Menschenrechte / Human Rights (2018)

Vietnamese Activist Given Five-Year, Six-Month Prison Term for Defaming Government

28.12.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese democracy activist Huynh Truong Ca was sentenced on Friday by a court in southern Vietnam’s Dong Thap province to a five-year, six-month prison term for criticizing the country’s communist government in a series of online postings, state media and other sources said.

A member of the Hien Phap Group, a network of activists calling for rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed by Vietnam’s constitution, Ca was arrested in September after calling on social media for public protests, sources said. [read more]

Vietnam Court Rejects Activist’s Appeal of Lengthy Subversion Sentence

26.12.2018 (RFA) - A court in Vietnam on Wednesday threw out an appeal by Vietnamese activist Nguyen Trung Truc, a member of the online Brotherhood for Democracy advocacy group, against his 12-year jail sentence for subversion.

During morning proceedings that lasted just under three hours, the appeals court in the central coastal city of Da Nang upheld a September decision by a lower court in Quang Binh province ordering Truc, 44, to spend 12 years in prison and a subsequent five years under probation for activities “aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration,” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s penal code. [read more]

Vietnam: How Facebook is being abused to silence critics in Germany

21.12.2018 (RSF) - Facebook is being systematically abused to censor Vietnamese bloggers living in exile. According to the information available to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in the last few months the social network has repeatedly deleted posts and also blocked the accounts of such individuals due to alleged violations of its “Community Standards”.

“Our research shows that the Vietnamese government is apparently using digital space to suppress critical voices outside the country as well,” said RSF Germany’s Executive Director Christian Mihr. “Those responsible must end these attacks and respect press freedom.” [read more]

Vietnam: Big Brother Is Watching Everyone

20.12.2018 (Human Rights Watch) - (New York) – Draft Cyber Security Decree Will Seriously Undermine Rights.

Vietnam should postpone the application of the Law on Cyber Security and revise it to bring it to conformity with international law, Human Rights Watch said today. The National Assembly passed this highly problematic law in June 2018.

“This cyber security law is designed to further enable the Ministry of Public Security’s pervasive surveillance to spot critics, and to deepen the Communist Party’s monopoly on power,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “If this law is enacted, anyone who uses the internet in Vietnam will have zero privacy.” [read more]

Viet Nam: Police raid major meeting of local NGOs in alarming step-up of repression

19.12.2018 (WebWire) - Police in Viet Nam’s capital, Hanoi, shut down a major annual meeting of grassroots groups and non-government organizations (NGOs) this morning in an alarming step-up of the authorities’ repression of civil society, said Amnesty International.

“This is an absurd and shocking crackdown on a well-established, peaceful event. To use an arcane wartime decree about holding events in public spaces to stop a private gathering at a hotel is clearly unjustified and cynical,” said Minar Pimple, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Global Operations. [read more]

Vietnam: La policía irrumpe en importante reunión de ONG locales en un contexto de alarmante aumento de la represión

19.12.2018 (Amnistía Internacional) - Esta mañana, la policía ha puesto fin en la capital de Vietnam, Hanoi, a una importante reunión anual de ONG y grupos de base en el contexto de un alarmante aumento de la represión de la sociedad civil por parte de las autoridades, ha manifestado Amnistía Internacional.

“Ha sido una medida desconcertante y absurda, tomada contra un acto pacífico totalmente consolidado. Utilizar un arcano decreto de tiempos de guerra sobre la celebración de actos en espacios públicos para poner fin a una concentración privada en un hotel resulta claramente injustificado y cínico”, ha afirmado Minar Pimple, director general de Operaciones Globales de Amnistía Internacional. [seguir leyendo]

Viêt-Nam. L’opération policière contre un grand rassemblement d’ONG marque une inquiétante montée de la répression

19.12.2018 (Amnesty International) - À Hanoï, la capitale du Viêt-Nam, ce matin, la police a mis fin à un important rassemblement annuel d’associations et d’organisations non gouvernementales (ONG), ce qui marque une inquiétante montée de la répression exercée par les autorités contre la société civile, a déclaré Amnesty International.

« Il s’agit d’une opération de répression absurde et choquante menée contre un événement pacifique bien établi. Le recours à un obscur décret qui date de la guerre relatif à la tenue d’événements dans les lieux publics pour mettre fin à un rassemblement privé organisé dans un hôtel est de toute évidence cynique et injustifié, a déclaré Minar Pimple, directeur général des opérations mondiales à Amnesty International. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese at Home and Abroad Present Eight-Point Petition Calling for Reform

19.12.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese civil society groups and individuals based both in Vietnam and abroad called on their government in a petition on Wednesday to implement political reforms, guaranteeing basic rights to assembly and freedom of the press and freeing prisoners jailed for peacefully expressing their views.

The petition, titled “An Eight-Point Demand for 2019,” was sent to national leaders and to members of Vietnam’s National Assembly, and mirrors an eight-point petition presented to the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference by former Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh.

Included in the petition’s demands are calls for the release of political prisoners, reform of Vietnam’s legal system, guarantees for a free press and an end to censorship, the right to freedom of assembly and association, freedom of travel, and de-politicization of the country’s schools. [read more]

Vietnamesische Regimekritiker - Bei Facebook rausgetrickst

18.12.2018 Marina Mai (taz) - BERLIN taz | Facebook hat seit Jahresbeginn zahlreiche Beiträge vietnamesischer Nutzer gelöscht und Benutzerkonten gesperrt. Allen gemeinsam war, dass sie sich in ihren Posts kritisch mit der Regierung in Hanoi auseinandersetzen. Das hat die Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen (RoG) recherchiert. Betroffen sind nach taz-Recherchen auch mindestens vier Vietnamesen aus Deutschland sowie je einer aus Belgien und Frankreich. Beschwerden der Betroffenen bei Facebook waren ins Leere gelaufen, bevor RoG sich eingeschaltet hatte.

„Unsere Recherchen zeigen, dass die vietnamesische Regierung offenbar den digitalen Raum missbraucht, um kritische Stimmen auch im Ausland zu unterdrücken“, sagte RoG-Geschäftsführer Christian Mihr. [Weiterlesen]

New religion-control law changes little in Vietnam after 1 year

18.12.2018 (World Watch Monitor) - Christian leaders in Vietnam largely agree that little has changed since the new Law on Belief and Religion came into effect January 1, 2018. Its potentially positive provisions are unevenly applied, and completely ignored in remote areas where ethnic minorities continue under heavy persecution and yet convert to Christianity.

The secular celebration of Christmas has grown exponentially in Vietnam in recent years. On 5 December the education department of Nha Be District in Ho Chi Minh City published a strong directive banning anything and everything Christmas in all public, private and tutoring schools. [read more]

Facebook accused of silencing critical Vietnamese bloggers

15.12.2018 (DW) - Facebook is being used to silence bloggers critical of Vietnam's government, according to Reporters Without Borders. The campaigners said there were 26 imprisoned media workers in the Southeast Asian nation.

RSF said the social network deleted posts and blocked accounts because of alleged violations of community standards.

"Our research shows that the Vietnamese government is apparently abusing digital space to suppress critical voices abroad as well," said RSF managing director Christian Mihr. "Those responsible must stop these attacks and respect the freedom of the press. [read more]

Relatives of Jailed Vietnamese Democracy Activists Detail Prison Mistreatment to US Embassy Officials

14.12.2018 (RFA) - Four jailed Vietnamese members of the online Brotherhood for Democracy advocacy group are suffering from failing health and enduring ill treatment in prison, according to the wife of one activist, who raised concerns about their situation during a meeting with U.S. Embassy officials on Friday.

Nguyen Thi Lanh, the wife of Brotherhood for Democracy President Nguyen Trung Ton, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that she and other relatives met with representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi to detail routine abuse of the activists by prison authorities and ask for assistance in securing their release. [read more]

Kritiker über Facebook verfolgt

13.12.2018 (ROG) - Facebook wird offenbar systematisch missbraucht, um im Exil lebende Blogger aus Vietnam zu zensieren. Nach Informationen von Reporter ohne Grenzen (ROG) hat das soziale Netzwerk wegen angeblicher Verletzungen der „Community Standards“ seit Monaten Beiträge gelöscht oder ganze Accounts gesperrt. Bekannt geworden ist zuletzt der Fall des in Deutschland lebenden Journalisten Trung Khoa Le, der durch eine Account-Sperrung an der Veröffentlichung eines regimekritischen Videos in Deutschland gehindert wurde. Facebook räumte danach ein, Opfer eines „böswilligen Angriffs“ geworden zu sein, und kündigte Verbesserungen an. Die Recherchen zeigen, dass Trung Khoa Le kein Einzelfall war. ROG legte Facebook 23 weitere Fälle vor, unter ihnen ist auch der vietnamesische Blogger Bui Thanh Hieu. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam seeks arrest of activist over Facebook posts

12.12.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - Police in Vietnam have issued an arrest warrant for an activist accused of trying to overthrow the state by posting pro-democracy materials on Facebook.

Nguyen Van Trang, a member of the banned group Brotherhood for Democracy, posted articles, photos and videos on his Facebook account that distorted the policies of the Communist Party and state, and incited people to protest, the Ministry of Public Security said on its website. [read more]

Two Activists in Hiding, Accused of Trying to Overthrow Vietnam Government

11.12.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese democracy activists Nguyen Van Trang and Le Van Thuong are wanted for overthrowing their country’s communist government, police told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Tuesday.

The two members of the banned Brotherhood for Democracy are being sought for “activities aiming to overthrow the people’s administration” under article 109 of the revised Vietnamese penal code, police in Thanh Hoa and Quang Ngai provinces told RFA by telephone. [read more]

Jailed Vietnam Activist Punished for Not Pleading Guilty

07.12.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese activist Nguyen Trung Ton, currently serving a 12-year jail sentence, is being punished by prison authorities for maintaining his innocence of charges he plotted to overthrow his country’s communist government, his wife said on Friday.

Shortly after visiting her husband in prison, Nguyen Thi Lanh told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that prison authorities are forcing him to sit separately from the other inmates as he reviews prison rules because they are worried that he may influence the others.

“They are trying to force him to write a confession every day and accept the accusations against him, but he refuses,” Nguyen Thi Lanh, said. [read more]

Missio: Religionsfreiheit weltweit immer mehr unter Druck

05.12.2018 (SZ) - Aachen (dpa/lnw) - Die Religionsfreiheit gerät nach Angaben des katholischen Hilfswerks Missio weltweit immer mehr unter Druck. Die Zahl der Staaten, in denen Menschen wegen ihrer Religion durch staatliche Maßnahmen oder gesellschaftliche Anfeindungen hochgradig gefährdet seien, sei von 40 im Jahr 2007 auf 55 Staaten im Jahr 2016 gestiegen, teilte Missio am Mittwoch zum 70. Jahrestag der Verabschiedung der allgemeinen Menschenrechtserklärung (10. Dezember 1948) mit. Darauf zu reagieren sei eine der wichtigsten Herausforderungen der künftigen Menschenrechtsarbeit. [Weiterlesen]

In the Party’s crosshairs, Fr Nam tried in Nghệ An

04.12.2018 by Peter Tran (AsiaNews) - Hanoi – Municipal authorities in Khánh Thành, Nghệ An province (north-central Vietnam), held a trial (phiên tòa đấu tố) of Fr Antoine Đặng Hữu Nam (pictured), vicar of Mỹ Khánh parish.

Having failed to get local Catholics involved, the administration of the mostly Catholic commune turned to neighbouring municipalities. Officials from Yên Thành district, the Women's Union, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Veterans 'Association, the Farmers' Association and the Vietnamese Homeland Front heeded the call.

One Party official in Khánh Thành attacked the priest: "Today I will talk about Fr Đặng Hữu Nam. He is a reactionary priest, a ‘Việt gian’ (a Vietnamese who follows the enemy) in the service of foreign countries ". [read more]

Vietnam jails rights activist for posting defaced flag photo on Facebook

30.11.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - The founder of a Vietnamese rights group was sentenced on Friday to two years and nine months in prison for spraying paint on Vietnamese flags and posting a photo of them on Facebook.

Huynh Thuc Vy, 33, was convicted of “desecration of the national flag”, at a one-day trial at the People’s Court of Buon Ho town in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

She was found spraying white paint on two flags and erecting them on a street in the town during the National Day holiday last year, the report cited the indictment as saying. [read more]

Vietnam: une blogueuse condamnée à 33 mois de prison pour avoir vandalisé un drapeau

30.11.2018 (Le Canadien) - Huynh Thuc Vy, 32 ans, cofondatrice de l’ONG Women for Human Rights et enceinte de huit mois, est en résidence surveillée depuis août, après avoir publié sur Facebook une photo la représentant avec le drapeau vandalisé.

Huynh Thuc Vy, 32 ans, cofondatrice de l'ONG Women for Human Rights et enceinte de huit mois, est en résidence surveillée depuis août, après avoir publié sur Facebook une photo la représentant avec le drapeau vandalisé.

Elle voulait dénoncer « le drapeau rouge qui représente le régime autoritaire du parti communiste vietnamien qui va à l’encontre du progrès humain et symbolise les abus commis contre la démocratie et les droits de l’Homme ». [en savoir plus]

Vietnam: Activist accused of insulting national flag in 'ludicrous' charge

29.11.2018 (Amnesty International) - A charge of “insulting the national flag” against prominent Vietnamese human rights activist Huynh Thuc Vy amounts to an attack on freedom of expression by the authorities and must be dropped, Amnesty International said ahead of her trial on Friday.

The charge, which carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, is a disturbing sign of the intensifying crackdown against peaceful dissent in the country.

Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Southeast Asia Regional Director, said: “This is a politically-motivated prosecution, brought by the authorities in response to Huynh Thuc Vy’s tireless work to expose human rights violations in Vietnam and hold the powerful to account. [read more]

Vietnamese Online Activist Released After Serving Three-year Sentence

28.11.2018 (RFA) - A Vietnamese online activist was released from prison on Wednesday and returned to his home in Khanh Hoa province after serving a three-year sentence for conducting propaganda against the state.

Nguyen Huu Quoc Duy had been arrested in 2015 along with his cousin Nguyen Huu Thien An after they were accused of using his Facebook page to incite others to oppose the government. [read more]

Civic freedoms occupy a shrinking space in Asia Pacific

27.11.2018 (Asian Correspondent) - THE state of civic freedom in Asia and the Pacific is “dismal” with a staggering 94 percent of people living in “closed, repressed or obstructed civic space,” according to new research.

The report from CIVICUS Monitor, a global civil society alliance, found out of 23 countries in Asia, four countries are rated closed, six repressed and 10 obstructed.

The report also pointed to the one-party government of Vietnam as being guilty of detaining hundreds of activists “as a means of maintaining control and silencing dissent.” [read more]

Freelance Journalist Le Thi Thu Detained for Second Time Within Two Weeks amid Increasing Crackdown

22.11.2018 (Defend the Defenders) - In late evening of November 21, Vietnam’s security forces detained and interrogated freelance journalist Le Thi Thu (Facebooker Thu Le) for second time within two weeks, the victim has told Defend the Defenders.

Speaking with Defend the Defenders, Ms. Thu said officers from District 12, Ho Chi Minh City detained her and her five-year-old daughter when they were staying in a hotel, and took her and her kid to the Hiep Thanh ward’s police station for questioning about her activities.

Police released her and her daughter at around 8AM of next day. They wanted to hold her cell phone and Macbook but met strong protest from her who said she would go to the Ministry of Public Security to protest to get the items returned if they confiscate them.

Meanwhile, in early morning of November 21, security forces in Hanoi detained local activist Le Hong Phong to Bo De ward’s police station for questioning and release him in late evening. It is unclear whether the two detentions were related. [read more]

Vietnams Regierung verwehrt Einreise - Dissidentin zurück in Deutschland

22.11.2018 Marina Mai (taz) - BERLIN - Die Regierung in Hanoi weigert sich, die schwer erkrankte Le Thu Ha wieder ins Land zu lassen. Damit verstößt sie gegen das Völkerrecht.

Die vietnamesische Dissidentin Le Thu Ha ist am Donnerstag vormittag nach Deutschland zurückgekehrt, wo sie seit Juni dieses Jahres im politischen Exil lebte. Sie hatte zuvor vergeblich versucht, in ihre Heimat zurückzukehren. Das teilte die vietnamesische oppositionelle Organisation „Bruderschaft für Demokratie“ mit, deren Assistentin Ha lange war.

Den Angaben zufolge wurde sie in der Nacht zum Mittwoch am Hanoier Flughafen abgewiesen. Über Thailand wurde sie dann nach Deutschland abgeschoben. Polizisten hätten der Mutter der 34jährigen erklärt, ihre Tochter habe das Recht verwirkt, nach Vietnam zu reisen. [Weiterlesen]

Exile won't stop Vietnamese blogger from highlighting abuses

21.11.2018 By Juan A. Lozano (abcNews) - Forced into exile in the U.S., Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh is without her homeland but not without hope.

Quynh and her family are beginning their lives anew in Houston after she was released last month from prison in Vietnam on the condition that she left the country. She had been serving a 10-year sentence for documenting various human rights abuses in Vietnam, including civilian deaths in police custody and environmental disasters. [read more]

Exiled dissident's assistant deported from Vietnam

21.11.2018 (Daily Mail) - The exiled assistant of a prominent Vietnam dissident has been deported from the country after she tried to return home to see her family, sources told AFP Wednesday.

Le Thu Ha was jailed this year for "attempting to overthrow the state", but was quietly released from prison and put on a plane to Germany in June along with her former boss Nguyen Van Dai who was convicted on the same charge.

Ha -- not herself an active dissident -- and Dai were released under the condition that they would leave Vietnam and would not be permitted to return.

On Tuesday evening, Ha arrived at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport and tried to enter the country before she was turned away by immigration officials and put on a plane to Thailand, Dai told AFP. [read more]

Human Rights Watch Urges Vietnam to End Crackdown on Freedom of Expression

21.11.2018 (RFA) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for Vietnamese authorities to drop their case against blogger and human rights advocate Huynh Thuc Vy, who is set to stand trial under under article 276 of the 1999 penal code for allegedly disrespecting the national flag.

The New York-based NGO’s Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said, “It is wrong to put protecting a national symbol first over protecting the rights of the nation’s people.” [read more]

Regimekritikerin aus Vietnam - Hanoi sperrt Staatsbürgerin aus

21.11.2018 Marina Mai (taz) - BERLIN - Eine politische Gefangene war gegen ihren Wunsch nach Deutschland gekommen. Jetzt versucht sie vergeblich, nach Hause zurückzukehren.

