 47, were sentenced to 21 months and 15 months in jail respectively for violating Article 258 of Vietnam’s penal code, their lawyer Tran Thu Nam told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Thursday.

Article 258 is a vague legal provision routinely used to prosecute people for exercising their right to freedom of expression, rights groups say. [read more]

Une étudiante condamnée pour propagande contre l’Etat exige la révision de son procès et la reconnaissance de son innocence

20.03.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Le 16 août dernier, l’étudiante Nguyên Phuong Uyên avait été condamnée en appel à trois ans de prison avec sursis. La peine infligée avait été fortement allégée par rapport à la sentence du procès de première instance, à savoir six ans de prison ferme. L’opinion publique, très émue par cette affaire, s’était réjouie de voir la jeune fille sortir libre du Tribunal populaire de Hô Chi Minh-Ville où elle avait été jugée en appel.

Elle était accusée de propagande contre l’Etat de la République socialiste du Vietnam, crime décrit à l’article 88 du Code pénal vietnamien. Dans l’acte d’accusation, il lui était reproché d’avoir exposé dans un lieu public deux calicots portant des inscriptions dénigrant le Parti communiste et dénonçant les empiétements de la Chine sur le territoire du Vietnam. [en savoir plus ...] - [tiếng Việt]

Prisoners of conscience in Vietnam not allowed to go to Mass or even have a Bible

20.03.2014 by NH (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - No health or spiritual care for 61 prisoners of conscience. No decent food and their human rights are not respected. Many of them are sick and in some cases their condition is serious. The cases of Lê Quŏc Quân and Maria Tạ Phong Tần.

They can not go to mass, have the spiritual comfort of a priest nor even a Bible. This is the condition of 61 (data dating to 2013 ) prisoners "of conscience" in Vietnam, a situation that becomes even more unbearable during Lent, confirmed by a letter from a blogger. [read more]

A los presos de conciencia en Vietnam no se les permite ir a misa y ni siquiera tener una Biblia

20.03.2014 de NH (AsiaNews) - A los 61 presos de conciencia no se les da la atención médica, ni espiritual, no tienen buena comida y no se respetan sus derechos humanos. Muchos de ellos están enfermos y en algunos casos graves. El caso de María Le Quoc Quan Ta Phong Tan.

No pueden ir a misa, ni tener el conforto de un sacerdote espiritual y no pueden tener una Biblia. Es la condición de los 61 (en 2013) presos de "conciencia" en Vietnam. La situación se vuelve más doloroso en Cuaresma y se confirma en una carta de un blogger. [seguir leyendo]

Declaration of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

19.03.2014 - Vietnam – Sentencing of Pham Viet Dao (March 19, 2014)

France deplores the sentencing of Vietnamese blogger Pham Viet Dao on March 19 to fifteen months in prison.

We reaffirm our attachment to the freedom of expression and opinion, including on the Internet, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam, a member of the UN Human Rights Council, is party. France calls on the Vietnamese authorities to ensure compliance with it.  [tiếng Việt]

Déclaration du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères de France

19.03.2014 - Vietnam – Condamnation de Pham Viet Dao (19 mars 2014)

La France déplore la condamnation le 19 mars, à une peine de quinze mois de prison, du blogueur vietnamien Pham Viet Dao.

Nous réaffirmons notre attachement à la liberté d’expression et d’opinion, y compris sur internet, conformément à la déclaration universelle des droits de l’Homme.

Ces droits et libertés sont garantis par le pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques, auquel le Vietnam, membre du conseil des droits de l’Homme des Nations unies, est partie. La France appelle les autorités vietnamiennes à en assurer le respect.  [tiếng Việt]

Declaración del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Francia

19.03.2014 - Vietnam – Condena de Pham Viet Dao (19 de marzo de 2014)

Francia deplora la condena, el 19 de marzo, a quince meses de prisión del bloguero vietnamita Pham Viet Dao.

Reafirmamos nuestro compromiso por la libertad de expresión y de opinión, incluyendo en el ámbito de internet, de conformidad con la declaración universal de los Derechos Humanos.

Estos derechos y libertades están garantizados por el pacto internacional relativo a los derechos civiles y políticos a los que Vietnam, miembro del Consejo de los Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas, del cual forma parte este país. Francia lanza un llamamiento a las autoridades vietnamitas a que se aseguren de respetarlos  [tiếng Việt]

Unliebsame Berichte: Vietnamesisches Gericht verurteilt Blogger zu Haftstrafe

19.03.2014 (Spiegel Online) - Hanoi - Ein Gericht in der vietnamesischen Hauptstadt Hanoi hat den Blogger Pham Viet Dao am Mittwoch zu 15 Monaten Haft verurteilt. Der Richter befand den ehemaligen Beamten des Kulturministeriums für schuldig, "demokratische Freiheiten missbraucht" zu haben. ...  Er habe "die obersten Führer verzerrt, verunglimpft und Geschmiere über sie verbreitet". Seine Taten seien "gefährlich für die Gesellschaft, würden in der Öffentlichkeit Angst schüren und das Vertrauen der Menschen in die Führung der kommunistischen Partei schwächen", sagte der Richter bei der Urteilsverkündung. [Weiterlesen]

15 mois de prison pour Pham Viet Dao, le Vietnam s’enfonce dans la dictature

19.03.2014 (RSF) - Reporters sans frontières dénonce la condamnation à 15 mois de prison, le 19 mars 2014 du blogueur Pham Viet Dao, pour avoir “créé une mauvaise image du parti communiste et du gouvernement” à travers la rédaction et la mise en ligne de 91 articles.

“Cette nouvelle condamnation démontre un véritable acharnement des autorités vietnamiennes à l’encontre des acteurs de l’information. Nous exigeons la libération immédiate de Pham Viet Dao, condamné uniquement pour avoir voulu informer ses compatriotes et partager ses opinions politiques en ligne,” déclare Benjamin Ismaïl, responsable du bureau Asie-Pacifique de Reporters sans frontières. [en savoir plus ...]

Increasingly authoritarian Vietnam sentences another blogger

19.03.2014 (RWB) - Reporters Without Borders condemns the 15-month jail sentence that a Hanoi court passed today on the dissident blogger Pham Viet Dao for “creating a bad image of the Communist Party and the government” in a total of 91 blog posts.

“This latest conviction shows that government is going all-out in its persecution of news providers,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific Desk. “We call for Dao’s immediate release as he was convicted just for wanting to inform his compatriots and share his political views online.”

Arrested in Hanoi on 13 June 2013, Dao was convicted under article 258 of the penal code, which punishes misuse of “democratic freedoms to attack state interests and the legitimate rights and interests of collectives and citizens.” [read more]

Amid clampdown, another blogger sentenced in Vietnam

19.03.2014 (CPJ) - Bangkok -In a mounting clampdown on Internet freedom in Vietnam, blogger Pham Viet Dao was sentenced to prison today for online posts critical of the Communist Party-led government, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling and calls for his immediate release.

In a two-hour trial, Hanoi's People's Court ruled that dozens of Dao's blog entries violated Article 258 of the penal code, a vague and draconian law that bans "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state." Dao, who was first taken into police custody in June 2013 and held in pre-trial detention until today's verdict, was handed a 15-month sentence, news reports said. [read more]

Blogger in Vietnam wegen kritischer Blogbeiträge zu 15 Monaten Gefängnis verurteilt

19.03.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Das Volksgericht in Hanoi verurteilte am heutigen Mittwoch Pham Viet Dao, einen regimekritischen Blogger zu 15 Monaten Gefängnis.

"Die Taten des Angeklagten sind gefährlich für die Gesellschaft, weil sie Unruhe und Verwirrung in der Bevölkerung stiften und Misstrauen gegenüber Partei- und Staatsführung hervorrufen" sagte Richter Ngo Tu Hoc in dem zweistündigen Prozess. Dao (Foto), 61, entschuldigte sich für "fehlerhaften" Details in einigen seiner Blogsbeiträge, sagte aber, er habe das nicht mit Absicht getan. "Ich glaube nicht, dass meine Artikel schlechten Einfluss auf die Gesellschaft hatten", sagte Dao, der sich in der Gerichtsverhandlung selbst verteidigte. Westliche Diplomaten und ausländische Reporter durften diesmal das Gerichtsverfahren per Videoübertragung in einem separaten Raum verfolgen.

Dao, ein ehemaliger Beamter des Kulturministeriums und Mitglied des Schriftstellerverbandes Vietnams, wurde im vergangenen Juni in seinem Haus in Hanoi verhaftet. Vor seiner Festnahme ist er aus der Kommunistischen Partei Vietnams ausgetreten.

Die in New York ansässige Organisation Human Rights Watch fordert in einer Erklärung am Dienstag die "sofortige und bedingungslose" Freilassung Daos. "Pham Viet Daos einziges Verbrechen war es, das Internet zu nutzen um Meinungen zu äußern" sagte Brad Adams, Asien-Direktor von Human Rights Watch.

Anfang dieses Monats verurteilte ein Gericht in Danang einen bekannten Blogger, Duy Truong Nhat, auch wegen kritischer Artikel in seinem Blog zu zwei Jahren Gefängnis mit dem gleichen Vorwurf "Missbrauch demokratischer Freiheiten" nach Artikel 258 StGB.

Human Rights Watch zufolge ist die Zahl der in politischen Prozessen verurteilten Vietnamesen jedes Jahr seit 2010 gestiegen, mindestens 63 Personen wurden im vergangenen Jahr für friedliche politische Meinungsäußerungen inhaftiert. Laut Reporter ohne Grenzen belegt Vietnam Platz 172 von 179 in der Rangliste der Pressefreiheit 2013 und ist einer von fünf Feinden des Internets. - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: Blogger wegen regimekritischer Artikel zu 15 Monaten Haft verurteilt

19.03.2014 Von Andrea Jonjic (netzpolitik) - Im Juni letzten Jahres berichteten wir über die Festnahme des vietnamesischen Bloggers Pham Viet Dao, dem der “Missbrauch demokratischer Freiheiten” vorgeworfen wurde. Heute wurde er in einem zweistündigen Verfahren zu 15 Monaten Haft verurteilt – er habe dutzende Artikel veröffentlicht, die die politische Führung des Landes verunglimpfen und sorge dafür, dass die Bevölkerung das Vertrauen in diese verliert.

Der 61-jährige Dao verteidigte sich selbst, entschuldigte sich, wies aber den Vorwurf zurück, er habe der Gesellschaft geschadet.  [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: un deuxième blogueur condamné en deux semaines

19.03.2014 (Romandie) - HANOI - Un blogueur vietnamien a été condamné mercredi à 15 mois de prison pour abus des libertés démocratiques, le deuxième cas en deux semaines, dans le cadre de la répression de toute critique par le régime communiste à parti unique.

Pham Viet Dao, 61 ans, ex-responsable du ministère de la Culture et membre du Parti communiste vietnamien, était accusé d'avoir abusé des libertés démocratiques pour porter atteinte aux intérêts de l'Etat, une accusation passible de sept ans de prison, lors d'un procès d'une demi-journée à Hanoï.

Arrêté en juin 2013, il avait posté sur son blog entre février 2012 et mai 2013 des dizaines de liens vers des commentaires sur la situation politique du pays, en plus de ses tribunes, avec une audience de milliers d'internautes. [en savoir plus ...] - [tiếng Việt]

Polit-Blogger in Vietnam zu 15 Monaten Haft verurteilt

19.03.2014 (heise online) - Ein regierungskritischer Blogger ist in Vietnam zu mehr als einem Jahr Gefängnis verurteilt worden, weil er seine "demokratischen Rechte missbraucht" haben soll. Damit setzt das Land sein hartes Vorgehen gegen Internetreporter fort.

In Vietnam ist ein Internetaktivist zu einer 15-monatigen Haftstrafe verurteilt worden. Das Gericht in Hanoi befand den ehemaligen Beamten des Kulturministeriums, Phạm Viết Đào, schuldig, "demokratische Freiheiten missbraucht" zu haben. Der 62-Jährige wolle das Urteil anfechten, hieß es aus Anwaltskreisen am Mittwoch. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam sentences blogger to 15 months in prison for posts critical of communist government

19.03.2014 (Canada.com) Associated Press - HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese court on Wednesday sentenced a dissident blogger to 15 months in prison for posting online criticism of the government, the latest case in an intensifying crackdown against dissent in the one-party communist country.

At a two-hour trial at the Hanoi People's Court, Judge Ngo Tu Hoc said Pham Viet Dao was guilty of "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe the interests of the state" by posting dozens of articles that "distorted, vilified and smeared the senior leaders."

Dao, 61, confessed to the court and apologized for the "erroneous" details in some of his posts, but said he did not do that on purpose. "I don't think that my articles have had bad impact on the society," said Dao, who refused a lawyer and defended himself at the trial. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Kommunisten-Farce: UNO-Bericht zu den Menschenrechten in Nordkorea zurückgewiesen

18.03.2014 (latinapress) - China, unterstützt von Abgesandten aus Kuba, Vietnam, Weissrussland, Syrien und Venezuela, hat den UNO-Bericht zu den Menschenrechten in Nordkorea zurückgewiesen. Am 17. Februar 2014 hatte eine Untersuchungskommission der UNO in Genf detailliert wie noch nie einen 372 Seiten Bericht vorgelegt: Basierend auf Erfahrungsberichten von Dutzenden Exilanten und Flüchtlingen werden dem Regime in Pjöngjang “systematische und weitreichende“ Menschenrechtsverletzungen vorgeworfen, von denen viele Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit sind: Vernichtung, Versklavung und das Aushungern der eigenen Bevölkerung. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: Schriftsteller und Blogger Pham Viet Dao vor Gericht

18.03.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Laut Amnesty International und anderen Menschenrechtsorganisationen nimmt die Zahl der in politischen Prozessen Verurteilten stetig zu, mindestens 75 Blogger und Aktivisten für Menschenrechte wurden in den letzten zwei Jahren inhaftiert. Dem Redemptoristen-Nachrichten zufolge sind mindestens 200 Dissidenten hinter Gitter. Der vietnamesischen Regierung wird vorgeworfen Sicherheitsgesetze zu missbrauchen um Regierungskritiker zum

Schweigen zu bringen. So soll es auch bei Pham Viet Dao (Foto rechts) gewesen sein: der bekannte Blogger und Schriftsteller wurde im Juni vergangenen Jahres verhaftet, ihm wird der “Missbrauch demokratischer Freiheiten” nach Artikel 258 StGB vorgeworfen. Am morgigen Mittwoch steht Pham Viet Dao vor dem Volksgericht in Ha Noi, im Fall einer Verurteilung drohen ihm bis zu 7 Jahre Gefängnis. Pham Viet Dao war Beamter des Kultusministeriums, ist dann aus der Kommunistischen Partei Vietnams ausgetreten. Auf seinem Blog äußerte er sich kritisch über die kommunistische Führung des Landes. 