Vietnam hat in der Nacht zum Mittwoch einer vietnamesischen Staatsangehörigen die Einreise verweigert, als sie aus Deutschland in ihre Heimat zurückkehren wollte. Le Thu Ha war die Assistentin des prominenten Dissidenten und Rechtsanwaltes Nguyen Van Dai. Gemeinsam mit ihm war sie im vergangenen Juni nach Verbüßung von mehr als zwei Jahren Haft wegen oppositioneller politischer Tätigkeit begnadigt worden und nach Deutschland ausgeflogen.

Nach Informationen auf der Facebookseite der vietnamesischen oppositionellen Vereinigung „Bruderschaft für Demokratie“ soll Le Thu Ha am Dienstag gegen 19 Uhr auf dem Hanoier Flughafen gelandet sein. [Weiterlesen]

Thich Nhat Hanh, figure du bouddhisme engagé, de retour au Vietnam, mais sous surveillance

20.11.2018 (FranceSoir) - Aux abords de la pagode où Thich Nhat Hanh, maître zen aux centaines de milliers d'adeptes à travers le monde, s'est retiré pour finir ses jours, la police secrète vietnamienne veille.

Banni du pays pendant près de 40 ans, le vieux sage de 92 ans, une des figures les plus engagées du bouddhisme avec le Dalaï Lama, a été autorisé à rentrer fin octobre. [en savoir plus]

After coming home, 92-year-old Buddhist monk remains under police control

20.11.2018 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Thích Nhất Hạnh spent 39 years in exile in France. The Zen master can no longer speak or walk. In 1966, the authorities in both North and South Vietnam banned him for urging an end to the Vietnam War. In 2005, he was allowed to come home for the first time.

Mingling in the crowd of devotees, Vietnamese police are monitoring the final days of Thich Nhất Hạnh (pictured), a well-known 92-year-old Buddhist monk and peace activist.

The man religious, famous for bringing Buddha’s teachings to the West, including Hollywood and Silicon Valley, spent 39 years in exile in France. [read more]

At Least 10 Vietnamese Arrested Amid Forced Evictions in Land Grabs in Danang

15.11.2018 (RFA) - Authorities in central Vietnam’s coastal city Danang on Friday ordered the detention of at least 10 protesters who opposed being forcibly evicted from their homes in the latest development in a long-running land grab case in Con Dau parish, one of the evictees told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.

About 500 people, including policemen and security guards, were mobilized along with an ambulance, a fire truck, and a digger to forcibly evict seven families and demolish their homes in the Catholic community in Cam Le district to make way for an ongoing ecotourism development project, said evicted resident Huynh Ngoc Truong. [read more]

Vietnamese Blogger Mother Mushroom Tells Activists 'You Are Not Alone'

15.11.2018 Ten Soksreinith (VOA) - On June 29, 2017, Vietnamese dissident blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, best known by her blogging name of "Mother Mushroom," was sentenced to 10 years in prison after she was detained eight months earlier for posting about people dying in police custody, or "conducting propaganda," as the court found.

Released from prison a month ago, Quynh, 39, has settled with her children in Houston, Texas. She told VOA's Vietnamese Service that it was difficult to accept the offer of release because it was made on the condition that she leave Vietnam. She said she accepted thinking about her responsibilities to her children and their future although she wanted to stay in Vietnam to continue her fight for human rights. [read more]

Vietnamese singer Mai Khoi, voice of dissent

15.11.2018 By Gary Sands (Asia Times) - Do Nguyen Mai Khoi, a Vietnamese pop star, singer and musician, was in Taipei last weekend for a human-rights forum, where she spoke of how the Vietnamese government has limited her freedom of expression by raiding her concerts and prohibiting her from performing in public – she now only performs at underground venues.

Despite the crackdowns on political protests, including the protest over 99-year special economic zones in June and citizens now being “a little bit scared,” Mai said political protests would continue, but in “small groups,” although adding that organizing training courses in human rights or on the environment are “most dangerous” and “under censor. [read more]

Academics slam communist party's rebuke of Vietnam publisher

14.11.2018 By AFP (Daily Mail) - More than 80 international scholars have upbraided Vietnam's Communist Party for condemning a prominent book publisher whose titles criticised socialism, a no-go zone in the Marxist country.

The group of scholars issued a letter on Wednesday lending their support to 78-year-old publisher Chu Hao, who was denounced last month by the government for printing books on economics and political science deemed out of line. [read more]

Jailed Vietnamese pastor is denied vital medical treatment

13.11.2018 (Christian Today) - A imprisoned Vietnamese pastor has been refused medical treatment for serious illnesses, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).

Nguyen Trung Ton was arrested in July last year with other members of his pro-democracy group, Brotherhood for Democracy. He was convicted of attempting to overthrow the communist government and sentenced to 12 years in prison. [read more]

Ecrivains et journalistes, persécutés, emprisonnés, disparus ou assassinés

12.11.2018 Nguyên Hoàng Bao Viêt (Actualitté) - ... Novembre, le mois de Solidarité et de Gratitude envers les Ecrivains et les Journalistes persécutés, emprisonnés, disparus ou assassinés

Une réalité, immensément triste et révoltante : l’atteinte aux droits de l’homme dans le monde s’est aggravée, en témoigne notamment la situation dégradante de la liberté d’expression et d’opinion dans de nombreux États membres des Nations-Unies.

En septembre dernier, à Pune, en Inde, le 84e Congrès du PEN International célébrait le 150e anniversaire du Mahatma Gandhi, défenseur de la Paix, de la Vérité et de la Non-Violence. La Vérité, la Liberté et la Diversité sont les trois axes thématiques de cette grande manifestation. Pour mémoire, en septembre 2017, notre sœur et collègue indienne Gauri Lankesh a été assassinée à son domicile de Bangalore. Gauri était une célèbre journaliste, éditrice et défenseuse des droits humains. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam’s Lady Gaga is pressuring Facebook to stop complying with censorship laws

10.11.2018 By Alice Truong in Taipei (Quartz) - Mai Khoi never intended on becoming an activist. At the Oslo Freedom Forum in Taipei, Khoi opened her talk with a performance of her song “Vietnam,” which urged her fellow citizens to “step out from the fear” and “raise our voice, speak, sing, scream.”

The singer said she became disenchanted with Vietnamese pop music because of how artists would censor themselves, leading her to spend time with the country’s dissident artists. [read more]

Facebook refuses Singapore request to remove post after critical website blocked

10.11.2018 (Nikkei Asian Review) - SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Facebook has rejected a Singapore government request to remove a post of an online article that the government said was "false and malicious", prompting its Law Ministry to say the case illustrated the need to introduce legislation to stop fake news.

Singapore's central bank said on Friday it had filed a police report against an online article by an Australia-based independent blogger about Singapore banks and Malaysia's scandal-linked 1MDB state fund. [read more]

Vietnamese Police Torch Farm Equipment of Dissident Religious Figure

09.11.2018 (RFA) - Police in Vietnam’s Central Highlands set fire to the store room of a Cao Dai priest’s coffee plantation this week, angered that he had escaped their surveillance in order to meet with U.S. diplomats in Saigon, the priest said on Friday.

Speaking to RFA’s Vietnamese Service, Hua Phi—head of the Cao Dai Church in Lam Dong province’s Duc Trong district—said that he discovered the damage after he returned from his meeting in Saigon, also called Ho Chi Minh City. [read more]

Persecuted in Hanoi, locked up in Bangkok: the Montagnards, Vietnam’s forgotten Christians

04.11.2018 By George Wright (SCMP) - The Montagnards, or Dega, are the indigenous people of the Vietnamese Central Highlands.

They faced persecution for decades for supporting America in the Vietnam war and for practising forms of Christianity that Hanoi brands “evil way” religions.

There have been widespread accusations of human rights abuses and land grabs against them in their homeland, and thousands have escaped to Cambodia and Thailand in recent decades in hope of a better life. [read more]

French PM dodges rights questions in Vietnam

04.11.2018 (Daily Mail) - France does not "sweep anything under a rug" when it comes to the issue of human rights in Vietnam, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe insisted on Sunday, after sidestepping questions over the Asian country's dismal record on dissent.

When questioned by reporters in Ho Chi Minh City, Philippe insisted, "we do not sweep anything under the rug, but we have discussions with the Vietnamese authorities that do not go through the press".

A source familiar with the meetings between the two governments told AFP human rights was brought up during talks on Friday, the day of Philippe's arrival.

"The human rights issue was addressed in the talks. The Vietnamese authorities' attention has been drawn to a list of individual cases," said the source. [read more]

Vietnamese Blogger, Rights Activist Vy to be Tried on Flag Affront Charges

02.11.2018 (RFA) - A well-known Vietnamese blogger and human rights advocate is set to face trial for "affronting the national flag or national emblem,” a rights group and her lawyer said on Friday, three months after she was briefly detained and had her computer, books and other items confiscated.

Huynh Thuc Vy, 33, a co-founder of the advocacy group Vietnamese Women for Human Rights, was taken away on Aug. 9 by police in Dak Lak province’s Buon Ho town in the country’s central highlands after refusing previous summons to come in to their offices for questioning, Vy’s husband Le Khanh Duy told RFA’s Vietnamese Service at that time. [read more]

Vietnam rolls out web monitor to control 'false information'

31.10.2018 By AFP (Daily Mail) - Vietnam said Wednesday it has set up a web monitoring unit that can scan up to 100 million news items per day for "false information", in a move that tightens its grip on internet freedom.

Lawmakers passed a tough cybersecurity law in June requiring internet providers to store data in the country and remove "toxic content" if requested to do so. Firms like Facebook and Google will also have to hand over user data if asked by the government.

The move came after a top general announced a 10,000-strong internet task force had been set up to monitor online posts. [read more]

Vietnam cyber law will guard against fake news, terrorism: security ministry

31.10.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI- A Vietnamese cybersecurity law that global technology companies and rights groups have warned could undermine development and stifle innovation, will protect the country from increasing cyber threats, the security ministry has said.

The ministry said there had been no effective way to control things such as fake news and slander which caused “unfortunate consequences”.

It also said unidentified “enemy” and “reactionary” forces were using cyber space to call for protests and incite riots and terrorism. [read more]

Vietnam : pasteur emprisonné privé de soins médicaux

28.10.2018 Daniel Hamicheil (L'Observatoire de la Christianophobie) - Le pasteur Nguyen Trung Ton, âgé de 46 ans, fait partie d’un groupe de quatre militants de l’association Fraternité pour la démocratie, condamnés à de lourdes peines de prison ferme le 5 avril 2018 pour « tentatives de renverser l’administration du peuple ». Le pasteur, qui fut président de cette association évidemment non reconnue par le pouvoir communiste, a écopé de 12 années d’emprisonnement dans le camp d’internement et de travail de Gia Trung – hauts plateaux au centre du Vietnam. Il s’y trouve en très mauvais état et sa santé se détériore. [en savoir plus]

Viet Nam: blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh released into exile

24.10.2018 (PEN International) - PEN International welcomes the release of blogger and government critic Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known by her pen name Me Nâm (‘Mother Mushroom’), on 17 October 2018. Me Nam had been serving a 10-year prison sentence for “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam” under Article 88 of the Penal Code when she was reportedly taken directly to Ha Noi International Airport and put on a plane bound for the USA. The remainder of her 10-year prison sentence has reportedly been suspended.

PEN International believes that Me Nam was targeted for peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression and is deeply disappointed that she has been forced into exile.  PEN continues to call for the release of all other writers and journalists still held solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. [read more]

Vietnam: la blogueuse Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh libérée et forcée à l'exil

24.10.2018 (PEN International) - PEN International salue la libération de la blogueuse Nguyn Ngoc Nhu Quynh, critique du gouvernement vietnamien aussi connue sous son nom de plume Me Nâm (« Mère Champignon »), le 17 octobre 2018. Me Nâm purgeait une peine d’emprisonnement de 10 ans pour « propagande à l’encontre de la République socialiste du Viêt-nam », en vertu de l’article 88 du code pénal, lorsqu’on l’aurait emmené directement à l’Aéroport international de Hanoi et fait monter dans un avion en direction des États-Unis. Le reste de sa peine d’emprisonnement de 10 ans aurait été suspendu.

PEN International croit que Me Nâm avait été ciblée pour avoir exercé pacifiquement son droit à la liberté d’expression et est profondément déçu qu’elle ait été forcée à l’exil. PEN poursuit ses appels demandant à ce que tous les autres écrivains et journalistes emprisonnés pour avoir simplement exercé de manière pacifique leur droit à la liberté d’expression soient libérés. [en savoir plus]

Letter: Jailed Vietnamese Activist Nguyen Van Hoa Suffers Abuse in Prison

24.10.2018 (RFA) - A friend of jailed Vietnamese activist blogger Nguyen Van Hoa released a summary of a letter Hoa had last month sent to his family from prison describing physical abuse and ploys to coerce him into testifying against other activists in cases with which he had no connection.

Hoa’s friend Pham Le Vuong Cac wrote in a post on his personal Facebook account that the letter details repeated physical abuse at the hands of prison guards and pressure to give false testimony.

The letter stated that on August 16, Hoa and fellow prisoner Nguyen Viet Dung were brought to the court in Nghe An as witness against defendant Le Dinh Luong, all of whom were arrested in connection to their actions following the waste spill at the Taiwan-owned Formosa Plastics Group’s steel plant in 2016. [read more]

Woman hurls shoe at Vietnam officials in land protest

24.10.2018 (Asia Times) - A Vietnamese woman threw her shoe at a congressional delegation on Saturday in protest of the government’s policies on compensation for land repossession.

She reportedly was infuriated with the government’s ambiguity about compensation for land repossession. Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong was at a political meeting in Ho Chi Minh City when she became angry and fired the shoe at the officials, Taiwan News reported. As a result, she was fined 750,000 dong (US$32).

Guards removed her from the scene promptly, and the officials described her actions as “disrupting public order,” the reports said [read more]

Jailed Vietnamese Dissident’s Husband Files Second Protection Plea

24.10.2018 (RFA) - The husband of jailed Vietnamese dissident Tran Thi Nga says he is worried about her safety as she serves her sentence at Gia Trung prison in Gia Lai Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.

Nga, 40, was sentenced in July 2017 to nine years in prison for spreading “propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s penal code, a provision frequently used to silence dissident bloggers and other activists.

Her husband Phan Van Phong had sent an appeal for her protection after he heard from her during an August 17 phone call that she had been beaten and threatened with death by a cellmate. [read more]

Vietnam: why blogger Mother Mushroom went free

24.10.2018 By Hunter Marston (The Interpreter) - During US Secretary of Defense James Mattis’ two-day visit to Vietnam last week, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) quietly released the high-profile dissident blogger known as ‘Mẹ Nấm,’ or Mother Mushroom, on the condition of her exile to the United States. While Mattis’ trip and the CPV’s decision to release Mother Mushroom each indicate deepening US-Vietnam ties in different ways, the episode reveals more about Hanoi’s insecurities than any political awakening or relaxation of its repressive security apparatus.

The timing of her release during Mattis’ visit was likely meant both to reduce media attention on the story while signalling to the US that Hanoi was willing to show flexibility to Washington’s human rights concerns in order to keep the partnership on positive footing. [read more]

Vietnam: blogger Me Nâm (Mother Mushroom) released into exile

23.10.2018 (English PEN) - 'I will continue to raise my voice until there is human rights in Vietnam, real human rights'.

English PEN welcomes the news that blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known by her pen name Me Nâm (Mother Mushroom) has been released and reunited with her family.

Arrested in October 2016, Me Nâm was sentenced the following year, after a one-day trial, to ten years in prison on charges of ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’. She was released on 17 October 2018 having spent two years in detention. The remainder of her 10-year prison sentence has reportedly been suspended.

While the news of Me Nâm’s release is hugely welcome, we are saddened that she had already spent two years too many behind bars and that, like many others before her, she has been forced into exile. We also remain seriously concerned for the many other writers and activists serving lengthy prison sentenced in Vietnam and continue to call on the authorities to stop the crackdown on peaceful dissent. [read more]

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Mother Mushroom) - Status: Released

23.10.2018 (PEN America) - Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who blogs under the name Me Nam or “Mother Mushroom,” is a Vietnamese political and environmental activist. After years of government surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, on October 10, 2016, Me Nam was arrested in Khanh Hoa and charged under Article 88 of the Penal Code for “conducting propaganda against the State.”

October 17, 2018: Me Nam is unexpectedly released from prison and leaves Vietnam into exile in the United States, landing in Houston with her elderly mother and two children. She tells AFP that she made the decision for her family, but vows that “I will continue to raise my voice until there is human rights in Vietnam, real human rights.”

Vietnamese authorities retain tight control over all official media in the country, and commonly target activists and independent bloggers who write on social or political concerns that diverge from the government’s narrative. [read more]

Jailed Vietnamese Activist in Failing Health, Unable to Walk

23.10.2018 (RFA) - Jailed Vietnamese democracy activist Nguyen Trung Ton, a member of the online Brotherhood for Democracy advocacy group, is in failing health in prison and unable to walk owing to an untreated injury suffered in a beating two years ago, according to his wife.

Nguyen, who is serving a 12-year prison term, is now seriously ill and is being denied medical treatment by prison authorities, his wife Nguyen Thi Lanh told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Tuesday. [read more]

Vietnam dissident Khoi urges Facebook to protect freedom of expression

20.10.2018 (Daily Mail) - Mai Khoi, a dissident musician dubbed Vietnam's Lady Gaga, has appealed to Facebook's directors to safeguard freedom of expression as the government looks to bolster its control of the web.

With 53 million users, Facebook is extremely popular in Vietnam -- where the internet has become a battleground for activists like Khoi.

A controversial cybersecurity bill, due to come into effect in January, will require internet companies to remove "toxic" content and hand over user data if asked by the communist government to do so. [read more]

Vietnam: une chanteuse dissidente appelle Facebook à s'engager "pour la liberté d'expression"

20.10.2018 (RTBF) - Mai Khoi, une musicienne dissidente surnommée la "Lady Gaga" du Vietnam et régulièrement censurée par le régime de Hanoï, a appelé vendredi Facebook à s'engager davantage pour la liberté d'expression dans son pays, à l'issue d'une rencontre avec les dirigeants du réseau social à San Francisco.

"Protéger la liberté d’expression devrait faire partie de la politique officielle de Facebook, malheureusement ce n'est pas le cas", a déclaré à l'AFP l'artiste lors d'une interview à l'aéroport de la ville.

"Facebook est le seul espace au Vietnam où l'on peut parler librement, exprimer nos opinions librement, avoir accès a une information non censurée, et parfois organiser des manifestations pacifistes. C’est pourquoi notre gouvernement a peur. Alors il essaie de contrôler Facebook (...) La répression est lourde", a assuré Mai Khoi. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam Expands Decades Long Effort To Crack Down On Any Dissent Online By Demanding Data Be Kept In The Country

20.10.2018 Mike Masnick (Techdirt) - It's no secret that the Vietnamese government is no fan of the open internet. All the way back in 2002 we wrote about the government requiring people to register just to create a website. That same year we were writing about people being arrested for posting criticism of the government. And at the beginning of this year, we wrote about how the government now employed around 10,000 people whose only job was to monitor the internet for dissent. ...

And now it's going to get even worse -- to a degree that might even lead some of the big internet companies to leave Vietnam entirely. [read more]

Vietnam dissident 'Mother Mushroom' describes prison hunger strikes

20.10.2018 (Reuters) - A Vietnamese dissident known as “Mother Mushroom” went on hunger strike three times during her imprisonment before Hanoi released her, she said on Friday after arriving in the United States. Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, a 39-year-old blogger and environmental activist who adopted Mother Mushroom as a pen name, said she believed Vietnam timed her release to coincide with the visit this week of U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Speaking to Reuters by Skype video from Houston, Quynh described her two years in prison, where she said she was isolated from other prisoners to keep her from influencing them, including the previously unreported hunger strikes. [read more]

Corporate Security Guards Attack Indigenous Protesters in Rural Vietnam-Amnesty International

19.10.2018 By Eugene Whong (RFA) - Security guards employed by Indian-owned RK Viet Nam on September 27 attacked a group of protesters at the company’s marble quarry in Lam Thuong commune, Yen Bai province, according to a statement by Amnesty International.

During the fracas, in which the guards used guns, batons and electric cattle prods, 11 of the several hundred protesters were injured, the statement said. The protesters were mainly of the Tay indigenous community living in the villages near the quarry. They had gathered that day to protest pollution related to the operation of the quarry, which they say has poisoned their only source of clean water and killed large numbers of fish and poultry, the report said.

Amnesty International said video and photo evidence taken by people on the scene during the attack was provided to them and local rights groups. One video shows that rapid-response police were there while the attack as going on, but did nothing to intervene. [read more]

Exiled Vietnamese blogger: I'm not alone advocating freedom

18.10.2018 (Daily Mail) - HOUSTON (AP) - A prominent blogger freed from prison in Vietnam on condition that she live in exile in the United States says she is glad to be reunited with her family and that she knows she is not alone in advocating for freedom.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh was smiling when she emerged from the George Bush International Airport in Houston on Wednesday night to be greeted by a crowd, many of them Vietnamese-Americans. Quynh said she knows she is not alone and that she and others will still speak up for freedom in her native country. [read more]

Une blogueuse vietnamienne dissidente fait voeu de poursuivre sa lutte

18.10.2018 (L'Express) - Chicago (AFP) - Une dissidente vietnamienne, arrivée mercredi soir aux Etats-Unis après avoir été libérée en pleine visite du ministre américain de la Défense Jim Mattis au Vietnam, a fait voeu de poursuivre sa lutte, dès sa descente d'avion.

"Je ne serai jamais réduite au silence", a-t-elle déclaré par téléphone à l'AFP à son arrivée à l'aéroport de Houston, au Texas.

"Je vais continuer à faire entendre ma voix jusqu'à ce que les droits de l'homme soient de mise au Vietnam", a ajouté celle qui est plus connue sous le nom de plume Me Nam ou "Mother Mushroom" ("Mère champignon"). [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese Blogger 'Mother Mushroom' Arrives in US

18.10.2018 (VOA) - A dissident Vietnamese blogger imprisoned for defaming the country's Communist government is celebrating her first day of freedom on U.S. soil.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh was surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd of supporters, family members and reporters when she arrived early Thursday morning at George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas, accompanied by her two young children and mother.

Quynh, who blogged under the pseudonym "Mother Mushroom," wrote extensively about human rights and industrial pollution before she was arrested in October 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in jail. [read more]

20 Jahre Haft für vietnamesischen Umweltaktivisten

18.10.2018 (Der Farang) - HANOI (dpa) - Vietnam geht weiter gegen unbequeme Kritiker vor: Ein vietnamesisches Gericht hat eine langjährige Haftstrafe sowie einen Hausarrest für einen Umweltaktivisten bestätigt. Der 52-jährige Le Dinh Luong müsse für 20 Jahre ins Gefängnis und 5 Jahre in Hausarrest, sagte sein Anwalt am Donnerstag der Deutschen Presse-Agentur in Hanoi. Le war nach seiner Festnahme im Juli 2017 wegen «Aktivitäten zum Sturz der Volksregierung» des südostasiatischen Landes verurteilt worden. [read more]

Vietnamese Court Upholds 20-year Imprisonment of Democracy Campaigner Le Dinh Luong in His Appeal

18.10.2018 (Defend The Defenders) - On October 18, the Higher People’s Court in Hanoi rejected the appeal of human rights defender and environmentalist Le Dinh Luong, upholding the sentence of 20 years in prison and five years of probation given by a lower court.

In the appeal hearing which lasted less than four hours of Thursday’s morning, the judge said that there is no new evidence which can be used for sentence reduction. On August 16, the People’s Court of Nghe An province convicted Mr. Luong on allegation of “conducting activities aiming to overthrow the people’s administration” under Article 79 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.

The sentence against Mr. Luong is the most severe in political cases in the past five years, observers said. [read more]

Viêt-Nam. Dans le sillage de la libération de « Mère Champignon », les autorités doivent libérer les nombreux détracteurs pacifiques emprisonnés

17.10.2018 (Amnesty International) - En réaction à la libération de la blogueuse « Mère Champignon » au Viêt-Nam, Nicholas Bequelin, directeur régional pour l'Asie de l'Est et du Sud-Est à Amnesty International, a déclaré :

« Cette bonne nouvelle, véritable soulagement après deux ans derrière les barreaux, ne doit pas faire oublier la tendance croissante à l’incarcération au Viêt-Nam, qui jette en prison quiconque critique le régime. Si Mère Champignon n'est plus derrière les barreaux, la condition de sa libération est l'exil et plus de 100 personnes croupissent encore en prison parce qu'elles se sont exprimées sans violence – en public, sur des blogs ou sur Facebook. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese Medical Doctor Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Printing 3,300 Leaflets

17.10.2018 (Defend The Defenders) - Authorities in Vietnam have sentenced local medical doctor Nguyen Dinh Thanh to seven years in prison for printing 3,300 leaflets which he produced to call for peaceful demonstration to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security, state media has reported.

On October 17, the People’s Court of Binh Duong province found Mr. Thanh guilty of “Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code.

Mr. Thanh, a 27-year-old worker of a local healthcare facility, was arrested on June 8, two days prior to the mass demonstration when he was printing 3,300 leaflets in a local photo shop, according to media. [read more]

Vietnam lässt Bloggerin "Mutter Pilz" vorzeitig frei

17.10.2018 (DW) - Zehn Jahre Haft wegen Propaganda gegen den Staat, so lautete das Urteil gegen Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh. Nun kam die regierungskritische Bloggerin, bekannt als Me Nam ("Mutter Pilz"), frei - musste aber in die USA ausreisen.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh sei per Flugzeug in die USA gebracht worden, teilte ein Mitarbeiter der Regierung in Hanoi der Nachrichtenagentur AFP mit. Die Freilassung der 39-Jährigen erfolgte während des Besuchs von US-Verteidigungsminister James Mattis in dem Vietnam. Washington habe den Deal ausgehandelt, berichtet die Deutsche Presseagentur unter Berufung auf einen Freund der Bloggerin. Vom US-Außenministerium gab es bislang noch keine Stellungnahme.

Menschenrechtsorganisationen wie Reporter ohne Grenzen und Amnesty International begrüßten die Freilassung der Bloggerin. Der Südostasien-Direktor von Amnesty, Nicholas Bequelin, wies aber auch auf das Schicksal anderer Regierungskritiker hin. "Auch wenn Mutter Pilz jetzt nicht mehr in Haft ist, war die Bedingung für ihre Freilassung doch das Exil. Und es gibt über 100 weitere Menschen, die noch im Gefängnis sitzen. [Weiterlesen]

Mother Mushroom: Vietnam frees blogger on condition she move to US

17.10.2018 (The Guardian) - Vietnam has freed a well-known blogger after two years in prison on the condition that she leave for the United States.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known as “Mother Mushroom,” was arrested in October 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of defaming the Communist government. The conviction of the popular blogger, who wrote about human rights and industrial pollution, drew criticism from some Western governments and international human rights groups.

Friends of the 39-year-old blogger said she was on her way to the US with her mother and two young children. [read more]

Bekannte vietnamesische Bloggerin aus der Haft entlassen

17.10.2018 (Deutschland today) - Hanoi (AFP) - In Vietnam ist eine bekannte regierungskritische Internetbloggerin vorzeitig aus der Haft entlassen worden. Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh wurde am Mittwoch per Flugzeug in die USA gebracht, wie ein Mitarbeiter der Regierung in Hanoi und Freunde der Nachrichtenagentur AFP sagten. Quynh war im Juni 2017 wegen staatsfeindlicher Propaganda zu zehn Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt worden.

Quynh hatte in ihrem Blog unter anderem zu Fragen der Politik und Umwelt geschrieben und auch so sensible Themen wie Todesfälle in Polizeigewahrsam nicht ausgespart. Ihre Freilassung fiel mit dem Besuch von US-Verteidigungsminister Jim Mattis in Vietnam zusammen. Beobachter sprachen von einer Geste des guten Willens seitens der vietnamesischen Führung an die Adresse Washingtons. [Weiterlesen]

Libération d'une blogueuse vietnamienne dissidente, partie pour les Etats-Unis

17.10.2018 (France Soir) - Une dissidente et blogueuse vietnamienne connue sous le nom de plume Me Nam ou "Mère champignon", a décollé mercredi pour les Etats-Unis après avoir été libérée de prison où elle purgeait dix ans de prison, selon des sources concordantes.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, qui s'était souvent exprimée sur son blog sur des scandales environnementaux et les droits de l'homme dans son pays, se trouve à bord d'un vol pour rejoindre aux Etats-Unis ses enfants et sa mère, ont dit à l'AFP une source à l'ambassade américaine, des amis et un responsable vietnamien.

La libération de la dissidente coïncide avec la seconde visite au Vietnam cette année du ministre américain de la Défense Jim Mattis, alimentant les spéculations sur un éventuel geste de bonne volonté des dirigeants vietnamiens. [en savoir plus]

Liberada en Vietnam la bloguera 'Madre Seta' a condición de que se exilie en el extranjero

17.10.2018 (Europa Press) - Las autoridades de Vietnam han liberado este miércoles a la famosa bloguera vietnamita Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, conocida como 'Madre Seta' --o 'Nam Me', en vietnamita-- bajo condición de que abandone el país.

'Madre Seta' fue condenada en 2017 a una pena de diez años de cárcel por un delito de difusión de propaganda contra el Estado, una sentencia que fue ratificada en noviembre del año pasado tras el proceso de apelación.

'Madre Seta', de 37 años, ha estado haciendo campaña contra los abusos de los Derechos Humanos desde 2006 y fue nombrada defensora del año en 2015 por la organización de Defensores de los Derechos Civiles. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam’s Mother Mushroom is freed, leaves for United States

17.10.2018 (RSF) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) hails today’s release of the Vietnamese blogger known as Mother Mushroom, who immediately left for the United States, and calls on the authorities to free all the other citizen-journalists imprisoned in Vietnam.

Arrested in October 2016, she was subjected to eight months of solitary confinement before being sentenced to ten years in prison in June 2017. The authorities never stopped trying to break her and transferred her in February of this year to a prison 1,000 km from her family, located near Nha Trang, a coastal city in the south of the country. [read more]

Vietnam: Renowned blogger 'Mother Mushroom' released under condition of exile

17.10.2018 (Amnesty International UK) - Responding to news of the release of popular Vietnamese blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, also known by her blogging pseudonym, Mẹ Nấm “Mother Mushroom”, in Vietnam, Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty East and South East Asia Regional Director, said:

“This good news, which comes as a relief after two years behind bars, should also be a reminder of Vietnam’s worsening record of jailing anyone who criticises the regime".

“The Cybersecurity Law due to take effect in January 2019 will only give the authorities more tools to silence dissent and put people away". [read more]

Vietnam: Second trial brings blogger’s total prison sentence to nine years

16.10.2018 (RSF) - Do Cong Duong will now have to serve a total of nine years after a court in Bac Ninh, on the outskirts of Hanoi, imposed the five-year sentence on 12 October on a charge of “abusing democratic freedom.” He was given the four-year sentence on 17 September on a charge of “disturbing public order.”

On the same day that Duong receiving his second sentence, RSF learned that the Hanoi police had decided to hold freelance journalist Le Anh Hung for another two months while they continue to investigate his activities. [read more]

Say a prayer for Vietnam’s forgotten Montagnards

13.10.2018 By Dan Southerland (Asia Times) - Communist regime's repression of the ethnic minority that supported the US during the Vietnam War has been largely invisible but is starting to come to light.

The Montagnards, who were some of the American Army’s most loyal allies during the Vietnam War, are now hidden from view and simply trying to survive under a repressive state. Their lives are dominated by ethnic Vietnamese who have taken over much of their ancestral lands.

But things got even worse for the Montagnards after the South Vietnamese government fell and the Communists came to power in the spring of 1975.

The Montagnards’ plight, however, has drawn little media attention in recent years. A recent symposium on Vietnam held at the National Archives building in Washington, DC, has turned a spotlight on the country’s oppressed minority. [read more]

How the 'Lady Gaga of Vietnam' was effectively banned from singing in her own country

12.10.2018 Catherine Clifford (CNBC) -"I used to be a pop star," Mai Khoi says in her presentation at the Oslo Freedom Forum this September. "I had a lot of fans, shows and money."

Two years ago, Khoi was a successful musician with multiple albums who'd won one of her country's biggest music awards. Still, she grew bored of the Vietnamese pop industry thanks to the country's restrictive censorship system. "I couldn't feel free," she says. [read more]

Vietnamese muss wegen Facebook-Post fünf Jahre in Haft

12.10.2018 (derStandard) Mann beschuldigte lokale Behördenvertreter der Korruption.

Wegen "Missbrauchs demokratischer Freiheiten" ist ein Aktivist für Landrechte von einem Gericht im Norden Vietnams zu einer Freiheitsstrafe verurteilt worden. Der 54-jährige Do Cong Duong müsse für fünf Jahre ins Gefängnis, bestätigte dessen Anwalt der Deutschen Presse-Agentur. Der Mann hatte lokale Behördenvertreter auf Facebook der Korruption beschuldigt. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam blogger sentenced again after Facebook posts

12.10.2018 (Daily Mail) - Vietnam on Friday jailed a blogger who posted critical material on Facebook for five years, his second sentence in less than a month as a hardline administration tightens its grip on dissent.

Citizen journalist Do Cong Duong used Facebook to voice his opinions on a number of hot-button issues and was jailed in connection with posts that included criticism of corruption and land disputes.

He was sentenced to five years in prison for "abusing democratic freedoms", his lawyer Ha Huy Son told AFP. [read more]

Un militant condamné à cinq ans de prison

12.10.2018 (24heures) - Un militant vietnamien, déjà condamné il y a quelques semaines à quatre ans de détention, s'est vu infliger vendredi une nouvelle condamnation à cinq ans de prison pour avoir diffusé sur Facebook des articles et vidéos critiques à l'encontre du régime communiste.

A l'issue d'un procès expéditif d'une demi-journée dans la province de Bac Ninh (nord), Do Cong Duong, 54 ans, a été condamné pour «violation des libertés démocratiques», a déclaré à l'AFP son avocat, Ha Huy Son. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese Activist Released From Prison After Serving Six-Year Term

11.10.2018 (RFA) - Jailed Vietnamese activist Dinh Nguyen Kha was freed from prison on Thursday after serving a six-year term for handing out leaflets criticizing government policy over disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Kha was taken by ambulance from Xuyen Moc prison in Vietnam’s Vung Tao province to a police station in Tan An Town’s Ward 6, where he was processed for release, Kha’s mother Nguyen Thi Kim Lien told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. [read more]

Vietnam's Crackdown on Dissidents Isn't New

10.10.2018 by Heather Stur (The National Interest) - It is the same old routine of human-rights violations.

Kim Nga’s nightmare began earlier this month when she received a mysterious message from her husband’s phone saying police had arrested him in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her husband, Ngo Van Dung, a blogger and journalist, is a member of a Vietnamese pro-democracy movement that has publicly called upon Vietnam’s government to allow freedom of the press and free access to information.

Article twenty-five of the nation’s constitution protects these civil liberties, but the Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index ranks Vietnam 175 out of 180 countries. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced Vietnam’s arrest and imprisonment of bloggers who have criticized the government [read more]

Vietnam cyber law set for tough enforcement despite Google, Facebook pleas

10.10.2018 Mai Nguyen (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam is preparing to strictly enforce a new cybersecurity law requiring global technology companies to set up local offices and store data locally despite pleas from Facebook, Google and other firms, a government document showed.

Alphabet Inc’s Google, Facebook and other big technology companies had hoped a draft decree on how the law would be implemented would soften provisions they find most objectionable. [read more]

Leader of banned Vietnam Buddhist Sect Expelled from Thanh Minh Zen Monastery

08.10.2018 (RFA) - A high-profile human rights activist and supreme patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) has been expelled from the Thanh Minh Zen monastery in Ho Chi Minh City, where he had been under house arrest since 2003, supporters said.

Thich Quang Do had been under extreme state surveillance while interned at the monastery for practicing his religion and being an advocate of religious freedom and democracy.

In a statement, the International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB) said that the 91-year-old patriarch had been asked on Sept. 15 to leave the monastery by its superior monk Thích Thanh Minh as his presence had become a distraction to the daily operations of the monastery. [read more]

Vietnamese Activists Given Long Prison Terms After One-Day Trial

05.10.2018 (RFA) - Five Vietnamese activists were sentenced Friday in a Ho Chi Minh City court after being found guilty in a one-day trial of involvement in a political group that authorities deemed to have challenged Vietnam’s Communist one-party system.

The five had been charged with “activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.

Group leader Luu Van Vinh was given 15 years. Nguyen Quoc Hoan was sentenced to 13 years, Nguyen Van Duc Do to 11 years, Tu Cong Nghia to 10 years, and Phan Trung to 8 years. [read more]

Vietnam encarcela a cinco personas por intento de golpe de Estado

05.10.2018 (europa press) - Vietnam encarcela a cinco personas por intento de golpe de Estado.

Cinco personas han sido condenadas a entre ocho y 15 años de cárcel por intento de golpe de Estado, según han confirmado fuentes policiales al término del juicio celebrado en Ciudad Ho Chi Mihn, la antigua Saigón.