In Vietnam werden Bloggerinnen und Blogger häufig nach Artikel 258 des Strafgesetzbuches verurteilt, wegen “Missbrauch demokratischer Freiheiten gegen das Staatsinteresse”. Gegen diesen Artikel protestiert das Network of Vietnamese Bloggers.

Aktivist und Blogger Thang Nguyen Lan, der selbst bereits mehrmals verhaftet wurde, sprach in einem 13-minütigen Video nicht nur von dem Netzwerk und der Arbeit gegen Artikel 258, sondern auch über die Bedeutung von Social Media und unabhängigen Nachrichten für die Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner Vietnams.

Another Vietnamese Blogger Is Set for Trial

18.03.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Vietnamese blogger Pham Viet Dao will go on trial Wednesday to face charges of ‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state.’

The 62 year-old blogger was arrested in Hanoi last June for allegedly “abusing democratic freedoms” under Vietnam’s controversial Article 258, which provides up to three years in prison.

A lawyer in Hanoi who wished to stay anonymous told VOA's Vietnamese service that Dao has decided to defend himself. “If the verdict at the trial is not reasonable, Dao will hire a lawyer for the appeals trial,” the lawyer said. [read more]

Beijing, Pyongyang and Hanoi win 'Worst Enemies of the Internet' title

14.03.2014 (AsiaNews) - Beijing - China, Vietnam and North Korea are the worst "enemies of the internet" around the world. In its annual report on Internet freedom, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders noted that China's 'Great Firewall,' Vietnam's new anti-blogging laws, and Pyongyang's 'Wall of Silence' are the greatest threats to freedom of expression in Asia.

Dubbed "enemies of the internet," the governments of the three Asian nations have sophisticated tools to control, punish and censor content that is out of step with state policy. [read more]

Un adepte de la réforme religieuse de Duong Van Minh condamné à 18 mois de prison

14.03.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Dans la matinée de ce 14 mars 2014, le Tribunal populaire du district de Yên Son, dans la province de Tuyên Quang, a infligé pour « abus de la liberté démocratique », dix-huit mois de prison à un militant appartenant à l’ethnie h’mong, Hoang Van Sang, âgé de 50 ans.

Dans la matinée de ce 14 mars 2014, le Tribunal populaire du district de Yên Son, dans la province de Tuyên Quang, a infligé pour « abus de la liberté démocratique », dix-huit mois de prison à un militant appartenant à l’ethnie h’mong, Hoang Van Sang, âgé de 50 ans. [en savoir plus ...] - [tiếng Việt]

Beijing, Saigón y Pyongyang: he aquí el podio de los "peores enemigos de internet"

14.03.2014 (AsiaNews) - Beijing - China, Vietnam y Corea del Norte son los "peores enemigos de internet" de todo el mundo. El "Gran Firewal" chino, las nuevas leyes contra los blogger emanados por Saigón y la Escuadras especiales para "el muro del silencio" de Pyonyiang, representan las mayores amenazas para la libertad de expresión en Asia. Es la denuncia contenida en la Relación anual sobre la libertad de la Red publicado por Report sin fronteras, Organización que se ocupa de monitorear la libertad de prensa y de expresión en todo el mundo.

Los gobiernos citados como "enemigos de internet" tienen programas estatales complejos para controlar, censurar y castigar a los contenidos considerados "no en línea" con las políticas centrales. [seguir leyendo]

Royce introduces Vietnam sanctions bill

14.03.2014 By Erik Wasson (The Hill) - The Obama administration is pursuing a free trade agreement with Vietnam, but critics of the country’s authoritarian regime believe sanctions are in order.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), a vocal champion of human rights, on Friday introduced a bill that would impose targeted financial and visa sanctions on Vietnamese individuals involved in abuses.

“With human rights abuses on the rise, it is clear the regime is doubling down on repression. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has been silent on these gross human rights abuses. This legislation tells the freedom-seeking people of Vietnam that Congress stands with them,” Royce said in a statement. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

'Internet Enemies' China, Vietnam, North Korea Tighten Controls

12.03.2014 By Rachel Vandenbrink (RFA) - China and Vietnam have stepped up Internet controls while reclusive North Korea is using "increasingly sophisticated" means to spread disinformation by stringently restricting online access, global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday in a new report which maintained the three nations as the world’s top "Enemies of the Internet".

China’s Great Firewall, as its censorship system is known, is getting “higher,” Vietnam’s new decree to suppress online dissent is “even tougher” than  previous Internet laws and North Korea has special squads to enforce its “wall of silence,” said the Paris-based body’s annual report released to mark World Day Against Cyber-Censorship. [read more]

Vietnam: Targeting bloggers

12.03.2014 (RWB) - The Vietnamese government tolerates no online political debate. Bloggers and cyber-dissidents who dare to question the government’s legitimacy or domestic policies are ruthlessly suppressed. Authorities have deployed a judicial, administrative and technological strike force, based in the Ministry of Information and Communications, to control online information. Though officials and the justice system on their own do not hesitate to violate articles 88 and 79 of the criminal code by imprisoning independent news providers, the ministry conducts its own internet censorship policy – ever more meticulously and with overwhelming force.

Internet regulation is the ministry’s prerogative. The office in charge of the task is the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information. The ministry prepares and proposes laws that allow authorities to justify to the international community prosecutions of bloggers and cyber-dissidents. In order to avoid submitting legislation to the National Assembly, where members could comment on or raise questions about proposed legislation – although there would be no risk of a bill being voted down – these laws take the form of decrees from the prime minister. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: l’Internationale des blogueurs

12.03.2014 (RSF) - Le pouvoir vietnamien ne tolère aucun débat politique en ligne et musèle sans pitié blogueurs et cyberdissidents qui osent remettre en question sa légitimité ou sa politique interne. Pour contrôler l’information en ligne, il a déployé une force de frappe judiciaire, administrative et technologique, centrée sur le Ministère de l’Information et des Communications. Même si les autorités et la justice ne se privent pas d’abuser des articles 88 et 79 du code pénal pour emprisonner les acteurs de l’information, le MIC conduit sa propre politique de censure du Net, de plus en plus écrasante et minutieuse.