Los condenados son los cinco fundadores de un movimiento creado en 2016, la Coalición Nacional de Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: End Repression Against Activists !

03.10.2018 (Human Rights Watch) - Vietnam National Self-Determination Coalition Members on Trial.

Vietnam should drop politically motivated charges against five pro-democracy campaigners from a political group that challenges the Communist Party of Vietnam’s monopoly on power, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should immediately release them without conditions.

Authorities arrested the five – Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do, Phan Trung, Tu Cong Nghia, and Nguyen Quoc Hoan – in November 2016 for their alleged affiliation with the Vietnam National Self-Determination Coalition, an independent political group. [read more]

Latest Count: Vietnam Holds 246 Prisoners of Conscience

01.10.2018 (Mach Song Media) - According to the Now! Campaign, which consists of 14 international and Vietnamese civil society organizations, the government of Vietnam is holding at least 246 in prisons or similar forms of detention compared to 165 cases in November 2017, when the campaign was launched. This makes the country the second largest jailer of dissidents in the region, only behind Myanmar.

In the first nine months of 2018, Vietnam has arrested 24 human rights activists. By the end of September, it has convicted 33 activists and sentenced them to a total of 225.5 years in prison and 56 years of probation. [read more]

Vietnam jails another Facebook user for comments critical of government

27.09.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - A court in Vietnam has jailed a Facebook user for 2-1/2 years over anti-government comments he posted on the social media website, police said on Thursday, as the Southeast Asian country continues its crackdown on dissent.

Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism.

Bui Manh Dong, 40, was convicted of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state” at a trial in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho [read more]

Vietnam jails 15 more over economic zone protests

26.09.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - A court in Vietnam jailed 15 people on Wednesday for terms ranging from two to 4-1/2 years after they were arrested during mass protests in June against plans for special economic zones, state media said.

Despite sweeping reforms, communist-ruled Vietnam tolerates little dissent, with protests often broken up by police, though the constitution allows freedom of assembly.

The southeast Asian nation has jailed dozens of people for joining in the protests, triggered by fears that investors from China would dominate 99-year land leases up for development in the zones.

At a one-day trial, a court in Vietnam’s central province of Binh Thuan convicted the 15, aged between 18 and 33, on charges of causing public disorder [read more]

Five Vietnamese Activists Will go on Trial in October

25.09.2018 (RFA) - Five Vietnamese activists held without trial for almost two years will now go to court on Oct. 5 in Ho Chi Minh City, also called Saigon, a defense lawyer and family member said.

Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do, Phan Trung, Tu Cong Nghia, and Nguyen Quoc Hoan were charged when arrested in 2016 with “activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, attorney Dang Dinh Manh told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. [read more]

Vietnamese Citizen Handed Two-Year Prison Term For Facebook Writings

24.09.2018 (RFA) - A Vietnamese citizen active on Facebook was sentenced on Monday by a court in Can Tho province to a two year and three month prison term for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State,” state media reported on Sept. 24.

Doan Khanh Vinh Quang, who used the name Quang Doan online and was arrested on Sept. 1, had posted comments on his page described by authorities as having offended Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party and government. [read more]

Le gouvernement vietnamien appelé à modifier sa loi sur la cybersécurité

22.09.2018 (Églises d'Asie) - Le 12 juin dernier, l’Assemblée vietnamienne votait une loi controversée sur la sécurité en ligne, exigeant un contrôle plus sévère des internautes. Aujourd’hui, plusieurs ONG et de nombreux militants pour les Droits de l’Homme dans le pays appellent le gouvernement à modifier sa loi afin qu’elle soit conforme aux normes internationales, estimant qu’en l’état, elle s’attaquait à la liberté d’expression des citoyens vietnamiens.

Plusieurs ONG et autres groupes militants pour les Droits de l’Homme ont appelé l’Assemblée nationale vietnamienne à suspendre et à modifier sa loi controversée sur la cybersécurité. Ils affirment que la loi, qui doit prendre effet le 1er janvier 2019, « comporte beaucoup de points qui violent la liberté d’expression de façon flagrante », et qu’elle précise quelques comportements proscrits tels que « déformer l’histoire »… Les organisations dénoncent le risque que ces interdictions puissent donner aux autorités le moyen de violer la liberté d’expression des citoyens, pourtant garantie par la Constitution. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese citizen-journalist facing second, longer jail term

21.09.2018 (RSF) - After being sentenced this week to four years in prison on a charge of “disturbing public order” for filming an eviction, Vietnamese citizen-journalist and video blogger Do Cong Duong could soon face an even longer sentence on a charge of “abusing democratic freedoms.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) regards this as a flagrant violation of the freedom to inform, one that Vietnam’s commercial partners must not implicitly endorse. Instead they should use their trade ties to put pressure on the regime’s leadership, RSF says. [read more]

Vietnam. El bloguero Do Cong Duong, condenado a cuatro años de cárcel, podría recibir una sentencia mayor

21.09.2018 (RSF) - El periodista y bloguero Do Cong Duong, ya sentenciado esta semana a cuatro años de cárcel, se enfrenta a una nueva condena más larga por “abusar de las libertades democráticas”.

Reporteros sin Fronteras lo considera una flagrante violación de la libertad de informar e insta a los socios comerciales de Vietnam a no apoyarlo implícitamente, sino más bien usar sus tratados comerciales para presionar a los líderes del régimen vietnamita. [seguir leyendo]

Condamné à quatre ans de prison, le blogueur vietnamien Do Cong Duong risque une peine encore plus lourde

20.09.2018 (RSF) - Une peine de quatre ans de prison a été ordonnée en début de semaine contre le journaliste citoyen Do Cong Duong pour avoir documenté une expulsion. Il doit être bientôt traduit devant une nouvelle cour pour “abus de ses libertés démocratiques”. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) appelle les partenaires commerciaux du Vietnam à faire pression sur Hanoï pour ne pas cautionner une atteinte flagrante au droit d’informer. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam jails teacher to 14 years over attempted subversion

20.09.2018 (Daily Mail) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - A court in northern Vietnam has sentenced a former primary schoolteacher to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty on charges of attempting to overthrow the communist government.

Dao Quang Thuc, 58, was convicted of posting on his Facebook page articles with "reactionary contents," the official Vietnam News Agency reported. The People's Court in Hoa Binh province on Wednesday also convicted him of associating with a California-based exiled anti-communist group called the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam, which the Hanoi government declared a terrorist organization. [read more]

Vietnam: Activist and journalist sentenced to four years jail

20.09.2018 (IFJ) - Do Cong Duong, Vietnamese land rights activist and citizen journalist was sentenced to 48 months jail for ‘disturbing public order’. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have strongly crticised the ruling and demanded that all charges against Duong be dropped.

On Monday, September 17, a court in Bac Ninh in northern Vietnam sentenced Do Cong Duong to 48 months jail for ‘disturbing public order’. The sentencing relates to the January 24 arrest of Duong by police while he was filming a forced eviction in Bac Ninh.

According to Project 88 Duong was charged with ‘abusing democratic freedoms’ in June and will face court in October. Under these charges he faces seven years in jail. Prior to his arrest, Duong was an active citizen journalist on Facebook. [read more]

Vietnam : condamné à 14 ans de prison pour avoir critiqué le régime sur Facebook

19.09.2018 Thibaut Deleaz et AFP (RTL) - Un ancien instituteur de 58 ans a été condamné à 14 ans de prison au Vietnam pour avoir critiqué le régime sur Facebook. Ses propos ont été assimilés à une "tentative de renversement".

Il a été reconnu coupable de "tentative de renversement" du régime. Un instituteur retraité a été condamné à 14 ans de prison pour avoir critiqué sur Facebook le régime communiste du Vietnam, mercredi 19 septembre.

Dao Quang Thuc, 58 ans, évoquait sur le réseau social les problèmes environnementaux au Vietnam, mais aussi la dispute territoriale entre Pékin et Hanoï en mer de Chine méridionale, un sujet prompt à enflammer les nationalises vietnamiens que le régime tente de contrôler. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese blogger missing since arrest by police two weeks ago

18.09.2018 (RSF) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of Ngo Van Dung, a Vietnamese blogger and citizen-journalist whose location has been unknown since his arrest by police on a street in Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon) exactly two weeks ago.

Alerted by friends who witnessed his arrest on the morning of 4 September, Ngo Van Dung’s family tried to reach him on his mobile phone only to receive a message saying simply that he had been arrested by the police in Ho Chi Minh City’s Ben Nghe district. [read more]

Vietnam : le blogueur Ngo Van Dung kidnappé par la police depuis deux semaines

18.09.2018 (RSF) - Le journaliste citoyen Ngo Van Dung est porté disparu depuis qu’il a été arrêté il y a exactement deux semaines par des policiers dans les rues d’Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) exige des autorités vietnamiennes qu’elles le libèrent sur-le-champ.

Deux semaines sans nouvelles…. Arrêté par la police d’Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville (ex-Saïgon) dans la matinée du 4 septembre dernier, le journaliste citoyen Ngo Van Dung est depuis porté disparu. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam’s Rights Violations Put Trade Deal with EU at Risk

17.09.2018 Claudio Francavilla (HRW) - The European Union (EU)’s efforts to finalize a free trade deal with Vietnam are at risk because of Vietnam’s poor human rights record.

In a joint letter sent this week, 32 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) raised a slew of “grave” human rights concerns, including the jailing of dissidents, restrictions to freedom of expression and association, lack of media freedoms, and internet censorship. The MEPs warned that without improvements “it will be difficult” for them to give their final consent to the deal – which is necessary for it to come into force. [read more]

32 MEPs send a joint letter to Mrs Mogherini and Commissioner Malmström to ask for more Human Rights progress in Vietnam

17.09.2018 (Ramon Tremosa) - The MEPs give this advise ahead of the possible ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

After her 25 June meeting with Vietnam’s Minister for Trade and Industry Trần Tuấn Anh, Trade Commissioner Malmström stressed the important opportunity the conclusion of the EVFTA represents for both the EU’s and Vietnam’s economy, and mentioned Vietnam’s “clear commitments to respect human rights and to comply with International Labour Organisation conventions”; we also appreciate the existence of a clear link between the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and the EVFTA, which could lead to the adoption of “appropriate measures”, up to the suspension of the agreement or parts thereof, should one party fail to fulfil its human rights obligations. [read more]

Vietnam Land Rights Activist Do Cong Duong Handed 48-Month Jail Term

17.09.2018 (RFA) - A court in the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh sentenced land rights activist and citizen journalist Do Cong Duong 48 months in prison on Monday for “disturbing public order,” his lawyer told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.

Duong, 54, was detained on January 24 by the police of Tu Son commune in Bac Ninh while he was filming a forced eviction. He met his lawyer, Ha Huy Son, on April 5 and was charged with "disturbing public order." [read more]

20 Jahre Haft für Bürgerrechtler

16.09.2018 Von: Michael Lenz (Der Farang) - HANOI: Abgeschirmt durch Polizei- und Armeeeinheiten verurteilte ein Gericht in Vietnam den katholischen Bürgerrechtler Le Dinh Luong zu 20 Jahren Haft sowie zu weiteren fünf Jahren Hausarrest. Das „Volksgericht“ in Nghe An hatte den 53-jährigen Luong für schuldig befunden, den Sturz der Regierung von Vietnam geplant zu haben [Weiterlesen]

This Vietnamese singer tried to battle state censorship. Now she only performs there in secret

15.09.2018 By Paul Mooney (The Washington Post) - HANOI — The audience sits in the tiny theater. A spotlight opens slowly, exposing the outline of four men on stage tapping bamboo to mimic the sound of rain. A young woman dressed in white emerges from the background and begins to sing.

She is Do Nguyen Mai Khoi, pop star, blackballed political candidate, democracy advocate — and the recipient this year of the Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent, which recognizes artists who use innovative means to push back against authoritarianism.

In Vietnam, where the Communist Party rules with an iron fist, Mai Khoi has used lyrics to combine themes of resistance and protest. That is enough to make her an enemy of the state in the eyes of the country’s leadership, which keeps a tight lid on dissent at home even as it reaches out to the West and others as a key economic partner in the region. [read more]

Vietnamese Court Upholds Democracy Advocate's 13-Year Sentence

14.09.2018 (RFA) - An appeals court in northern Vietnam’s Thai Binh province upheld the sentence of jailed democracy activist Nguyen Van Tuc on Friday, returning him to prison to serve his full term of 13 years, Vietnamese source said.

Tuc, a member of the banned Brotherhood for Democracy online advocacy group, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on April 10 on charges of subversion under Article 79 of Vietnam’s penal code.

He had previously spent four years in prison after being convicted in 2008 of conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the penal code, and was freed in 2012 after serving his full term. [read more]

Vietnam court jails activist for 12 years

13.09.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - A court in central Vietnam has jailed an activist for 12 years, on an accusation of trying to overthrow the state, his lawyer said on Thursday, days after two rights campaigners were barred from attending a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Hanoi.

Nguyen Trung Truc, 44, was also given five years of house arrest following his jail term at Wednesday’s trial in Quang Binh province, the lawyer, Nguyen Van Mieng, said. [read more]

Vietnam jails activist after rights groups barred from WEF

12.09.2018 (Daily Mail) - A Vietnamese dissident was jailed Wednesday for 12 years on charges of trying to overthrow the state, days after the communist country refused entry to rights campaigners for a major business forum in Hanoi.

Vietnam has a dismal rights record and has come under fire for a brutal crackdown against critics in the past two years that has seen scores jailed.

Nguyen Trung Truc, a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy group, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for attempting to overthrow the state, his lawyer said after his half-day trial in central Quang Binh province.

Wednesday's trial came as regional leaders, including Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, Cambodian strongman Hun Sen and Singaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong -- who have come under fire for their grim rights record -- gathered in Hanoi for a WEF summit with business bigwigs that closes Thursday.

Representatives from Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) were set to attend the meeting but were denied entry by Vietnam, which does not allow international rights groups to have offices in the country. [read more]

12 años de cárcel para activista vietnamita por tratar de derrocar al régimen

12.09.2018 (La Vanguardia) - (EFE).- Un activista vietnamita fue condenado hoy a 12 años de prisión por realizar actividades para derrocar el Gobierno, según una sentencia del tribunal popular de la ciudad de Dong Hoi (norte).

Nguyen Trung Truc, de 44 años, que fue detenido en julio de 2016, pertenece a la organización "Brotherhood for Democracy" (hermandad o fraternidad para la democracia), fundada en 2013 para promocionar los derechos humanos en Vietnam.

"Una vez más, un tribunal vietnamita ha decidido castigar el activismo pacífico con la imposición de una dura sentencia", dijo Minar Pimple, de Amnistía Internacional, en un comunicado. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam : douze ans de prison pour "tentative de renversement" du régime

12.09.2018 (Le Nouvelliste) - Un dissident vietnamien a été condamné mercredi à douze ans de prison pour "tentative de renversement" du régime communiste qui ne cesse de durcir sa politique envers les opposants.

"Je n'avais pas l'intention de renverser qui que ce soit. Je n'ai fait que soutenir la démocratie, les droits de l'homme et la défense de l'environnement au Vietnam", a déclaré Nguyen Trung Truc, 44 ans, devant le tribunal, selon son avocat, Nguyen Van Mieng. [en savoir plus]

Viêt-Nam. Le militant scandaleusement condamné à 12 ans d'emprisonnement doit être remis en liberté

12.09.2018 (Amnesty International) - Réagissant aux informations signalant que le militant Nguyen Trung Truc a été condamné à 12 ans d'emprisonnement après avoir été déclaré coupable d'avoir « mené des activités visant à renverser le gouvernement du peuple » par un tribunal de la ville de Dong Hoi, Minar Pimple, directeur général des opérations mondiales à Amnesty International, a déclaré :

« Une fois de plus, un tribunal vietnamien a décidé de sanctionner des activités militantes pacifiques en infligeant une lourde peine d'emprisonnement. [en savoir plus]

Viet Nam: Activist given disgraceful 12-year jail sentence must be released

12.09.2018 (Amnesty International) - Responding to the news that activist Nguyen Trung Truc has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of “carrying out activities to overthrow the people’s administration” by a court in Dong Hoi City, Minar Pimple Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Global Operations said:

“Yet again, a Vietnamese court has decided to punish peaceful activism by meting out a hefty prison sentence. [read more]

Vietnam: Drop Long Prison Sentence Against Activist

Appeals Court Should Defy Ruling Party, Release Democracy Campaigner

12.09.2018 (HRW) - (New York) – The Vietnamese authorities should quash the politically motivated conviction of the rights activist Nguyen Van Tuc and immediately release him without conditions, Human Rights Watch said today. The court of appeals is scheduled to hear his case on September 14, 2018 in Thai Binh province.

“Nguyen Van Tuc is a victim of the Vietnamese government’s escalating crackdown on human rights bloggers and social activists,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The long sentences faced by Nguyen Van Tuc and his fellow Brotherhood for Democracy activists are all about intimidating other activists not to follow in their footsteps.” [read more]

Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Rights Campaigner

10.09.2018 (HRW) - (New York) – Vietnamese authorities should drop all charges against Nguyen Trung Truc for peaceful rights activism and release him immediately, Human Rights Watch said today.

Nguyen was arrested in August 2017 for involvement with a human rights group called the Brotherhood for Democracy. Authorities charged him with “carrying out activities that aim to overthrow the people’s administration” under article 79 of the 1999 penal code. The People’s Court of Quang Binh province is scheduled to hear his case on September 12, 2018. [read more]

Vietnam denies entry to rights advocates invited to WEF

10.09.2018 (Daily Mail) - Vietnam has denied entry to two prominent rights campaigners invited to attend this week's World Economic Forum in Hanoi, as the one-party communist state continues its hard line on critics of its dismal rights record.

Leaders from Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) were both barred from entering Vietnam for the meeting, the campaign groups said.

FIDH secretary general Debbie Stothard was held at Hanoi's airport for 15 hours after arriving on Sunday before being deported to Malaysia early the next morning.

Amnesty said its senior director of global operations Minar Pimple was also denied a visa to attend the WEF summit, which will host regional leaders and big names from global business. [read more]

Vietnam bars second rights campaigner from World Economic Forum

10.09.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam has refused to let a campaigner from Amnesty International attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) set to be held in the southeast Asian nation this week, the rights group said on Monday, the second such refusal in as many days.

Hanoi will host the World Economic Forum on the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) from Tuesday to Thursday, an event touted as the country’s biggest diplomatic gathering this year.

Amnesty condemned the decision to block the entry of Minar Pimple, its senior director of global operations, adding that the step came at a time when freedom of expression was under threat in Vietnam. [read more]

Viêt-Nam. Un haut responsable d’Amnesty International se voit refuser l’entrée sur le territoire dans un contexte d’intolérance croissante concernant la liberté d'expression

10.09.2018 (Amnesty International) - Le directeur général des Opérations mondiales d’Amnesty International, Minar Pimple, s’est vu refuser un visa d’entrée pour intervenir lors du Forum économique mondial sur l’ANASE qui se déroule à Hanoï cette semaine. Ce refus est une nouvelle preuve de la répression exercée par les autorités vietnamiennes à l’encontre de la liberté d’expression.

Minar Pimple, qui fait partie de la Direction générale d’Amnesty International, devait parler de la diversité et du pluralisme mais il n’a pas obtenu l’autorisation de participer à cet événement. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam verweigert der Generalsekretärin der Internationalen Föderation für Menschenrechte die Einreise

10.09.2018 Do Ha (Forum Vietnam 21) - Vietnam hat der Generalsekretärin der Internationalen Föderation für Menschenrechte, Debbie Stothard, die Teilnahme am Weltwirtschaftsforum verweigert, das vom 11. bis 13.09. in Vietnam stattfindet, teilte die in der Schweiz ansässige internationale Stiftung am Sonntag mit.

Debbie Stothard konnte am Sonntag nicht nach Vietnam einreisen, als sie am internationalen Flughafen Noi Bai in Hanoi ankam, um an der Veranstaltung teilzunehmen, sagte die Sprecherin des World Economic Forum, Fon Mathuros, in einer E-Mail-Nachricht gegenüber der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters.

Frau Stothard wurde von den Behörden darüber informiert, dass sie über Nacht am Flughafen festgehalten und am Morgen des 10. September 2018 nach Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, abgeschoben werden würde. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam niega la entrada al país a una activista de DDHH invitada al Foro Económico Mundial

09.09.2018 (Europa Press) - Las autoridades de Vietnam han negado la entrada en el país a una de las la secretarias generales de la Federación Internacional de los Derechos Humanos (FIDH), Debbie Stothard, invitada para asitir al Foro Económico Mundial de la Asociación de Naciones del Sureste Asiático (ASEAN) que se celebrará del 11 al 13 de septiembre en Hanói. La birmana Stothard llegó al Aeropuerto Internacional de Noi Bai de Hanói este domingo, pero las autoridades le negaron la entrada en el país por motivos de "defensa nacional, seguridad u orden social", según la Ley de Extranjería vietnamita que avala su detención e inminente deportación, informa la FIDH. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam denies entry to human rights campaigner to attend World Economic Forum

09.09.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam has refused entry to the Secretary General of the International Federation for Human Rights, Debbie Stothard, to attend the World Economic Forum to be held in the country next week, the Swiss-based international foundation said on Sunday.

Debbie Stothard was unable to enter Vietnam on Sunday as she arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to attend the event, World Economic Forum spokeswoman Fon Mathuros told Reuters in an emailed statement. [read more]

Vietnamese Police Attack Crowd Seeking Release of Detained Protesters

04.09.2018 (RFA) - Police in south-central Vietnam’s coastal Quang Ngai province on Monday attacked a crowd of hundreds who had gathered outside government offices to demand the release of 31 protesters detained over the weekend following clashes over pollution from a waste-processing plant, Vietnamese sources say.

Many were beaten in the assault, with at least one injured and sent to a hospital, sources at the scene told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.

“We had invited authorities to come talk to us, but when we got here they sent police out to beat us,” one woman said, speaking on condition of anonymity. [read more]

Vietnamese Activist Extends Hunger Strike, Citing Unmet Demands

28.08.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese democracy advocate Tran Huynh Duy Thuc has extended a hunger strike begun two weeks ago to protest police pressure on him to plead guilty in exchange for amnesty, family members say.

Thuc, 52, has now entered the 15th day of his strike, for which he had first set a deadline of Aug. 23, Thuc’s brother Tran Huynh Duy Tan told RFA’s Vietnamese Service by phone on Aug. 28.

“Thuc called his sister from the prison and spoke for about five minutes,” Tan said. “He told her that he was still on hunger strike, and that was the 14th day.” [read more]

Human Rights Watch calls on Australia to talk tough with Vietnam

27.08.2018 By Nick Baker (SBS) - Australia should challenge Vietnam on its "abysmal human rights record" when the two countries meet to discuss the topic this week, an advocacy group says.

The 15th Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue is due to be held in Hanoi on Tuesday and Human Rights Watch has urged the government to talk tough to the Southeast Asian nation. [read more]

Vietnam: Activists Beaten in Concert Raid

22.08.2018 (Human Rights Watch) - New York – Vietnamese government officers and men in civilian clothes raided a concert in Ho Chi Minh City on August 15, 2018, and severely beat the performer and two prominent activists in the audience, Human Rights Watch said today. Vietnam should conduct an impartial, transparent, and thorough investigation of the attack.

“This kind of shocking and brutal physical assault against human rights activists, bloggers, and artists is rapidly becoming the new normal in Vietnam,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “By failing to investigate or hold accountable those committing these thuggish acts, the authorities are signaling that attacks against dissidents will enjoy impunity.” [read more]

Vietnam verurteilt Aktivist zu 20 Jahren Haft

21.08.2018 Thach Duong (Forum Vietnam 21) - In einer Verfolgungswelle gegen Dissidenten in Vietnam wurde ein Aktivist zu 20 Jahren Haft verurteilt. Reporter ohne Grenzen (RSF) fordert die Mitglieder des Europäischen Parlaments auf, das Freihandelsabkommen mit Vietnam einzufrieren, solange Informationsfreiheit nicht gewährt wird.

Ein Gericht in der Provinz Nghe An in Zentralvietnam verurteilte am 16.08.2018 den Aktivisten Le Dinh Luong, 53, zu 20 Jahren Haft und anschließdend fünf Jahren Hausarrest, nachdem es ihn für schuldig befunden hatte, die kommunistische Regierung zu stürzen, sagte sein Anwalt Ha Huy Son.

Der Aktivist wurde wegen "Versuchens, den Staat zu stürzen" nach Artikel 79 des Strafgesetzbuches verurteilt, weil er 2016 im Internet Clips veröffentlicht hatte, die zu Protesten gegen die taiwanesische Industriegruppe Formosa aufriefen, die für erhebliche Meeresverschmutzung verantwortlich ist. [Weiterlesen]

Local EU statement on the recent conviction of Mr Le Dinh Luong

20.08.2018 (European Union External Action) - The EU Delegation notes the recent sentencing of Mr Le Dinh Luong under the national security provisions of the Penal Code to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of probation which follows the negative trend of repression against peaceful activists in Vietnam.

The EU Delegation regrets the decision by the Vietnamese authorities not to allow representatives of the EU Delegation and those of the EU Member States' embassies to observe the trial as it might raise questions as to the transparency of the process. [read more]

Treatment of Jailed Vietnam Dissidents Draws Petition, Hunger Strike

20.08.2018 (RFA) - Jailed Vietnamese human rights defender Tran Thi Nga has received beatings and death threats from a cellmate assigned to her by authorities, her husband told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Monday after writing a petition to law enforcement officials.

Noted in Vietnam for her online activism, Nga, 40, was sentenced in July 2017 to nine years in prison for spreading "propaganda against the state" under Article 88 of Vietnam’s penal code, a provision frequently used to silence dissident bloggers and other activists. Her appeal was rejected in December. [read more]

Musiker und Besucher eines Musikevents in Vietnam von der Polizei angegriffen und schwer misshandelt

19.08.2018 H.A.Duong (Forum Vietnam 21) - Eine Gruppe von jungen Leuten wurde von Polizisten angegriffen und schwer misshandelt, als sie am Mittwochenabend, 15.08.2018, in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt/Saigon an einer privaten Aufführung von Liedern der vorkommunistischen Zeit teilnahmen. Der Musikevent mit unpolitischen Liebesliedern aus der Zeit vor der Eroberung Südvietnams durch Hanois Truppen wurde von dem Musiker Nguyen Tin in einem kleinen Café veranstaltet. Die Polizei stürmte das Café, ging mit Gewalt gegen die Besucher vor und verletzte bekannte Aktivisten wie Pham Doan Trang, Nguyen Tin und Nguyen Dai schwer. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamesische Bloggerin und Aktivistin Huynh Thuc Vy wegen "Verunglimpfung der Flagge" unter Hausarrest gestellt

19.08.2018 Thach Duong (Forum Vietnam 21) - Die vietnamesische Aktivistin und Bloggerin Huynh Thuc Vy ist unter Hausarrest gestellt worden und darf das Land nicht verlassen, nachdem sie die Nationalflagge im letzen Jahr als Protest gegen die Regierung verunstaltet hatte. Die Behörden im kommunistischen Land zeigen wenig Toleranz für Kritik jeglicher Art, und die Verunglimpfung nationaler Symbole wie der roten Flagge mit dem gelben Stern gilt als besonders beleidigend gegenüber Staat und Partei. Huynh Thuc Vy, 32, wurde unter Hausarrest gestellt und ist bis Oktober von der Ausreise ausgeschlossen, während sie wegen "Verunglimpfung der Flagge"  ermittelt wird, nachdem sie 2017 weiße Farbe auf die Nationalfahne gestrichen hatte. [Weiterlesen]

US 'troubled' by trend of Vietnam jailing peaceful activists

18.08.2018 (The Sydney Morning Herald) - Hanoi, Vietnam: The United States said it was deeply concerned over Vietnam's conviction and sentencing of an activist this week, calling the trend of increased arrests and harsh sentences of government critics "troubling."

A State Department statement on Friday also called on the communist government to release all political prisoners and allow all individuals to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without fear of retribution.

Le Dinh Luong was sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years' probation on Thursday after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government. [read more]

Amnesty Urges Vietnam to Investigate Beatings of Singer, Activists After Concert Raid

17.08.2018 (RFA) - The human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Friday called on Vietnam to investigate the beating this week of singer Nguyen Tin and activists who attended his concert, which was broken up by police in Ho Chi Minh City.

On August 15, dozens of uniform and plain clothes policemen stormed into a cafe and broke up Nguyen Tin’s “Memory of Saigon” show, at which he was singing apolitical love songs from before the 1975 communist revolution, witnesses told RFA’s Vietnam service.

The witnesses told RFA that at least four activists who were among about 50 people at the cafe were attacked by the plain clothes policemen. [read more]

EEUU exige la liberación de "todos los presos de conciencia" de Vietnam tras la condena a Le Dinh Luong

17.08.2018 (Europa Press) - WASHINGTON - Estados Unidos ha expresado su preocupación este viernes por la "tendencia" de las autoridades vietnamitas a detener y condenar a activistas por "cargos vagos" y ha pedido la liberación de "todos los presos de conciencia" del país, tras la sentencia a 20 años de cárcel contra el disidente Le Dinh Luong.

"Estamos profundamente preocupados de que un tribunal vietnamita haya condenado a Le Dinh Luong a 20 años de cárcel por cargos vagos de 'intento de derrocar a la Administración del pueblo'", ha dicho el Departamento de Estado en un comunicado firmado por su portavoz, Heather Nauert. [seguir leyendo]

U.S. concerned by Vietnam dissident sentence, harsh trend

17.08.2018 (Reuters) - WASHINGTON - The United States said on Friday it was deeply concerned by the sentencing of a Vietnamese dissident to 20 years in prison this week, calling a trend of increased arrests and harsh sentences for peaceful activism troubling.

A U.S. State Department statement on the sentencing of Le Dinh Luong after a one-day trial on Thursday called on Vietnam to release all prisoners of conscience immediately. [read more]

U.S. citizen detained and deported from Vietnam doesn't regret protesting

17.08.2018 by Chris Fuchs (nbcnews) - A U.S. citizen detained for 40 days in Vietnam said Thursday that he doesn’t regret participating in protests that landed him behind bars in the communist country.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested Will Nguyen, 32, on June 10 while he took part in demonstrations against the Vietnamese government. Among the issues angering protesters were plans to establish special economic zones that they feared would be dominated by Chinese interests. [read more]

Vietnamese blogger gets 20-year jail sentence

16.08.2018 (Reporters without borders) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the record 20-year prison sentence that was passed today on Vietnamese blogger Le Dinh Luong for activities “aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration,” and calls on the European Parliament to block any trade agreement with Vietnam.

Passed at the end of a summary trial in which defence witnesses were not allowed to testify, this 20-year jail term is the longest sentence ever received by a Vietnamese citizen for trying to provide the public with information. [read more]

RSF dénonce la condamnation à vingt ans de prison du blogueur vietnamien Le Dinh Luong

16.08.2018 (Reporters sans frontières) - Un an après son arrestation, le blogueur Le Ding Luong s’est vu infligé une peine record de vingt ans de réclusion criminelle pour avoir tenté d’informer ses concitoyens sur Internet. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) condamne ce verdict inique et appelle les députés européens à réagir pour ne pas cautionner une flagrante violation de la liberté d’informer.

C’est la plus longue peine jamais prononcée au Vietnam contre un citoyen qui tentait d’informer le public.  [en savoir plus]

Vietnam: un militant condamné à 20 ans

16.08.2018 (Le Figaro) - Un militant vietnamien pour la démocratie a été condamné aujourd'hui à 20 ans de prison pour avoir appelé à des manifestations dans le pays qui ne cesse de durcir sa répression contre les opposants. Le Dinh Luong, 52 ans, avait été arrêté en juillet et son avocat, Ha Huy Son, a dénoncé un procès expéditif.

Le verdict est tombé très rapidement et certaines personnes en faveur de l'accusé n'ont pas pu témoigner, d'après l'avocat. Ce dernier a demandé l'annulation du procès, mais sa requête a été rejetée. Le militant a été reconnu coupable de "tentative de renversement de l'Etat" pour avoir posté sur internet des clips appelant à manifester contre un groupe taïwanaiss responsable d'une importante pollution marine. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam finds activist guilty of anti-government charges

16.08.2018 (Daily Mail) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - A court in central Vietnam sentenced an activist to 20 years in prison Thursday after finding him guilty of attempting to overthrow the Communist government, his lawyer said, in a case decried by international rights groups.

The court also sentenced Le Dinh Luong, 53, to five years of house arrest, said his lawyer Ha Huy Son.

"I think the sentence against Mr. Luong is too harsh," Son said after the half-day trial in Nghe An province. [read more]

Viet Nam: Politically-motivated case against environmental activist must be dropped

15.08.2018 (Amnesty International) - Ahead of tomorrow’s trial in Nghe An province of environmental rights activist, Le Dinh Luong, accused of taking part in activities aimed at “overthrowing the state”, Clare Algar, Amnesty International’s Director of Global Operations, said:

his is a patently unjust and politically-motivated case that should be dropped and Le Dinh Luong must be released immediately and unconditionally. [read more]

Viêt-Nam. Les poursuites engagées pour des raisons politiques contre un militant écologiste doivent être abandonnées

15.08.2018 (Amnesty International) - Le procès du militant écologiste Le Dinh Luong, accusé d’avoir pris part à des activités visant à « renverser le gouvernement », doit avoir lieu jeudi 16 août dans la province de Nghe An. À cette occasion, Clare Algar, directrice des Opérations mondiales d’Amnesty International, a déclaré :

Ces poursuites sont parfaitement injustes et motivées par des considérations politiques. Elles devraient être abandonnées et Le Dinh Luong doit être libéré immédiatement et sans condition. [en savoir plus]

Viêt-Nam. La blogueuse Huynh Thuc Vy doit être relâchée immédiatement

13.08.2018 (Amnesty International) - En réaction à l'arrestation le 9 août au matin de l'éminente défenseure des droits humains et blogueuse Huynh Thuc Vy par la police vietnamienne dans la ville de Buon Ho, dans la province de Dak Lak, Clare Algar, directrice des opérations mondiales au sein d’Amnesty International, a déclaré :

« Cette arrestation n'est rien d'autre qu'une manœuvre politique visant à faire taire l'une des voix les plus puissantes au service de la défense des droits humains au Viêt-Nam. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam activist put under house arrest for defacing flag

10.08.2018 (Daily Mail) - A Vietnamese activist was put under house arrest and barred from leaving the country after she defaced the national flag, she told AFP Friday, vowing to fight for democracy in the one-party state where dissent is swiftly stamped out.

Authorities in the communist country show little tolerance for criticism of any kind, and desecrating national symbols such as the yellow-starred red flag is deemed particularly offensive.

Huynh Thuc Vy, 32, was ordered to remain in her home and is blocked from leaving the country until October while she is under investigation for "affronting the flag" after she smeared white paint on the national banner last year. [read more]

Vietnamese Blogger, Rights Activist Detained by Police

09.08.2018 (RFA) - A well-known Vietnamese blogger and human rights advocate was taken into custody on Thursday by local police, who later returned to search her home where they confiscated her laptop computer, camera, books, and other personal items, her husband said.

Huynh Thuc Vy, a co-founder of the advocacy group Vietnamese Women for Human Rights, was seized by police in Dak Lak province’s Buon Ho town after refusing previous summons to come in to their offices for questioning, Vy’s husband Le Khanh Duy told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. [read more]

Vietnam's New Cybersecurity Law Will Hurt Economic Growth

08.08.2018 by David Shear (The National Interest) - As U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam from 2011 to 2014, I would console myself when faced with a diplomatic setback that Vietnam has always achieved progress by taking two steps forward and one step back. However, the passage of a restrictive cybersecurity law by Vietnam’s National Assembly is a giant step back—one that comes at the expense of Vietnam’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in particular.

The new law turns Vietnam into a silo at a time when Vietnamese firms, especially SMBs, must access global markets and technology. [read more]

Vietnamese Democracy Advocate Held in Dark Cell, in Failing Health

08.08.2018 (RFA) - Jailed Vietnamese democracy activist Nguyen Trung Truc, a member of the online Brotherhood for Democracy advocacy group, is suffering from failing eyesight after being held for long periods in a darkened cell, a fellow activist says.

Speaking with RFA’s Vietnamese Service on condition of anonymity, the activist—also a Brotherhood member—said that Truc’s son reported his father’s condition following a prison visit on Tuesday, adding that Truc has grown physically weaker in jail since his arrest last year. [read more]

Parish in North-Central Vietnam Screens Documentary on Jailed Blogger 'Mother Mushroom'

06.08.2018 (RFA) - A banned documentary on jailed Vietnamese blogger and activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh—also known by her blogger handle Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom—drew 1,000 people during a screening Sunday by a Catholic church in north-central Vietnam’s of Nghe An province, the parish priest said.

Quynh was sentenced in June 2017 to a decade in jail on charges of spreading “propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. Quynh’s is one of the more high profile cases of activists handed heavy sentences as part of an ongoing crackdown by authorities in the Southeast Asian nation.