La régulation d’Internet est la prérogative du Ministère de l’Information et des Communications (MIC), et plus particulièrement de son Autorité de l’information audiovisuelle et numérique. Le MIC élabore et propose les lois permettant aux autorités de justifier auprès de la communauté internationale les poursuites judiciaires lancées contre les blogueurs et cyberdissidents. Afin d’éviter le passage par l’Assemblée nationale, dont les membres pourraient faire des commentaires ou poser des questions sur les textes législatifs, et bien qu’il n’y ait aucun risque de rejet par la dite Assemblée, ces lois sont passées par décrets, directement signés par le Premier ministre. [en savoir plus ...] - [tiếng Việt]

Land grab victims protest in Saigon

12.03.2014 CTV Danlambao (Dân Làm Báo) - At dawn on March 11, 2014, about 100 landless farmers from the southern provinces staged a protest in Saigon, carrying banners to demand the right to life and human rights while walking toward the U.S. Consulate. The authorities have mobilized a large security force to disrupt the rally. Around 2 p.m., the farmers made a protest at the Government Inspectorate Headquarters at 210 Vo Thi Sau Street, District 3, Saigon, to accuse the authorities of covering up corruption and using security forces to beat female petitioners in Saigon. [read more]

Please help save my mother

11.03.2014 (VRNs) - My name is Tran Bui Trung, was born in 1991. My current address is 106 Le Hong Phong Street, Vung Tau City, Vietnam. I am a son of Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hang, who was wrongfully arrested by police from Lap Vo District, Dong Thap Province. She and her companions were brutally beaten, and have been unlawfully detained since February 11th, 2014. Immediately after her arrest, my Mother has started a hunger strike to protest the brutality and mistreatment by Lap Vo’s police. As of today, the hunger strike has reached 26 days. All of information about her conditions has been concealed by the police. We do have reasons to believe that her health and life are in great dangers.

Since my Mother’s arrest, our family has made numerous requests to visit her; and all of which have been rejected by the police. [read more]

„Feinde des Internets“: Behörden im Zentrum von Überwachung und Zensur

12.03.2014 (ROG) - Reporter ohne Grenzen (ROG) hat den US-Geheimdienst NSA und dessen britisches Pendant GCHQ in die Liste der „Feinde des Internets“ aufgenommen. Das geht aus dem gleichnamigen ROG-Bericht hervor, den die Organisation zum Welttag gegen Internetzensur an diesem 12. März veröffentlicht. Insgesamt benennt er 32 Behörden und Institutionen weltweit, die eine zentrale Rolle bei der Unterdrückung kritischer Stimmen und unerwünschter Informationen im Internet spielen: Geheimdienste und Ministerien, aber auch Internetanbieter und Regulierungsbehörden einiger Länder. Damit lenkt der Bericht den Blick auf die oft wenig bekannten Bürokratien im Zentrum staatlicher Überwachungs- und Zensurapparate. ...

In Ländern wie Syrien, Vietnam, Turkmenistan und Bahrain ist die staatliche Hoheit über die Internet-Infrastruktur ein wichtiger Faktor für die Kontrolle von Online-Informationen.

Auch Gesetze dienen oft als Instrumente der Internetzensur. Ein Beispiel ist das „Dekret 72“, das in Vietnam seit dem vergangenen September die Verbreitung von Nachrichten oder Kommentaren zum Zeitgeschehen in Blogs und sozialen Netzwerken verbietet. Ein weiteres beliebtes Mittel der Zensur ist eine Lizenzpflicht für Nachrichtenwebseiten. Sie erlaubt etwa den Behörden Usbekistans und Saudi-Arabiens, von vornherein nur handzahme Onlinemedien  zuzulassen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam Activists Say Police Testimonies Fabricated to Implicate Blogger

11.03.2014 (RFA) - Five Vietnamese activists have refused to sign testimonies they gave to police on Tuesday over charges faced by a prominent Vietnamese blogger on hunger strike in jail, claiming their statements have been fabricated to implicate the blogger.

The five had been brought in for questioning by Lap Vo district police in southern Vietnam’s Dong Thap province and told to make statements about events related to the detention of blogger Bui Thi Minh Hang.

Hang and another blogger Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, and follower of the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect Nguyen Van Minh are in detention facing charges of “disturbing the public order” and “obstructing traffic,” and have been on a hunger strike for nearly a month to protest their arrest, with family members expressing concern over their health. [read more]

Vietnam: Mounting concerns for the health of writers and activists Dinh Dang Dinh, Nguyen Van Ly and Nguyen Huu Cau

07.03.2014 (PEN International) - RAN 06/14 7 March 2014

PEN International is gravely concerned for the health of blogger Dinh Dang Dinh, who is suffering from end-stage stomach cancer and was transferred to hospital on 15 February 2014. PEN is also seriously concerned for the health of poet, essayist and, scholar and Catholic Priest Father Nguyen Van Ly, and writer and activist Nguyen Huu Cau. Both are serving lengthy prison sentences in Vietnam imposed for their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, and are seriously ill. PEN International is calling for their immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Vietnam is a state party and on humanitarian grounds.

Please send appeals:

Expressing serious concern for the health of writers and activists Dinh Dang Dinh, Nguyen Van Ly and Nguyen Huu Cau and urging that they are given full access to all necessary medical care as a matter of urgency;

Calling for their immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the ICCPR to which Vietnam is state party, and on humanitarian grounds. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Un dirigeant du bouddhisme Hoa Hao défie les autorités en organisant une commémoration interdite

07.03.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Lê Quang Liêm est l'un des plus anciens dirigeants du bouddhisme Hoa Hao. Il est aujourd’hui à la tête du groupe de fidèles de cette religion qui ont refusé de se soumettre au Comité de gestion imposé par le gouvernement vietnamien. À l’occasion de la prochaine commémoration de la mort tragique du fondateur, Huynh Phu Sô, ...il a adressé, le 3 mars dernier, une lettre aux « 7 millions » (1) de fidèles Hoa Hao. Il les invite à venir nombreux célébrer cette fête et, pour cela, à braver l’interdiction des autorités.

« Notre tristesse devint plus intense, ajoute-t-il, au cours des 38 dernières années [1975- 2013], depuis le jour de la prise de pouvoir par les communistes dans le sud…. Les autorités ont sévèrement interdit l’organisation de cérémonies, nous enfermant dans une tristesse muette d’autant plus douloureuse ». [en savoir plus...]

Vietnam: At least 200 political prisoners behind bars

07.03.2014 (VRNs) - Saigon - Vietnam has the highest number of political prisoners in Southeast Asia. It is estimated that there are at least 212 dissidents behind bars, and many more are under house arrest.