“After the service, we showed the documentary ‘When Mother is Away’ about blogger mother mushroom,” priest Dang Huu Nam, who is in charge of the My Khanh parish in Nghe An, told RFA.

“There were more than 1000 people from My Khanh parish coming to the show,” he added. [read more]

Vietnam-Dissident will für Reformen kämpfen

31.07.2018 (Der Farang) - HANOI/BERLIN (dpa) - Nach seiner Freilassung aus einem Gefängnis will sich der vietnamesische Regierungskritiker Nguyen Van Dai aus dem Exil in Deutschland für Reformen in seinem Heimatland einsetzen.

Der 49-Jährige kündigte in einem Gespräch mit der Deutschen Presse-Agentur dpa an: «Ich werde den Kampf für Frieden, Demokratie und Menschenrechte für das vietnamesische Volk weiterführen.» Möglicherweise sei dies aus Deutschland sogar besser möglich.

Der Menschenrechtsanwalt war erst im April in seiner Heimat wegen «staatsfeindlicher Aktivitäten» zu 15 Jahren Haft und weiteren 5 Jahren Hausarrest verurteilt worden. [Weiterlesen]

Human Rights Commissioner Bärbel Kofler on the sentencing of Vietnamese human rights activist Tran Thi Nga to nine years’ imprisonment

27.07.2017 (Federal Foreign Office) - Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, issued the following statement today (26 July) on the sentence handed down to Vietnamese human rights activist Tran Thi Nga:

“I was shocked by the very harsh sentence of nine years’ imprisonment handed down to Ms Tran Thi Nga by a court in Viet Nam. Tran Thi Nga used peaceful means to combat corruption and arbitrary actions and assist victims of the justice system, promote employment rights and environmental protection. Amnesty International paid tribute to her work on International Women’s Day this year. [read more]

Die Menschenrechtsbeauftragte Bärbel Kofler zur Verurteilung der vietnamesischen Menschenrechtsaktivistin Tran Thi Nga zu neun Jahren Haft

27.07.2017 (Auswärtiges Amt) - Zum Urteil gegen die vietnamesische Menschenrechtsaktivistin Tran Thi Nga sagte die Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Bärbel Kofler, heute (27.07.):

Die sehr harte Verurteilung von Frau Tran Thi Nga zu neun Jahren Haft durch ein Gericht in Vietnam hat mich bestürzt. Tran Thi Nga hat sich mit friedlichen Mitteln gegen Korruption und Willkür sowie für Justizopfer, Arbeiterrechte und den Umweltschutz eingesetzt. Ihr Einsatz wurde von Amnesty International anlässlich des diesjährigen Internationalen Frauentages gewürdigt. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: la blogueuse dissidente Tran Thi Nga écope de neuf ans de prison ferme

26.07.2018 (RFI) - La blogueuse dissidente vietnamienne Tran Thi Nga a écopé, mardi 25 juillet 2017, de neuf ans de prison et cinq ans de probation. Cette femme d’une quarantaine d’années a été condamnée pour propagande contre l'Etat. Elle avait porté assistance à des victimes d'expropriation et critiqué la politique du gouvernement sur Internet. RSF dénonce le climat délétère qui règne actuellement dans ce pays.

Il n'aura fallu qu'une journée au tribunal de la province d'Ha Nam, dans le nord du Vietnam, pour condamner Tran Thi Nga, malgré les protestations de dizaines de personnes qui s'étaient rassemblées, pancartes en main, devant le bâtiment lourdement protégé par la police. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese Religious Minorities Continue to Face Persecution

13.07.2018 Evan Maguire (The American Spectator) - On Wednesday, July 11th, the United States Embassy in Vietnam issued a statement criticizing a decision by a Vietnamese appeals court to continue to detain three human rights activists for “propaganda against the State.” These activists were not part of some vast effort to topple the Communist regime in Vietnam, but rather, took issue with various government abuses of human rights and other policies, and for this, they have been imprisoned.

Interestingly enough, the constitution of Vietnam, just like the US constitution, guarantees religious freedom, per a 2013 update. While this commitment looks good on paper, religious freedom in practice is lacking. [read more]

Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Vietnam - 32nd session, January 2018

13.07.2018 (HRW) - Since the last periodic review in 2014, the government of Vietnam has shown little interest in improving its human rights record. It continues to restrict basic freedoms of expression, association, assembly, and religion.

Vietnam frequently uses vaguely worded and loosely interpreted provisions in its penal code and other laws to imprison peaceful political and religious activists. These include “Carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” (article 109), “Undermining the unity policy” (article 116), “Making, storing, disseminating or propagandizing information, materials and products that aim to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” (article 117), and “Disrupting security” (article 118). Vietnam also uses other articles in the penal code to target rights campaigners,  [read more]

Beijing says Liu Xia, widow of Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, left China for Germany on health grounds

10.07.2018 (SCMP) - The 57-year-old poet and artist left Beijing bound for Berlin on Tuesday morning aboard a Finnair flight, friends say.

Liu Xia, the widow of Chinese dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, left China for Germany on Tuesday after nearly eight years under house arrest.

China’s foreign ministry confirmed that she had left for health reasons.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing that the 57-year-old poet and artist had gone to Germany to “treat her illness according to her wishes”. [read more]

Jailed Vietnamese Blogger Mother Mushroom Begins Hunger Strike

06.07.2018 (RFA) - Jailed Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known as Mother Mushroom, has begun a hunger strike in prison, citing authorities’ refusal to transfer her to a cell away from a hostile and threatening cellmate, her mother says.

Quynh told her mother, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, in a phone call that she will now refuse to eat until she is moved, Lan told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Friday.

“My daughter said that from now on she won’t eat anything, not even the food that I send to her, until prison authorities address the requests that she has made,” she said [read more]

Viêt-Nam. Les autorités doivent protéger une militante des attaques collectives

06.07.2018 (Amnesty International) - Les autorités de la ville de Di Linh doivent agir immédiatement pour assurer la sécurité de la militante des droits des travailleurs Do Thi Minh Hanh, dont le domicile familial a été la cible de jets de pierres à trois reprises ces deux dernières semaines, a déclaré Amnesty International.

Do Thi Minh Hanh, membre du mouvement Lao Dong Viet, qui défend les droits des travailleurs au Viêt-Nam, a été attaquée une première fois dans la soirée du 24 juin, lorsqu’une douzaine d’hommes se sont mis à lancer des pierres sur la maison où elle habite avec son père. Son domicile a de nouveau été attaqué le 27 juin, quand des engins explosifs ont également été jetés, puis le 30 juin, lors de l’agression la plus violente jusqu’à présent. Ces attaques ont causé des dégâts importants, notamment des vitres brisées, des tuiles cassées et du mobilier abîmé. [en savoir plus]

Film screening cancelled in Bangkok after Vietnam complains

04.07.2018 (Bangkok Post) - A second screening of a documentary featuring Mother Mushroom, the Vietnamese blogger sentenced in 2017 to ten years in jail after publicising the environmental devastation caused by a toxic leak from a steel plant, was cancelled on Wednesday afternoon after a complaint from the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok.

The complaint was followed by a police visit to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), where was the film was to be screened for the second time on Wednesday evening. [read more]

Jailed Vietnamese Activist Vows to Stay in the Country to Work For Change

03.07.2018 (RFA) - A Vietnamese activist jailed in 2010 for writing online articles criticizing government policies has pledged not to go into exile abroad, saying he would rather stay in Vietnam to continue his fight for democracy and human rights, his family says.

Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 52, was convicted on charges of plotting to overthrow the government under Article 79 of Vietnam’s penal code and is serving a 16-year term at Prison No. 6 in the Thanh Chuong district of Nghe An province.

Thuc spoke with his family by phone on June 30 following a June 25 meeting with representatives of the EU and German embassies, who visited him in prison. [read more]

One Year After Mother Mushroom’s Imprisonment, Signs of Hope in Vietnam

29.06.2018 By Prachi Vidwans and Joy Park (The Diplomat) - Despite rising repression, the democratic awakening of the Vietnamese people continues.

One year ago on June 29, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh found herself in prison, staring down a 10-year sentence. It has not been an easy year. Far from it. Prison authorities have made life unnecessarily difficult for Quynh, withholding letters from her friends, tampons and pads, medicine, and even the Bible. Because the government intentionally places political prisoners in remote prisons, her mother and children — and her lawyer — are unable to visit her often. Her mother says her health is failing; most recently, Quynh has said she feels so unsafe, it amounts to “mental torture.” [read more]

EU Should Stand Up for Vietnam’s People - Use Trade Pact to Demand Rights Improvements

22.06.2018 -  Claudio Francavilla (HRW) - Cecilia Malmström, the European Union’s trade commissioner, will hold talks on Monday with Trần Tuấn Anh, Vietnam’s trade and industry minister, about concluding a long negotiated Free Trade Agreement. Based on the EU Commission’s figures, the pact could boost Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 15 percent.

The EU says it has designed its trade policy as a tool to promote human rights in line with its founding treaty and pledges by EU foreign ministers. The agreed text does include some vague provisions that could lead to “unilateral measures” to address serious human rights violations. The problem is that those abuses are longstanding and they are systemic. [read more]

2018 International Press Freedom Award winners

18.06.2018 (BizCommunity) - The Committee to Protect Journalists will honour journalists from Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam with its 2018 International Press Freedom Awards. The journalists have faced legal action, physical attacks, threats, and arrests in retaliation for their work.

CPJ's 2018 IPFA awardees are: ... Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, one of Vietnam's most prominent independent bloggers, who is best known by her pen name, ‘Mother Mushroom’. She has been imprisoned since 2016 on charges connected to her coverage of sensitive issues censored by the state-controlled media, including official land-grabbing, environmental degradation, and police brutality. [read more]

Le Vietnam serre la vis aux réseaux sociaux

18.06.2018 Par Frédéric Noir (RFI) - Le Parlement vietnamien vient d’adopter une loi sur la cybersécurité, qui vise à restreindre les libertés sur les réseaux sociaux. L'étau se resserre dans le pays communiste où aucune dissidence n'est tolérée.

La loi doit entrer en vigueur en janvier 2019. À partir de cette date, les plateformes du web seront contraintes de retirer sous 24 heures tous les commentaires considérés comme une menace à la sécurité nationale. La loi interdit également tout discours qui « porte atteinte au drapeau national, aux dirigeants ou aux héros nationaux ». [en savoir plus]

RSF calls for repeal of Vietnam’s new cybersecurity law

15.06.2018 (Reporters without borders) - Approved by 423 votes to 15 by the national assembly on 12 June, without any changes, the new law is largely a copy-and-paste version of the cybersecurity law that took effect in China in June 2017.

Articles 8 and 15 criminalize “denying the revolution’s achievements,” “offending national heroes” and “providing misleading information liable to cause confusion among the population” – vague formulations that could be applied to almost anyone posting information online that displeases the authorities. [read more]

CPJ announces 2018 International Press Freedom Award winners

14.06.2018 (CPJ) - New York, June 14, 2018--The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor journalists from Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam with its 2018 International Press Freedom Awards.

... Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, one of Vietnam's most prominent independent bloggers, who is best known by her penname, "Mother Mushroom." She has been imprisoned since 2016 on charges connected to her coverage of sensitive issues censored by the state-controlled media, including official land-grabbing, environmental degradation, and police brutality [read more]

The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia is concerned with the passing of the controversial Cyber Security Law by the National Assembly on Tuesday

14.06.2018 (UN Human Rights - Asia) - The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia is concerned with the passing of the controversial Cyber Security Law by the National Assembly on Tuesday, which contains a number of provisions that are in contravention with Viet Nam’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The law provides sweeping new powers to the authorities, allowing them to force technology companies and service providers to share computer data, including personal information, to deny services and to censor users’ posts without any judicial review. We are further concerned that this law may be used to further crack down on dissenting voices in Viet Nam and would like to encourage the Government of Viet Nam to provide an enabling environment where freedom of expression, both online and offline, is protected. [read more]

RSF appelle les députés vietnamiens à abroger la loi sur la cybersécurité

13.06.2018 (Reporters sans frontières) - L’Assemblée nationale du Vietnam a adopté cette semaine une loi contre la cybercriminalité draconienne, inspirée du modèle chinois. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) appelle les députés à abroger au plus vite ce texte qui porte gravement atteinte à la liberté d’informer.

Encore une offensive massive dans la guerre impitoyable que livre la direction actuelle du Parti communiste vietnamien (PCV) contre les voix indépendants du pays. Mardi 12 juin, l’Assemblée nationale a adopté à 86% le projet de loi sur la cybersécurité qui lui était présenté. Le texte, sorte de copié-collé de la législation que la Chine applique depuis le 1er juin 2017, risque d’avoir de terribles conséquences sur la liberté d’informer. [en savoir plus]

Viet Nam: New Cybersecurity law a devastating blow for freedom of expression

12.06.2018 (Amnesty International) - Reacting to the news that Viet Nam’s National Assembly has voted to pass a deeply repressive new cybersecurity law which grants the government sweeping powers to limit online freedom, Clare Algar, Amnesty International’s Director of Global Operations said:

“This decision has potentially devastating consequences for freedom of expression in Viet Nam. In the country’s deeply repressive climate, the online space was a relative refuge where people could go to share ideas and opinions with less fear of censure by the authorities.

“With the sweeping powers it grants the government to monitor online activity, this vote means there is now no safe place left in Viet Nam for people to speak freely. [read more]

Vietnam's new law tightens control of the internet

12.06.2018 By Zoey Chong (cnet) - Vietnam is taking a leaf out of China's book when it comes to regulating the internet.

Legislators in Vietnam have approved a law requiring global tech firms with operations in the country to keep user data there, Reuters reported Tuesday. In addition, social media companies like Facebook will have to remove offending content from their platforms within one day of receiving a request from authorities. [read more]

Para Vietnam, la libertad de expresión es una 'ofensa contra la seguridad nacional'

09.06.2018 (El Ojo Digital) - 'En Vietnam, no existe tal cosa como un "prisionero de consciencia", y no existe allí lo que se dicen arrestos de personas con motivo de "expresar libremente su opinión"', sentenció la vocera del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores vietnamita Le Thi Thu Hang a periodistas en abril pasado. Pero lo cierto es, precisamente, lo opuesto.

Un reciente informe elaborado por Amnistía Internacional enumeró a 97 reconocidos prisioneros de consciencia en Vietnam -todos ellos hacen frente hoy a durísimas sentencias, bajo cargos contra la seguridad nacional tras simplemente haber ejercitado sus derechos. En Vietnam, los grupos activistas que hacen campaña por la democracia y la protección del medioambiente suelen ser tratados como criminales 'que buscan derribar' al gobierno. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: le dissident Nguyen Van Dai libéré et exilé en Allemagne

09.06.2018 (RFI) - Le dissident vietnamien Nguyen Van Dai et son assistante Le Thu Ha ont été libérés jeudi 8 juin après deux ans de détention. Ils ont aussitôt été placés dans un avion pour l'Allemagne. Un nouvel exemple de l'exil forcé des figures critiques du Vietnam.

Sitôt libérés, sitôt exilés. Mais à son arrivée en Allemagne avec son assistante Le Thu Ha, Nguyen Van Dai a prévenu : « Je ne suis pas venu en Allemagne pour y rester sur le long terme (...) Ma mère patrie est le Vietnam, je me battrai pour y retourner. » [en savoir plus]

DRB-Menschenrechtspreisträger Van Dai in Freiheit

08.06.2018 (Deutscher Richterbund) - Berlin. Der Deutsche Richterbund (DRB) hat mit großer Freude auf die Ausreise des vietnamesischen Menschenrechtlers Nguyen Van Dai reagiert. Der DRB-Vorsitzende Jens Gnisa sagte: „Wir sind sehr erleichtert, dass Nguyen Van Dai vorzeitig aus der Haft entlassen worden ist.“ Er sei heute mit seiner Ehefrau wohlbehalten in Deutschland angekommen.

„Van Dai steht stellvertretend für alle Menschenrechtler, die immer wieder beweisen, dass der Wunsch des Menschen nach Freiheit alle Zwänge überwinden kann.“ [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam lässt prominenten Bürgerrechtler ausreisen

08.06.2018 (FAZ) - Vietnam hat den prominenten Bürgerrechtler Nguyen Van Dai vorzeitig aus der Haft entlassen und nach Deutschland ausreisen lassen. Der 49 Jahre alte Anwalt für Menschenrechte landete am Freitag gemeinsam mit seiner Ehefrau an Bord einer Linienmaschine in Frankfurt am Main. Anschließend flog er nach Berlin weiter. Die Bundesregierung begrüßte die Freilassung. Das Auswärtige Amt sprach von einem „bemerkenswerten humanitären Schritt Vietnams“.

Dai gehört zu den prominentesten Regierungskritikern Vietnams. Das Land wird von einer kommunistischen Einparteienregierung geführt. Im April wurde er erst zu 15 Jahren Haft und weiteren fünf Jahren Hausarrest verurteilt.

Die Menschenrechtsorganisation Human Rights Watch lobte Deutschland dafür, dass es dem Bürgerrechtler Asyl gewährt. Gemeinsam mit dem Ehepaar durfte auch eine Assistentin nach Deutschland ausreisen. Für eine Lösung des Falls hatte sich auch Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier eingesetzt. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam lässt Bürgerrechtler Dai frei und nach Deutschland ausreisen

08.06.2018 (DW) - 15 Jahre Gefängnis und fünf weitere Jahre Hausarrest, so lautete das Urteil eines Gerichts in Hanoi gegen den Rechtsanwalt Nguyen Van Dai vom April. Damals hatte das Gericht den Gründer des Netzwerks "Bruderschaft für Demokratie" für schuldig befunden, einen Umsturz gegen die Regierung geplant zu haben.

Nun wurde der 49-Jährige freigelassen und kann nach Deutschland ausreisen. Dies teilte ein Sprecher des regierungskritischen Netzwerks der Deutschen Presse-Agentur mit.

Die Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Bärbel Kofler, kritisierte die Verurteilung der Regimegegner und erklärte, die Menschenrechtler "setzen sich für eine Stärkung der Rechtsstaatlichkeit, für Transparenz der öffentlichen Verwaltung und für mehr zivilgesellschaftliche Teilhabe ein - kurz: für ein besseres Vietnam" [Weiterlesen]

Dissident lawyer freed from Vietnam jail, now in Germany

08.06.2018 (Daily Mail) - A Vietnamese pro-democracy activist jailed for 15 years for "attempting to overthrow" the Communist state arrived in Germany on Friday hours after being released from prison.

Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha were freed late Thursday and whisked away on an overnight flight to Germany, along with Dai's wife Vu Minh Khanh.