Those imprisoned include lawyers, bloggers, land rights activists, Buddhist monks, journalists, writers, singers, labor activists, pro-democracy campaigners, and members of ethnic and religious minorities, including Hmong, Buddhist Khmer Krom, and Christian Montagnard. Many of Vietnam’s political prisoners are women. Many of the dissidents are serving lengthy prison terms in extremely poor detention conditions. As a result, their health is deteriorating and they are in need of urgent medical treatment and ongoing care. [read more]

Human Rights Group Accuses Vietnam of Leading SE Asia in Political Prisoners

06.03.2014 (VOA) - A human rights group said Vietnam has the highest number of political prisoners in Southeast Asia.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) claims at least 212 Vietnamese dissidents are behind bars and many more are under house arrest.

FIDH says those imprisoned include lawyers, bloggers and land rights activists.

Asia Desk Director Andrea Giorgetta told VOA's Vietnamese service that it is time for the international community to pressure Hanoi to stop its repression of peaceful dissent.

"It's shameful that a country like Vietnam, a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, at the moment holds the highest number of political prisoners in Southeast Asia," said Giorgetta. [read more]

Vietnam : un blogueur prend deux ans de prison pour « abus de démocratie »

06.03.2014 (01net) - Accusé d’avoir « abusé des libertés démocratiques », le blogueur Truong Duy Nhat a été condamné à la prison ferme. Il estime qu’un « bon citoyen » a le devoir de « critiquer ses dirigeants ».

Le Vietnam a vraiment du mal à conciler le développement des technologies avec les libertés individuelles, notamment l’expression. La justice de ce pays vient de condamner Truong Duy Nhat, 50 ans, à deux années de prison ferme. Son crime ? Avoir « abusé des libertés démocratiques pour porter atteinte aux intérêts de l'État ».

Cette accusation est passible de sept ans de prison. Sa peine a été promulguée lors d'un procès d'une demi-journée à Danang où il a été arrêté en mai 2013. L’AFP signale qu’elle n’a pas été autorisée à assister à ce procès. [en savoir plus ...]

The Network of Vietnamese Bloggers Human Rights Café Report

06.03.2014 Network of Vietnamese Bloggers, Translated by Jasmine Tran (Danlambao) - On Saturday 1, March 2014 at 9:00 in the morning, as planned, several members of the MLBVN opened the Human Rights Café discussion focussing on “The Rights to Freedom of Movement”.

Around 30 bloggers were present, amongst them were human rights activists like Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh (blogger Paulo Thanh Nguyen), Luu Trong Kiet, Huynh Cong Thuan, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Me Nam), Nguyen Hoang Vi (An Do Nguyen), Nguyen Thao Chi, Nguyen Thi Yen Trang (Mi Ruoi), Hoang Van Dung (Hoang Dung CĐVN), Bui Tuan Lam (Peter Lam Bui), and Huynh Ngoc Chenh. Visitors from abroad in attendance were Aija Salovara (Finland) and Lina Johansson (Sweden).

Notably, a dozen security officers sat at nearby tables, watching and walking around, taking pictures of and filming the group. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Message by Ambassador Franz Jessen, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam on the conviction of Mr Truong Duy Nhat

05.03.2014 (European Union - Delegation to Vietnam ) - Hanoi. The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, Ambassador Franz Jessen, expressed his concerns over yesterday's sentencing of blogger and journalist Truong Duy Nhat to two years in prison. Ambassador Jessen recalled the fundamental right for all persons to hold and freely express their opinions in a peaceful manner.

The European Union will continue to work in partner ship with Vietnam, currently a member of the UN Human Rights Council, towards the improvement of the human rights situation in the country. [PDF] - [tiếng Việt]

Another Vietnamese Blogger Jailed

Truong Duy Nhat was sentenced to two years behind bars for criticizing the communist government

06.03.2014 By Luke Hunt (The Diplomat) - Another Vietnamese blogger has been jailed for criticizing the communist state. The Vietnamese government has accused Truong Duy Nhat of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe the interests of the state” under the country’s controversial new article 258.

Nhat, 50, received a two-year sentence after his lawyer admitted during a half-day trial in Danang, on the central coast, that his client had posted 12 articles online. However, the defense argued that this was not a crime.

“I merely exercised my rights to freedom of speech,” Nhat was quoted as saying by his lawyer Tran Vu Hai. “Actually, I did defend the state and its interests.”

He had been braced for a prison term of up to seven years.

Nhat was arrested in May last year after posting an article calling for the resignation of Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, accusing them of failing to fight corruption resulting in political chaos and a slumping economy. [read more]

France condemns Vietnam for jailing prominent blogger

06.03.2014 (theSundaily) - Paris — France on Wednesday condemned Vietnam for jailing a prominent blogger and journalist, Truong Duy Nhat, who posted articles critical of Hanoi's Communist government.

The foreign ministry in Paris issued a statement saying it "deplores" Nhat's incarceration on Tuesday, saying it went against freedom of expression. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Jails another Human Rights Blogger

05.03.2014 (Freedom House) - Freedom House condemns Vietnam’s sentencing of blogger and human rights activist Truong Duy Nhat on March 4 to a two-year prison term, and calls on the government of Vietnam to overturn his conviction. His imprisonment represents a blatant attack on free speech and independent media in the country.

Arrested May 26, 2013 in connection with blog posts critical of the Vietnamese government, Truong Duy Nhat faced charges of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state." Nhat previously worked as a reporter for state-run news outlets but in 2011 created a blog that has regularly criticized government officials. [read more]

Vietnam’s Love-Hate Affair with the Internet

03.03.2014 Written by Helen Clark (Asia Sentinel) - Internet repression continues as 30-month prison sentence for blogger is upheld

The Vietnamese authorities’ continuing attack on dissent, free speech and a free Internet is exemplified by the trumped up tax evasion approval by a Hanoi appeals court earlier this month that sent the human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan to jail for 30 months.

Hundreds of supporters wearing demonstrated outside the court for Quan, convicted last October by a lower court. He had been in detention since December 2012. A European Union delegation, representatives from the United States and Canadian governments and a small group of journalists were present at the trial. [read more]

Ein Blogger wegen Kritik an der Staatsführung in Vietnam verurteilt

04.03.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Da Nang. Ein Volksgericht in Zentralvietnam hat den bekannten Blogger Truong, Duy Nhat wegen kritischer Beiträge in seinem Blog zu zwei Jahren Gefängnisstrafe verurteilt.

Wie sein Anwalt Tran Vu Hai mitteilte wurde Truong Duy Nhat dafür verantwortlicht gemacht, dass Kritik in seinem Blog die Politik der Regierung verzerrte und die Führung des Landes in einem schlechten Licht erscheinen ließ. Der halbtägige Prozess fand am heutigen Dienstag in Truong Duy Nhats Wohnort Da Nang statt, das Gerichtsgebäude wurde von Sicherheitskräften in Zivil überwacht. Nur Truong Duy Nhats Ehefrau und seine Tochter bekamen Zutritt zum Prozess. Etwa eine Stunde nach Prozessbeginn versammelten sich hunderte von Nhats Freunden und Unterstützern auf der Strasse vor dem Gericht. Obwohl der Prozess öffentlich war wurde ihnen aber den Zutritt verweigert. Als die Sicherheitskräfte nach dem Grund der Einlassverwehrung gefragte wurden, erwiderten sie mit "Anweisung von oben".

Seinem Verteidiger zufolge sagte Truong Duy Nhat im Gericht er habe zwölf kritische Beiträge auf seinem Blog geposted, das sei kein Verbrechen, er mache nur seine Rechte auf freie Meinungsäußerung Gebrauch.

Bis 2011 war Nhat Reporter bei einer staatlich kontrollierten Zeitung bevor er den Dienst quittierte, um in seinem Blog "Mot goc nhin khac" (Ein anderer Blickwinkel) frei schreiben zu können. Der 50-jährige Blogger wurde in seiner Wohnung in Da Nang im Mai vergangenen Jahres festgenommen und in die Hauptstadt Ha Noi zur Vernehmung gebracht.

"Truong Duy Nhats Prozess ist Teil der vergeblichen Bemühungen der vietnamesischen Regierung, die zunehmende Kritik der vietnamesischen Blogger an der Regierung zum Schweigen zu bringen", Brad Adams, Asien-Direktor bei Human Rights Watch in einer Erklärung.

Laut Amnesty International und anderen Menschenrechtsorganisationen nimmt die Zahl der in politischen Prozessen Verurteilten stetig zu, mindestens 75 Blogger und Aktivisten für Menschenrechte wurden in den letzen zwei Jahren inhaftiert.  [tiếng Việt]

Blogger Truong Duy Nhat im Gericht

Freunde und Unterstützer auf der einen Straßenseite vor dem Gericht

Vietnam sends blogger to prison for critical posts

04.03.2014 (AP) - HANOI, Vietnam - A well-known blogger in central Vietnam was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for posting criticism of the communist government in the latest case from an intensified crackdown against dissent in the one-party state.

Truong Duy Nhat was convicted of "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe the interests of the state" by posting material that distorted the government's policies and put the country's leadership in the bad light, his lawyer Tran Vu Hai said.

His lawyer said Nhat told the court that he did post the 12 articles on his blog, but Nhat maintained that his acts did not constitute a crime. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Blogger zu zwei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt

04.03.2014 (NZZ) - (ap) Ein vietnamesisches Gericht hat einen der bekanntesten Blogger des Landes zu zwei Jahren Haft verurteilt. Dem Publizisten Truong Duy Nhat wird «Missbrauch demokratischer Freiheiten zur Verletzung der Interessen des Staates» vorgeworfen. Mit seinen Blogbeiträgen habe er die Regierung in ein schlechtes Licht gerückt, gab sein Anwalt Tran Vu Hai am Dienstag die Argumentation des Gerichts wieder. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: deux ans de prison pour un important blogueur

04.03.2014 (Huffington Post Quebec) - Un important blogueur vietnamien a été condamné mardi à deux ans de prison pour ses articles contre le régime communiste à parti unique, dernier cas d'une vague de répression contre la dissidence, a indiqué son avocat.

Truong Duy Nhat, 50 ans, était accusé d'avoir "abusé des libertés démocratiques pour porter atteinte aux intérêts de l'Etat", une accusation passible de sept ans de prison, lors d'un procès d'une demi-journée à Danang, dans le centre du pays, où il avait été arrêté en mai 2013.

"Il a été condamné à deux ans d'emprisonnement pour cette accusation qu'il a fermement niée, clamant son innocence", a déclaré à l'AFP son avocat, Tran Vu Hai. [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

Condenado bloguero vietnamita a dos años de cárcel por criticar al régimen

04.03.2014 (El Confidencial) - (EFE) - Un bloguero vietnamita ha sido condenado hoy a dos años de prisión por un tribunal popular de justicia por criticar al Gobierno de Vietnam, en otro ataque del régimen comunista contra la libertad de expresión, según la Federación Internacional de los Derechos Humanos.

El condenado, Truong Duy Nhat, fue detenido en mayo de 2013 tras publicar en su blog "Una punto de vista diferente" varios artículos críticos con las autoridades. [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: Relentless Prosecutions to Squelch Dissent

Truong Duy Nhat Should Not be in Prison for Exercising Freedom of Expression 03.03.2014 (HRW) - (New York) – The trial of the blogger Truong Duy Nhat scheduled for March 4, 2014 in Da Nang demonstrates that there is no slackening of the Vietnamese authorities’ determination to target people for peaceful criticism, Human Rights Watch said today.

In his blog, Truong Duy Nhat has often criticized the government and raised concerns about China’s claims to maritime territory off the Vietnamese coast. He has also called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, accusing them of being responsible for what he described as Vietnam’s “political chaos” and “uncontrolled corruption.”

“Truong Duy Nhat’s trial is part of the Vietnamese government’s futile effort to silence the increasingly effervescent community of Vietnamese bloggers,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Instead of creating another political prisoner, the government should release Truong Duy Nhat and all others who are jailed merely for disagreeing with the government and the party.” [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Prepares for Trial of Another Online Activist

03.03.2014 (VOA) - Vietnam is set to open the trial of online activist Truong Duy Nhat on charges of violating the country's controversial new Article 258, which provides criminal penalties for "abusing freedoms to infringe upon the state's interests."

Nhat is one of several bloggers to face trial in the past few months as Vietnamese authorities continue a crackdown on activists. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

Tran Vu Hai, Truong Duy Nhat’s lawyer, says in an interview with VOA’s Vietnamese Service that his client is eager to go to court to present his arguments. [read more]

Der inhaftierte Blogger Truong Duy Nhat steht am 4. März vor Gericht

01.03.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Neun Monate nach seiner Verhaftung steht der regimekritische Blogger Truong Duy Nhat (Foto) am kommenden Dienstag, 04.03.2014 vor Gericht. Berichten zufolge erhielt Nhats Familie am Dienstag die offizielle Anklageschrift vom 17. Dezember des vergangenen Jahres aus dem Büro der vietnamesischen Oberstvolksstaatsanwaltschaft, in der Truong Duy Nhat "Missbrauch demokratischer Freiheiten" vorgeworfen ist. Er habe nach Artikel 258 des Strafgesetzbuches illegal gehandelt:

"Those who abuse the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of belief, religion, assembly, association and other democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens, shall be subject to warnings, non-custodial reform for up to three years, or a prison term of between six months and three years.

Committing the offense in serious circumstances, the offenders shall be sentenced to between two and seven years of imprisonment."  (Auszug aus der englischen Fassung des Justizministeriums Vietnams)

(Diejenigen, die die Rechte auf Meinungsfreiheit, Pressefreiheit, die Freiheit des Glaubens, der Religion, Versammlungs-, Vereinigungs- und anderen demokratischen Freiheiten missbrauchen und dadurch die Interessen des Staates, die legitimen Rechte und Interessen der Organisationen und Bürger verletzen, werden bis zu drei Jahre Bewährungsstrafe oder zwischen zwei und sieben Jahren Haftstrafe verurteilt.

Bei Begehung der Straftat in schweren Fällen wird mit Gefängnis von zwei bis sieben Jahren bestraft. Dt.Übers. FVN21).