"I did not come to Germany to stay for the long term," Dai told AFP by telephone.

"My motherland is Vietnam, my mother and relatives are there. I will fight to return." [read more]

Germany welcomes freed Vietnamese human rights lawyer

08.06.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI/BERLIN - Human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai has arrived in Germany after his release from prison in Vietnam, the German foreign ministry said on Friday, two months after a conviction for attempting to overthrow the state that carried a 15-year jail term.

Dai, founder of the group “Brotherhood for Democracy”, was released from prison late on Thursday along with his assistant, Le Thu Ha, who was serving a nine-year term.

Dai arrived in Germany with his wife, Vu Minh Khanh, and Ha, a foreign ministry spokeswoman told a news conference in Berlin, the German capital. [read more]

Human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, released and exiled to Germany

08.06.2018 Hanoi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The well-known human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and another member of Brotherhood for Democracy were released from prison yesterday evening and boarded a plane bound for Germany. The liberation and exile of Dai and his colleague Le Thu Ha took place about two months after a harsh sentence for "activities aimed at overthrowing the state". On 5 April, Dai was sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of house arrest, while Ha was given nine years in prison (photo).

Since 2016, activists and bloggers are the targets of a government campaign against dissent. Opponents of the regime suffer daily harassment, intimidation, police surveillance and interrogation and are subjected to long periods of prior detention without access to lawyers or family members. Even the Catholic community has paid the price for its commitment. The harsh sentences handed down to Catholic activists are frequent, as evidenced by the recent cases of Nguyễn Văn Oai (five years in prison), Trần Thị Nga (nine), Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh (10) and Nguyễn Văn Hóa (seven) [read more]

Le dissident vietnamien Nguyen Van Dai a été libéré et se trouve en Allemagne

08.06.2018 (Europe1) - L'avocat et dissident vietnamien Nguyen Van Dai, condamné à 15 ans de prison dans son pays, a été libéré et se trouve en Allemagne, a annoncé vendredi le ministère allemand des Affaires étrangères. "Je peux confirmer que Nguyen Van Dai, son épouse (Vu Minh Khanh) et son assistante (Le Thu Ha) se trouvent en Allemagne", a affirmé la porte-parole du ministère, Maria Adebahr.

L'ONG Human Rights Watch s'est réjouie de cette nouvelle. "L'Allemagne doit être saluée pour avoir accordé l'asile à Nguyen Van Dai", a commenté Phil Robertson, un responsable en Asie de l'organisation de défense des droits de l'Homme. [en savoir plus]

Expulsa Vietnam a dos disidentes

08.06.2018 (El Diario) - Hanói— Las autoridades vietnamitas excarcelaron y expulsaron del país a un prominente abogado de derechos humanos y a otro disidente, y los envió a ambos a Alemania, dijo un grupo pro-democracia el viernes.

La Hermandad por la Democracia dijo en su página en Facebook que el abogado Nguyen Van Dai y Le Thu Ha llegaron a Fráncfort por la mañana. Agregó que Dai arribó acompañado por su esposa, Vu Minh Khanh. Dai cofundó la Hermandad, que está prohibida en el país. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam disidencia - Berlín informa de que disidentes vientamitas liberados están en Alemania

08.06.2018 (La Vanguardia) - Berlín, 8 jun (EFE).- El Gobierno alemán informó hoy de que el defensor de los derechos humanos vietnamita Nguyen Van Dai y su asistente, Le Thu Ha, fueron puestos en libertad y se encuentran ya en Alemania, adonde llegaron acompañados también de la mujer del activista.

Van Dai y Thu Ha, ambos abogados de derechos humanos, fueron detenidos en 2015 cuando intentaban reunirse con representantes de la Unión Europea (UE) antes del diálogo sobre derechos humanos entre el bloque comunitario y Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam pone en libertad a un activista condenado por intentar derrocar al Gobierno

08.06.2018 (europapress) - HANÓI (Reuters/EP) - El abogado y activista vietnamita de Derechos Humanos Nguyen Van Dai ha sido puesto en libertad este viernes dos meses después de ser condenado a quince años de prisión por sedición y ha abandonado el país rumbo a Alemania.

Dai, de 48 años, cofundó 'Hermandad por la Democracia', grupo que llevaba a cabo actividades contra el Ejecutivo vietnamita para conseguir una democracia multipartidista en el país.

Vietnam pone en libertad a un activista condenado por intentar derrocar al Gobierno

El activista ha abandonado la cárcel este jueves por la noche junto a otro miembro del grupo, Le Thu Ha, que había sido condenado a una pena de nueve años de prisión. Fuentes cercanas al abogado defensor de los Derechos Humanos han asegurado que éste ha embarcado rumbo a la localidad alemana de Fránkfurt y que su mujer, Vu Minh Khanh, se encuentra con él. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: Jail Looms For Pastor, Activists As Appeals Fail

06.06.2018 (Eurasia Review) - A pastor and three other members of the Brotherhood for Democracy group have lost their appeals against convictions for trying to overthrow the communist government, a development that international rights groups have blasted as a violation of their rights.

The People’s High Court in Hanoi upheld a 12-year sentence for Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton on June 4 for “attempting to overthrow the people’s government,” the nation’s Hanoimoi reported.

The court refused to overturn a similar sentence for journalist Truong Minh Duc and confirmed that Nguyen Bac Truyen and Pham Van Troi will spend 11 years and seven years behind bars, respectively, as per the original ruling. [read more]

Vietnamese Political Prisoner Tran Thi Nga Back in Touch With Family

06.06.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese political prisoner Tran Thi Nga, after having been cut off from seeing her family for several months as part of disciplinary measures, was able to call her husband this week and a family visit to her in jail may take place next week, her husband told RFA’s Vietnamese service on Wednesday.

A human rights defender noted in Vietnam for her online activism, Nga, 40, was sentenced on July 25 to nine years in prison for spreading "propaganda against the state" under Article 88 of Vietnam’s penal code, a provision frequently used to silence dissident bloggers and other activists. Her appeal was rejected in December. [read more]

Mai Khoi, la voix de la dissidence du Vietnam

05.06.2018 (Le Monde) - Sur scène, son visage pâle se découpe dans l’ombre. Armée de sa guitare, accompagnée d’envoûtantes percussions et d’un saxophone, elle chante, dans un crescendo presque dissonant : « A l’intérieur ; tu as le temps de penser, tu as le temps de te repentir, de regretter (…) d’avoir été un traître à la nation, de maintenir le peuple dans le noir et de l’oppresser. » Le titre de la chanson : Camp de rééducation. Mai Khoi and The Dissidents est un groupe de free jazz basé à Hanoï, qui hérisse les partisans du régime vietnamien.

En mars, la jeune femme de 34 ans a été détenue pendant huit heures à son retour d’une tournée européenne. Son arrestation a fait les titres d’une partie de la presse internationale. En revanche, pas une trace dans les médias du pays. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam upholds sentence for prominent human rights activists

04.06.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - A Vietnamese court on Monday upheld prison sentences against four human rights campaigners convicted of attempting to overthrow the state, a lawyer said.

The Hanoi People’s High Court rejected the appeals by the four against an April trial verdict that charged them with activities “aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”.

Nguyen Trung Ton and Truong Minh Duc were sentenced to 12 years in prison during the April trial, while Nguyen Bac Truyen received a 11-year prison sentence and Pham Van Troi a 7-year sentence. [read more]

Is Facebook helping Vietnam’s crackdown on pro-democracy activists?

02.06.2018 By David Hutt (Asia Times) - Activists say the US social media giant is obliging Communist Party requests to block and take down democracy and rights-related content.

Social media giant Facebook is under pressure worldwide to censor content deemed as offensive. In most democratic nations, this means restricting hate speech and stopping the spread of overtly “fake news.”

In Vietnam, however, the ruling Communist Party has argued that pro-democracy and pro-human rights content is political destabilizing and even illegal, a view with which Facebook appears to have acquiesced. [read more]

Vietnam Blogger 'Mother Mushroom' in Hunger Strike Over Prison Treatment

01.06.2018 (RFA) - Jailed Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known also as “Mother Mushroom” has launched a hunger strike in protest at her treatment in prison, refusing to eat prison food she says sickens her, her mother told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Friday.

Quynh — who had published a blog under the  handle Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom — was arrested Oct. 10, 2016 and was sentenced in June 2017 to a decade in jail on charges of spreading “propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. [read more]

Ho Chi Minh City, land expropriation in Thủ Thiêm, 15,000 households without a home

28.05.2018 by Nguyen Hung (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) – About 15,000 households are currently without a home due to an urban development plan Ho Chi Minh City intends to implement in Thủ Thiêm, in the city’s District 2.

Finding themselves in a state of bankruptcy (sạc nghiệp) and homeless, former residents have been protesting the inadequate compensation given to them by the city government, which has been taking land and property from residents by virtue of agreements signed with real estate companies.

Through threats and pressures, the authorities have taken properties at low prices, selling hundreds of hectares of land to investors in exchange for huge amounts of money. Sometimes, they got 300 times the value of real estate and split the money with other "interest parties".

This month, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee asked the agencies involved in this project to expropriate the lands that belonged to the Catholic community. [read more]

2018 Havel Prize Celebrates a Vietnamese Musician

27.05.2018 (HRF) - OSLO — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce the third of three recipients of the 2018 Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent, Vietnamese pop star and democracy advocate Mai Khoi. HRF delayed this announcement for fear that the Vietnamese government would ban Mai from traveling as a result of her pro-democracy activism. Mai will be recognized in a ceremony during the 2018 Oslo Freedom Forum on Wednesday, May 30, at Latter Theater, alongside the two other 2018 Laureates, underground group Belarus Free Theatre and South Sudanese musician and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal. “Mai Khoi is outstanding in her commitment to human rights,” said Havel Prize Committee Chairman Thor Halvorssen. “Through her music and her campaigns, she has put civil liberties and democracy on the forefront of public conversation in Vietnam.” [read more]

Japan: Urge Vietnam to Respect Human Rights

27.05.2018 (HRW) - Tokyo – Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should pressure Vietnam to immediately end its crackdown on peaceful activists and improve its severely deteriorating rights record, Human Rights Watch said today. Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang will visit Japan from May 29 to June 2, 2018.

“Vietnam’s government remains one of the most repressive in the world,” said Kanae Doi, Japan director. “As the largest bilateral donor to Vietnam, Japan has both the opportunity and the obligation to speak out about Vietnam’s abuses against its own citizens.” [read more]

To Vietnam, Freedom of Expression Is a ‘National Security Offense’

25.05.2018 Sang Hyuk Park / Olivia Enos (The Daily Signal) - “In Vietnam, there is no such thing as a ‘prisoner of conscience,’ and there’s no such thing as people being arrested for ‘freely expressing opinion,’” Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters in April. The exact opposite is true.

In einem kürzlich veröffentlichten Bericht von Amnesty International wurden 97 bekannte gewaltlose politische Gefangene in Vietnam aufgeführt, die alle wegen einer Anklage wegen nationaler Sicherheit wegen der friedlichen Ausübung ihrer Rechte strafrechtlich verfolgt wurden oder zu harten Haftstrafen verurteilt wurden. [read more]

Vietnamese Court Upholds Sentences of Hoa Hao Buddhists Convicted For ‘Disrupting Public Order

24.05.2018 (RFA) - An appeals court in Vietnam on Thursday upheld the jail sentences of six members of an unofficial branch of Vietnam’s Hoa Hao Buddhist community convicted in February in the country’s An Giang province on charges of disrupting public order during a confrontation with authorities last year, the daughter of one of the Buddhists said.

Bui Van Trung and Bui Van Tham were sentenced to six years in prison, Nguyen Hoang Nam was given four years, Le Thi Hong Hạnh and Bui Thi Bich Tuyen three years, and Le Thi Hen a two-year sentence suspended on account of her poor health.

Security forces set up checkpoints near the courthouse to prevent those who wanted to attend the “public” trial, Bui Van Trung’s daughter Bui Thi Tham, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. [read more]

U.S. raises concerns about Vietnam's proposed cybersecurity law

24.05.2018 By Mai Nguyen, James Pearson  (Reuters) - HANOI - The United States has raised concerns with Vietnam about its proposed cybersecurity law, the U.S. Embassy said on Thursday, amid activists’ fears the new legislation will cause economic harm and crackdown on online dissent in the communist-ruled country.

The concerns were conveyed by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish in a meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue. [read more]

Vietnamese Rights Lawyer Stripped of His License to Practice

24.05.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese human rights lawyer Vo An Don has been stripped of his license to practice law in a ruling received on Thursday from the national Vietnam Bar Association, Don told RFA’s Vietnamese Service today.

The decision upheld a ruling made last year by the local Phu Yen Lawyers’ Association striking his name from its lists for posting a comment on his Facebook page saying lawyers in Vietnam regularly use payoffs to win cases for their clients.

Don, a lawyer based in Vietnam’s coastal Phu Yen province, has defended defendants in high-profile cases including blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known as Mother Mushroom, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in June 2017 for “spreading propaganda against the state.” [read more]

Vietnamese Dissident Questioned Over Banned Books

23.05.2018 (RFA) - Police in Vietnam’s northeastern port city of Hai Phong  brought a dissident writer and former political prisoner in for questioning on Wednesday after a young man brought three copies of a politically sensitive book to his home, asking the man to “explain” them to him.

Police arrived almost immediately after the writer, Nguyen Xuan Nghia, was handed the copies of Politics For Everyone, banned by authorities after being published last year by activist blogger Pham Doan Trang, Nghia told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. [read more]

Vietnamese Women Chain Themselves Inside Homes to Protest Evictions in Quang Nam Province

22.05.2018 (RFA) - About 10 Vietnamese women evicted by local government authorities in Dien Ban village in central Vietnam’s Quang Nam province chained themselves inside their homes on Tuesday to prevent police from forcibly removing them.

The women chained themselves in protest against what they consider low compensation of 720,000 dong (U.S. $31.50) per square meter for their property, though the country’s 2013 Land Law specifies that the rate should be 3 million dong (U.S. $131) per square meter, Dang Quoc Minh, one of the evictees, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.

The local government wrote on the women’s official eviction notice that the land was supposed to be handed over on June 30, 2014, when in fact it was transferred between June and November 2015, she said. [read more]

Vietnam set to tighten clamps on Facebook and Google, threatening dissidents

18.05.2018 Mai Nguyen, Jonathan Weber (Reuters) - HANOI/SINGAPORE - A struggle over internet laws in Vietnam is pitting a government keen on maintaining tight control against U.S. technology companies trying to fight off onerous new rules - with the country’s online dissidents among the biggest losers.

The latest conflict centers on new cybersecurity legislation set for a vote by Vietnamese lawmakers later this month. It aims to impose new legal requirements on internet companies, and hardens policing of online dissent. [read more]

2018 U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue

17.05.2018 (US Department of State) - Today, the Department of State hosted the 22nd session of the U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue. Ambassador Michael Kozak of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Director General Pham Hai Anh of the Department of International Organizations in the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs led their respective delegations in the Dialogue.

The Dialogue covered a wide range of human rights issues, including the importance of continued progress on legal reform efforts, rule of law, freedom of expression and assembly, religious freedom, labor rights, rights of vulnerable populations, multilateral cooperation, as well as individual cases of concern. [read more]

Vietnam: Environmentalists targeted by manhunt for ‘abusing democratic freedoms’

17.05.2018 (Asian Correspondent) - ENVIRONMENTAL rights defender Hoang Duc Binh has been arrested by the Vietnamese government for supposedly “abusing democratic freedoms” after he organised a protest to mark a year since Taiwanese steel giant Formosa caused a major environmental disaster.

According to human rights NGO Frontline Defenders, Hoang Duc Binh was violently dragged from his car and arrested on Monday by Vietnamese authorities in the northern province of Nghe An, over the protest march held early April, on the anniversary of a toxic waste spill from the Formosa plant.

The government is charging him with “resisting persons in the performance of their duties” and “abusing democratic freedoms.” [read more]

Provincial Police Level Phony Charges Against Vietnamese Catholics Attacked by Thugs

17.05.2018 (RFA) - A Vietnamese Catholic priest and members of his parish in north-central Vietnam’s Nghe An province have submitted a letter to local authorities asking that they be allowed to provide testimony on behalf of another parishioner whom authorities are prosecuting on phony charges related to a land dispute incident.

Father Nguyen Duc Nhan and the members of Ke Gai parish under the Vinh diocese in Hung Nguyen district’s Hung Tay commune submitted the letter on May 11 about fellow church member Vo Dinh Phuc, accused of “illegally detaining other people.” [read more]

Former Vietnamese Prisoner of Conscience Do Thi Minh Hanh Barred from Going to Germany

17.05.2018 (Defend the Defenders) - On May 16, Vietnam’s security forces in Ho Chi Minh City blocked former prisoner of conscience Do Thi Minh Hanh from taking an international flight to Germany to visit her mother.

Speaking with Defend the Defenders, Ms. Hanh, incumbent president of the independent Viet Labor Movement, said security forces in the Tan Son Nhat International Airport stopped her at a border gate when she was to board to a flight of the Turkish Airline.

The reason for barring was national security, security officers said, adding the ban imposed on her was renewed in May. [read more]

Five Lawyers Call on Vietnam’s Government to Provide Proper Treatment for Jailed Prisoner of Conscience Tran Hoang Phuc

17.05.2018 (Defend the Defenders) - Five Vietnamese lawyers have issued a joint statement calling on the authorities to provide proper medical treatment for jailed prisoner of conscience Tran Hoang Phuc.

Mr. Phuc, 24, who was sentenced to six years in prison and four years of probation by the Hanoi People’s Court in his first-instance hearing on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code on March 31 this year, is suffering from hepatitis C.

Phucneeds special and timely treatment for his disease, otherwise his disease may develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer, said lawyers Trinh Vinh Phuc, Nguyen Van Mieng, Dang Dinh Manh, Doan Thai Duyen Hai and Le Van Luan. All of them are lawyers defending for Phuc and Vu Quang Thuan and Nguyen Van Dien in the same case. [read more]

Catholics against the expropriation of Thủ Thiêm Parish

11.05.2018 Thanh Thao (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City approved a major urban development plan in 1996. Since then the authorities have tried to expropriate land. For parishioners, the authorities want to buy cheap and sell to red capitalists. “I have a duty to manage parish land and sacrifice my life to protect the flock,” said the local vicar.

Through intimidation and threats, the authorities in Ho Chi Minh City (Sài Gòn) have been trying to expropriate land owned by Thủ Thiêm parish.

Together with the vicar, Fr JB Lê Đăng Niệm, parishioners and nuns have fought back, defending the legitimate property rights of the local Catholic community against a large-scale development plan adopted in 1996 by the city.