Truong Duy Nhat, 50, wurde am 26. Mai 2013 in seiner Wohnung in der Künstenstadt Da Nang in Zentralvietnam verhaftet. Nach stundenlanger Durchsuchung wurde er abgeführt und am gleichen Tag nach Hanoi gebracht. Seine Verhaftung wird allgemein als ein Teil der Niederschlagung des Dissenses durch Behörde in dem Ein-Parteien-Staat betrachtet.

Truong Duy Nhat betrieb seit 2010 das Blog “Mot goc nhin khac” (Ein anderer Blickwinkel) und äußerte sich kritisch über die Regierung. Das Blog ist seit seiner Verhaftung nicht erreichbar.

Die geplante Gerichtsverhandlung der ersten Instanz findet am 3. März in Danang statt.

Nach einer Reihe von Bloggerverhaftungen 2013 in Vietnam wehrten sich Bloggerinnen und Blogger gegen den Artikel 258 und protestieren seitdem gemeinsam in Network of Vietnamese Bloggers.  - [tiếng Việt]

The Human Rights That Dictators Love

26.02.2014 By Pedro Pizano (Foreign Policy) - Watch out. Kobe Bryant may be violating your human rights. Farida Shaheed, the U.N. special rapporteur on cultural rights, recently announced that she's launching a new study aimed at addressing "whether advertising and marketing practices affect cultural diversity and the right of people to choose their way of life." The announcement bears a photo of a larger-than-life U.S. basketball advertisement (featuring star player Kobe Bryant) looming over a Chinese playground.

This is all in a day's work for the United Nations' cultural rights office. Just last month, when Shaheed visited Vietnam, she took a break from discussing concerns about the freedom of expression to highlight another urgent crisis: the sensitive issue of the Cong drum. In case you haven't heard, the Cong drum is a unique cultural artifact used by certain indigenous tribes in Vietnam's remote highlands. Now, Shaheed notes, the Cong drum faces a new threat: it is "being played on demand for tourists in some places, thus clearly losing its original cultural significance." She urges the government to protect drum performances against "folklorization" -- apparently a major violation of the indigenous groups' "cultural rights." [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam - Dissident vor Treffen mit Diplomaten geschlagen

26.02.2014 (NZZ) - (ap) Vor einem Gespräch über die Menschenrechtslage mit einem australischen Diplomaten ist ein vietnamesischer Regimekritiker in Hanoi misshandelt worden. Auf einem Motorrad vorbeifahrende Männer hätten ihn aus einem Taxi gezogen und geschlagen, sagte der Dissident Nguyen Bac Truyen am Mittwoch. Er habe mit Verletzungen im Gesicht im Krankenhaus behandelt werden müssen. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese dissident says he was beaten on the way to meeting with Australian diplomat

26.02.2014 By Chris Brummitt (Associated Press) - HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese dissident said Wednesday that suspected government agents assaulted him and his wife this week as they were heading to a meeting with an Australian diplomat to talk about the human rights situation in the country.

While harassment and intimidation of activists are common in Vietnam, the fact that Nguyen Bac Truyen and his wife were targeted on their way to meet with a diplomat angered Western embassies and represents an escalation in the campaign to silence critics.

The Australian Embassy said in a statement that it was very concerned about the incident and would discuss it with Vietnam's government. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese Blogger to Stand Trial on ‘Abusing’ Freedom Charges

25.02.2014 (RFA) - A prominent Vietnamese blogger arrested nine months ago after he published articles critical of the government will face trial next week on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms,” according to an official indictment his family received Tuesday.

Truong Duy Nhat, 50, was taken into custody on May 26 after police searched his home in Da Nang city on the South Central Coast of Vietnam in what was widely seen as part of a crackdown by authorities on online dissent in the one party communist state.

On Tuesday, Nhat’s family received an official indictment dated Dec. 17 of last year from the office of Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Prosecutor informing them of his official charges. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Quang Nam Public Security Forces Attacking The Huynh Family

Cry for Help from blogger Huynh Thuc Vy

22.02.2014 (Viet Thuc) - On February 19, 2014, responding to an invitation by Venerable Thich Vien Dinh, my Father Huyng Ngoc Tuan and my younger brother Huynh Trong Hieu traveled from Quang Nam Province to Binh Dinh Province. The purpose of the trip was to attend a memorial service for the Nationally Recognized and Most Venerable Zen Master Phuoc Hue (1869-1945) at the Ten Stupas Ancestral Pagoda (To Dinh Thap Thap) of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). (Note: the UCBV is a religious organization dating back to the earliest days of Buddhism in Vietnam. The current communist government in Vietnam doesn’t recognize the UCBV and has vigorously persecuted its members and leaders. The current patriarch of the UCBV, the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, spent the last three decades in various prisons, hard labor camps and detention facilities. At the present time, he is under house arrest at his monastery in Saigon since 2004.)

The memorial service for Venerable Phuoc Hue on the 21st of January of the lunar calendar is a very important event for the UBCV. Consequently, hundreds of agents from the Public Security Forces were dispatched to follow and monitor the movements and activities of attendees at the event at the Ten Stupas Ancestral Pagoda. These attendees include monks and common people. It was not surprising that Public Security Forces from Quang Nam Province coordinated with their counterparts from Binh Dinh Province to closely follow my father and my brother during their travel.

Traveling by car with Venerable Thich Tu Giao and several Buddhists from Quang Tri Province, My father and brother returned to Quang Nam Province in the afternoon of February 20, 2014.

Around 3 PM, the car in which my father and younger brother were traveling stopped at Thanh Hoa Street, one of the two roads leading to our family home – in the southern section of Quang Nam Province. to let my father and my brother out so that they could hail a taxi for the ride home, they were jumped on and viciously attacked by 10 or so masked young men in civilian clothes who were hiding inside nearby taxis.

These attackers lifted up and violently threw my father down on the pavement. Likewise, my younger brother Huynh Trong Hieu was severely beaten. They hit him repeatedly on the head, the face, the sides, and the stomach.

The attacks were so sudden and so painful that both my father and my younger brother were unable to scream for help. When Venerable Thich Tu Giao saw what transpired and rushed out of the car calling for help, he too was assaulted and beaten. The beatings lasted about 10 minutes and then the Public Security Forces fled the scene. Both my father and younger brother, who had crumbled to the ground, were helped to get up and then driven to their house in the same car they came back in with Venerable Thich Tu Giao.

The beating left my father with swollen eyes and faces and bruises all over his body. My younger brother’s face was black and blue all over. His jaw was dislocated. He experienced and is still experiencing head pains and side pains.

We will seek medical treatment for my father and brother and update their health status in a later communication.

We really don’t understand why recently the government is so hell bent on continuously persecuting and attacking members of our family. We feel that the safety of our family and even our lives are seriously threatened by the government.

Dear friends, please help us spread this news widely and above all, please come to our defense!

Huynh Thuc Vy

Amnesty International visits Viet Nam for human rights dialogue

20.02.2014 (AI) - Representatives from Amnesty International’s Secretariat this week made their first visit to Viet Nam in decades. A four-person delegation spent three days in Viet Nam’s capital Hanoi, building on an individual visit for the organization last year by Amnesty International USA’s Deputy Executive Director.

They met with a range of stakeholders, including senior government and Communist Party officials, National Assembly members, experts from research institutes, representatives of non-governmental organizations and foreign diplomats.

“We are pleased that the Vietnamese authorities have allowed representatives from the International Secretariat of Amnesty International to enter the country for the first time in decades. We had frank and open discussions on a number of human rights concerns,” said Isabelle Arradon, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Program, who led the delegation. [read more]

Amnesty International s’est rendue au Viêt-Nam pour un dialogue sur les droits humains

20.02.2014 (AI) - Des représentants du Secrétariat international d’Amnesty International se sont rendus cette semaine au Viêt-Nam pour la première fois depuis des décennies.

Une délégation de quatre personnes a passé trois jours dans la capitale vietnamienne Hanoi, faisant suite à la visite individuelle effectuée pour l’organisation en 2013 par le directeur exécutif adjoint d’Amnesty International États-Unis.

Les délégués ont rencontré divers acteurs du Viêt-Nam, notamment de hauts responsables du gouvernement et du Parti communiste, des membres de l’Assemblée nationale, des experts d’instituts de recherche, des représentants d’organisations non gouvernementales et des diplomates étrangers.

« Nous sommes ravis que les autorités vietnamiennes aient permis à des représentants du Secrétariat international d’Amnesty International d’entrer sur le territoire pour la première fois depuis des décennies. Nous avons eu des discussions franches et ouvertes sur un certain nombre de préoccupations relatives aux droits humains, a déclaré Isabelle Arradon, directrice adjointe du programme Asie-Pacifique d’Amnesty International, qui a conduit la délégation [en savoir plus...]

Amnistía Internacional visita Vietnam para entablar diálogo sobre derechos humanos

20.02.2014 (AI) - Representantes del Secretariado Internacional de Amnistía Internacional han realizado esta semana su primera visita a Vietnam desde hace varias décadas.

La delegación, formada por cuatro personas, pasó tres días en la capital del país, Hanoi, dando continuidad a la visita que el director ejecutivo adjunto de AI Estados Unidos realizó en 2013 en nombre de la organización.

Se reunieron con muy distintas personas, entre ellas altos representantes del gobierno y del Partido Comunista, miembros de la Asamblea Nacional, expertos de institutos de investigación, representantes de organizaciones no gubernamentales y diplomáticos extranjeros.

“Es una satisfacción para nosotros que las autoridades vietnamitas hayan permitido entrar en el país a representantes del Secretariado Internacional de Amnistía Internacional por primera vez en décadas. Hemos debatido abierta y sinceramente sobre varios motivos de preocupación relacionados con los derechos humanos”, ha explicado Isabelle Arradon, directora adjunta del Programa de Amnistía Internacional para Asia y Oceanía, quien encabezaba la delegación. [seguir leyendo]

Internet repression in Vietnam continues as 30-month prison sentence for blogger is upheld

20.02.2014 By Helen Clark (Index on Censorship) - The 30 month prison sentence for Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger, Le Quoc Quan, was today upheld by a Hanoi appeals court. Quan, who has frequently blogged about human rights violations by the government, was convicted in October 2013 on tax evasion charges. He has been arbitrarily detained since December 2012. A crowd of hundreds wearing t-shirts in support of Quan were present outside the court, while a European Union delegation, representatives from the United States and Canada and a small group of journalists were present at the trial. This is just the latest move in the Vietnamese authorities’ ongoing attack on dissent, free speech, free press and a free internet.

If you need to communicate with someone the Vietnamese government is interested in keeping an eye, it is always been useful to be careful. Phone conversations can be listened to. Meetings at houses could be watched. Protests are invariably filmed by government operatives. If you were going to, say, chat via Gmail’s chat function it should be switched to “off the record” to prevent a copy of the discussion being archived. Some unlucky people have seen their blog posts traced to the internet cafe they’ve later been arrested at. If you are a dissident you won’t be the only one the police are interested in; they’ll talk to your family, friends and employers, too. The latter they may ask to dismiss you. [read more]

Viet Nam: Coalition condamne la décision de la Cour d'appel en cas de Le Quan Quoc

20.02.2014 (Avocats Sans Frontières) - Hanoi, 19.02.2014: Une coalition formée de 14 ONG et réseaux de droits de l’Homme condamne fermement la décision de la Cour d’Appel confirmant la condamnation à 30 mois de prison de l’Avocat/défenseur des droits de l’Homme et blogueur Le Quoc Quan. Mr Quan est détenu depuis Décembre 2012.

La Coalition estime que la détention de Mr Quan est motivée politiquement et qu’il s’agit d’une réaction à son blog, dans lequel il dénonce régulièrement des violations de Droits de l’Homme de la part du gouvernement vietnamien. Mr Quan est victime d’une persécution généralisée à l’encontre des blogueurs, journalistes et activistes pro-démocratie orchestrée par les autorités.

La Coalition est composée de: ARTICLE 19, Reporters Sans Frontières, Media Legal Defence Initiative, Freedom House, Avocats sans Frontières Network, Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada, English PEN, PEN American Center, the National Endowment for Democracy, PEN International, Media Defence Southeast Asia, Front Line Defenders, et World Movement for Democracy. [en savoir plus...]

Viet Nam: Coalition condemns Appeal Court decision in Le Quoc Quan Case

19.02.2014 - Hanoi, 19.02.2014: A coalition of 14 human rights NGOs and networks strongly condemns this week’s decision by an appeal court upholding a 30-month prison sentence for Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan. Mr. Quan has been detained since December 2012.

The coaliton believes Mr. Quan’s detention is politically motivated and a reaction to his blog, where he frequently exposes human rights violations by the Vietnamese government. Mr. Quan is a victim of a coordinated government crackdown on bloggers, citizen journalists and pro-democracy activists.

The coalition includes ARTICLE 19, Reporters Without Borders, Media Legal Defence Initiative, Freedom House, Avocats-sans-Frontières, Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada, English PEN, PEN American Center, the National Endowment for Democracy, PEN International, Media Defence Southeast Asia, Front Line Defenders, and the World Movement for Democracy [read more]

Blogger Ta Phong Tan Mistreated in Prison 18.02.2014 (VRNs) - Massachusetts, USA – After her visit for the month of February, Ta Minh Tu, who is the younger sister of blogger Ta Phong Tan gave VRNs the latest updates on her sister’s conditions. “Sister Tan is currently suffering with bronchitis, which caused prolonged coughing. Rice and steamed mature water spinach are the only foods she has every day. Everything is expensive in prison as the prisoners have to buy their own foods. A tiny banana costs 2000 VND each. She has to take outside showers as they do not have bathrooms. It’s winter there now, and as a southerner, she is not used to the cold climate in the North. Her given options are inhumane. She could either get sick from taking showers in the cold weather; or develop skin diseases from sleeping on the cement without showering.  [read more]