Thủ Thiêm Parish was founded in 1859. It is located on the banks of the Sài Gòn River, in the homonymous district, next to the city centre and is the target of "red capitalists" and municipal authorities. [read more]

Católicos contra la expropiación de la parroquia de Thủ Thiêm

11.05.2018 Thanh Thao (AsiaNews) - En 1996 las autoridades de Ho Chi Ming City habían aprobado un imponente proyecto urbano. Desde entonces intentan apoderarse de la tierra. Los parroquianos: “Amenazas para comprar barato y revender a los capitalistas rojos”. El vicario: “Tengo el deber de gestionar la tierra de la parroquia y de sacrificar mi vida para proteger a mi grey”.

A través de intimidaciones y amenazas, las autoridades de Thủ Thiêm. Junto al vicario, el p. JB. Lê Đăng Niệm, los fieles y las religiosas reafirman sus legítimos derechos de propiedad de la comunidad católica y desde 1996 intentan oponerse a la construcción de un imponente complejo urbano. La parroquia de Thủ Thiêm fue fundada en 1859. Situada en la ribera del río Saigón, el homónimo barrio se encuentra frente al centro de la ciudad y es objeto del deseo de los “capitalistas rojos” y del gobierno ciudadano. [seguir leyendo]

Nuns beaten in Vietnam at peaceful protest

11.05.2018 By Eno Adeogun (Premier Christian Radio) - A group of Catholic nuns protesting construction on land belonging to their congregation have been assaulted by unknown assailants.

The incident occurred after the nuns of the Sisters of St Paul in Hanoi carried banners on 8th May and demanded that the authorities halt the planned construction.

According to the Association to Protect Freedom of Religion, the nuns marched to the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee Office and the Tran Hung Dao Ward Office but were confronted by "thugs" that insulted and beat the nuns with batons.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received numerous reports which indicate that assailants are commonly used by police and authorities in Vietnam to intimidate, harass and assault religious communities [read more]

Vietnam presiona a religiosas para expropiar sus conventos

10.05.2018 Redacción (ACI Prensa) - El Gobierno de Vietnam está presionando a dos comunidades de religiosas en las ciudades de Hanoi y Saigón para expropiar sus conventos.

En Hanoi, capital del país, decenas de religiosas de las Hermanas de San Pablo protestaron el 9 de mayo en las calles y denunciaron la construcción ilegal de un complejo comercial en el terreno de su convento.

La construcción estuvo detenida gracias al reclamo del Arzobispo de Hanoi, Cardenal Peter Nguyễn Văn Nhơn, sin embargo, fue reiniciada el martes 8. Ese día una de las hermanas intentó parar a los obreros, pero la golpearon y la dejaron inconsciente. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam jails Facebook user for ‘anti-state propaganda’ posts

10.05.2018 (New York Post) - HANOI — Vietnam has jailed a Facebook user for 4-1/2 years over posts that “distorted” the political situation in the Southeast Asian country, a branch of the ruling Communist Party said.

At a one-day trial on Wednesday, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City convicted 56-year-old Bui Hieu Vo of carrying out anti-state propaganda, according to a statement posted on the website of the party’s Ho Chi Minh City branch. [read more]

Prisoner of Conscience Tran Anh Kim Suffers Serious Diseases while Serving 13-year Imprisonment

05.05.2018 (Defend the Defenders) - Vietnamese prisoner of conscience Tran Anh Kim, who is serving his 13-year prison sentence on alleged subversion, is suffering a number of serious diseases, including prostate glandinflammation, according to his wife Nguyen Thi Thom.

After being sentenced to 13 years in prison and four years under house arrest in 2016, Mr. Kim, 69, was sent to Prison camp No. 5 in the central province of Thanh Hoa, about 300 km from his native province of Thai Binh. [read more]

Vietnam Tightens the Screws on the Internet

04.05.2018 By: David Brown (Asia Sentinel) - Vietnam’s legislature is expected to vote on a national cybersecurity law by May 12. If enacted, the new law won’t be good for the economy or for people who vent dissident opinions online. It will renege on commitments Vietnam has made to the World Trade Organization, to the European Union and to its partners in the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The planned law could prevent Vietnam’s fast-growing IT sector from linking into global supply chains that create digital content. [read more]

La presse censurée en chansons

04.05.2018 (Slate) - Alors que de nombreux régimes exercent une censure implacable sur les organes de presse et internet, des journalistes mettent leurs critiques en musique pour les faire tourner via des plateformes de streaming musical type Spotify ou Deezer.

Avec The Uncensored Playlist (La Playlist non censurée), c'est le journalisme qui s'invite dans les tubes populaires.

Lancé le 12 mars 2018, lors de la journée mondiale contre la censure sur internet, le projet, fruit d'une initiative menée conjointement par Reporters sans frontières Allemagne et DDB Berlin, consiste à faire passer sous le manteau, ou plus exactement sur les ondes, des articles de presse qui seraient tombés sous le coup de la censure et n'auraient pu être diffusés par voie médiatique dans le pays d'origine de leurs rédacteurs. [en savoir plus]

Report: Vietnam's Relentless Repression of Montagnard Christians

03.05.2018 (Campaign To Abolish Torture In Vietnam- CAT-VN) - Press Release - Indigenous Montagnards Targeted for Religious and Political Persecution.

Vietnamese authorities continue to target indigenous minority Christians known as Montagnards for harsh persecution, according to a 25-page report published today by the Montagnard Human Rights Organization (MHRO) and the Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam (CAT-VN).

“We Montagnards are treated like enemies in our homeland,” said Nay Rong, executive director of the Montagnard Human Rights Organization. “If we try to practice our religion independently or resist confiscation of our land, we are accused of being ‘spies’ or wanting to overthrow the government.” [read more]

The Uncensored Playlist: how​ ​news​ ​is being turned into​ ​pop to bypass repressive regimes

03.05.2018 Derek Robertson (The Guardian) - Music streaming services such as Spotify are freely available even where social media and search engines are banned, so the Uncensored Playlist has recruited journalists from five repressive regimes to spread the news via song.

Journalist Chang Ping remembers his first brush with Chinese press censorship. “In early 1998, I sent a reporter in Beijing to interview rock singer Cui Jian, to talk about the difficulty of revolt. The propaganda department was very unhappy about it and chided me harshly; I was criticised for ‘promoting a capitalist view of the press’.” [read more]

Vietnamese Environmental Activist’s Sentence Upheld on Appeal

24.04.2018 (RFA) - An appeals court in Vietnam’s central Nghe An province today upheld a 14-year prison term handed in February to environmental activist Hoang Duc Binh, sending him back to prison to serve his sentence, Binh’s lawyer told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.

Binh, a blogger on environmental issues, had been charged under Articles 257 and 258 of Vietnam’s penal code for “abusing democratic freedoms” and obstructing officials in the performance of their duties, sources said.

He was arrested on May 15, 2017, by police officers who dragged him from a car more than a year after organizing protests over the government’s response to a waste spill the year before by a Taiwan-owned Formosa Plastics Group steel plant. [read more]

Was wir von einer Datenbank politischer Gefangener in Vietnam lernen können

22.04.2018 Geschrieben von Mong Palatino, Übersetzt von Alice Scherlies (Global Voices) - Die im Januar 2018 ins Leben gerufene vietnamesische Datenbank für politische Gefangene stellt ausführliche und aktualisierte Informationen über politische Gefangene des Landes zur Verfügung.

Erschaffen von 88 Project, einer Gruppe, die sich für die Unterstützung von Gefangenen und deren Familien einsetzt, listet die Webseite zurzeit 113 sich in Haft befindende Aktivisten auf, von denen 23 vor einem Ermittlungsverfahren stehen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamese pastor imprisoned for faith says his suffering was a 'gift from God'

20.04.2018 (Christian Today) - A Vietnamese pastor who was jailed for his faith has related the intense abuse he experienced in jail, but said that his imprisonment was a 'gift' from God.

Evangelical pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh was charged in 2011 with 'undermining national solidarity' for violating a preaching ban through his ministry in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Chinh had also been an outspoken critic of the government and an advocate for persecuted believers. [read more]

En plena represión contra el desacuerdo, dictan largas condenas a seis activistas de derechos humanos vietnamitas

16.04.2018 Escrito por Loa, Traducido por Gabriela Garcia Calderon Orbe (Global Voices) - Seis activistas recibieron sentencias de entre siete y 15 años de cárcel acusados de subversión tras un juicio de duró un día en Hanói. Son las mayores sanciones que emite el Estado unipartidista vietnamita en años.

Nguyễn Văn Đài, abogado de derechos humanos de 48 años, recibió la mayor sentencia de 15 años de prisión y cinco años de arresto domiciliario. [seguir leyendo]

Viet Nam: UN experts call for change after jailing of rights defenders

12.04.2018 (OHCHR) - GENEVA – A group of UN experts* has urged Viet Nam not to crackdown on civil society or stifle dissent after the jailing of seven human rights defenders for "conducting activities to overthrow the people's government".

Six human rights defenders were each sentenced to between seven and 15 years in prison followed by a period of house arrest, last 5 April. The founder of Brotherhood for Democracy, Nguyen Van Dai, received the longest sentence: 15 years in prison and five years of house arrest. The defenders have two weeks to appeal against the sentences. [read more]

Vietnam Jails 3 More Democracy Activists, Drawing Condemnation From Rights Defenders

12.04.2018 (RFA) - Vietnam jailed three democracy activists after brief, separate trials on Thursday, adding to a growing list of political prisoners from a major crackdown on critics and dissenters in the one-party state that has drawn widespread international criticism.

State-run Vietnamnet news site said Tran Thi Xuan of Ha Tinh Province was sentenced to nine years on charges of subversion, Nguyen Viet Dung of Nghe An Province was jailed for seven years posting "anti-state propaganda" on Facebook, and Vu Van Hung of Hanoi was put away for one year for "deliberately causing injury."

Xuan and Vu were members of the Brotherhood for Democracy grouping, seven of whose members were given harsh sentences for attempting to overthrow the state in show trials last week. Dung, founder of the banned Republican Party in Vietnam, was jailed for "anti-state activity" under Article 88 of the criminal code, a catch-all Hanoi uses to stifle dissent. [read more]

Two Vietnam activists jailed amid government crackdown

12.04.2018 Alejandra Lopez (The National) - WO activists have been handed lengthy prison sentences in Vietnam as communist authorities step up their crackdown on dissent.

The pair were jailed for nine years and seven years respectively after separate trials for attempting to overthrow the government and spreading anti-state propaganda.

Nguyen Viet Dung, 32, was convicted by a court in Nghe An province of spreading anti-state propaganda by posting on Facebook and his blog which the judges say defamed the country’s leaders.

Meanwhile, the People’s Court in neighbouring Ha Tinh province convicted Tran Thi Xuan, 42, of attempting to overthrow the government and sentenced her to nine years in prison and five years of house arrest. [read more]

Schauprozess - Regierungskritiker in Vietnam verurteilt

10.04.2018 (DW) - Nguyen Van Tuc plane, die Regierung in Vietnam zu stürzen, so die Einschätzung der Richter. Sie verurteilten den Dissidenten zu 13 Jahren Gefängnis. Menschenrechtler hingegen sehen Tuc als Vorkämpfer für Demokratie.

Ein Gericht im Norden Vietnams hat den 54-jährigen Regimekritiker Nguyen Van Tuc wegen "Aufwiegelung" zu einer hohen Haftstrafe verurteilt. Das Gericht sah ihn schuldig nach Artikel 79 des Strafgesetzes, in dem es um den Sturz der Regierung geht.

Tuc hat die Anschuldigungen vor Gericht zurückgewiesen: "Er sagte, er sei unschuldig, weil der Kampf für Demokratie und Menschenrechte kein Verbrechen ist", sagte Tucs Tochter. [Weiterlesen]

Menschenrechtsaktivisten in Asien klagen Mark Zuckerberg an

10.04.2018 von Mathias Peer (Wirtschatfswoche) - Bangkok - Facebook gerät in Asien zunehmend unter Druck: Aktivisten werfen Mark Zuckerberg vor, autoritäre Regime zu stützen und zu wenig gegen Rassenhass zu tun.

Auf den Facebook-Seiten von Regimegegnern herrschte in Vietnam vergangene Woche Aktivisten zufolge eine erstaunliche Ruhe. Während sechs Menschenrechtler zu langjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt wurden, blieben prominente Kritiker der kommunistischen Regierung in dem sozialen Netzwerk offenbar still – und zwar unfreiwillig, wie ein am Dienstag veröffentlichter offener Brief an Facebook-Chef Mark Zuckerberg behauptet.

Die Accounts der Kritiker seien während des aufsehenerregenden Prozesses suspendiert worden, heißt es in dem gemeinsamen Schreiben von mehreren Dutzend Menschenrechtlern und Bürgerjournalisten. Sie werfen Facebook vor, die Arbeit des Regimes zu übernehmen – und Meinungen von Dissidenten zu unterdrücken. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamese Activists, Journalists Cry Foul After Being Hit by Facebook’s Takedown Policy

09.04.2018 By Paul Eckert (RFA) - Dozens of Vietnamese civil society organizations, human rights activists and journalists hit out at Facebook on Monday, telling CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an open letter that his company was doing communist Hanoi’s bidding by shuttering their accounts during a severe crackdown on dissent in the one-party state.

“We urge you to reconsider your company’s aggressive practices that could silence human rights activists and citizen journalists in Vietnam,” wrote dozens of NGOs, activists and journalists in a letter addressed to Zuckerberg on the eve of his scheduled appearance before U.S. lawmakers in Washington. [read more]

Gyde Jensen setzt sich für Nguyen Bac Truyen ein

09.04.2018 (Deutscher Bundestag) - Die Vorsitzende des Menschenrechtsausschusses des Deutschen Bundestages, Gyde Jensen (FDP), fordert die Revision des Prozesses gegen den vietnamesischen Rechtsanwalt Nguyen Bac Truyen. „Ich möchte erreichen, dass er freigelassen wird“, sagt Jensen am Montag, 9. April 2018. Vier Tage zuvor war Nguyen Bac Truyen von einem Gericht in Hanoi zu elf Jahren Haft und drei Jahren Hausarrest verurteilt worden. Mit ihm wurden sechs weitere Menschenrechtsverteidiger zu mehrjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt. Hinter so kurzen Prozesszeiten stecke Absicht, um solche Fälle schnell und mit möglichst wenig Öffentlichkeit abzuwickeln. [Weiterlesen]

Das Schicksal der Regimekritiker in Vietnam: Haft fernab der Heimat

09.04.2018 Hai Tran (Forum Vietnam 21) - Die Regimekritiker in Vietnam müssen nicht nur mit unverhältnismäßig hohen Gefängnisstrafen rechnen, in der Regel von 10 bis zu 15 Jahren Haftstrafe mit anschließend bis zu 5 Jahren Hausarrest, sie werden auch von ihren Familienangehörigen isoliert, indem man sie ohne Ankündigung von einem Gefängnis in ein fern von ihrer Heimat liegendes Gefängnis verlegt. Die Angehörigen erfahren dies nur, nachdem sie vergeblich versucht haben, ihre Tochter, ihren Sohn oder Ehefrau oder Ehemann im Gefängnis zu besuchen. Im März dieses Jahres sind drei neue Fälle bekannt geworden, in denen die Dissidenten in die Gefängnisse fernab der Familie und Heimat verlegt worden sind, ihre Familienangehörige sind dadurch mitbestraft. [Weiterlesen]

Parodie de justice au Vietnam pour six dissidents sacrifiés

06.04.2018 (Actualitté) - Présentés par les autorités comme dissidents, ils sont six à avoir été condamnés ce 5 avril. Des peines de prison qui vont de 7 à 15 ans — des sanctions terribles. Le régime communiste les accusait d’avoir tenté de renverser le gouvernement : ils écopent des plus lourdes peines vues ces dernières années.

«Le Viêt Nam est l’un des pays d’Asie du Sud-Est incarcérant le plus de militants pacifiques - une distinction honteuse à laquelle aucune nation ne devrait aspirer», assurait James Gomez, directeur Asie du Sud-Est et Océanie à Amnesty International. Nguyên Hoàng Bao Viêt, Membre du Comité des Ecrivains et Ecrivaines en Prison et du Centre PEN Suisse romand, s’indigne de cette « parodie de justice». Il écrit à ActuaLitté, dénonçant à l’instar d’Amnesty International, l’attitude d’Hanoï. [en savoir plus]

Menschenrechtsbeauftragte Kofler zur Verurteilung von vietnamesischen Menschenrechtsaktivisten

06.04.2018 (Auswaertiges Amt) - Die Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Bärbel Kofler, sagte zur Verurteilung von Nguyen Bac Truyen, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thu Ha, Pham Van Troi, Truong Minh Duc und Nguyen Trung Ton zu hohen Haftstrafen heute (06.04.):

Das Urteil gegen sechs vietnamesische Bürgerrechtler gibt Anlass zu Sorge. Die Verurteilten setzen sich für eine Stärkung der Rechtsstaatlichkeit, für Transparenz der öffentlichen Verwaltung und für mehr zivilgesellschaftliche Teilhabe ein – kurz: für ein besseres Vietnam. Sie tun das unter Wahrnehmung jener Rechte, die ausdrücklich durch die vietnamesische Verfassung garantiert werden und zu deren Umsetzung Vietnam sich in internationalen Verträgen selbst verpflichtet hat: Meinungsfreiheit, Pressefreiheit, Vereinigungsfreiheit. Für dieses Engagement für die Zukunft Vietnams müssen sie jetzt ins Gefängnis. [Weiterlesen]

Marie-Luise Dött fordert die Freilassung des vietnamesischen Rechtsanwalts Nguyen Van Dai

06.04.2018 (marie-luise-doett.de) - Die Bundestagsabgeordnete Marie-Luise Dött erklärt zu der Verurteilung des vietnamesischen Rechtsanwalts Nguyen Van Dai und fünf anderen Menschenrechtlern am 6. April 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam:

„Mit Bestürzung habe ich  heute erfahren, dass der bekannte Menschenrechtsanwalt Nguyen Van Dai vom Volksgericht in Hanoi wegen „Aktivitäten zum Umsturz der Volksregierung“ zu 15 Jahren Haft und 5 weiteren Jahren Hausarrest verurteilt worden ist. Fünf weitere Menschenrechtler wurden in diesem Prozess zu insgesamt 51 Jahren Haft verurteilt. In diesem unfairen Prozess wurden sie von dem politisch motivierten Gericht nicht gehört. Ich fordere Vietnam auf, Nguyen Van Dai und seine Freunde sofort und bedingungslos freizulassen, und internationale Verpflichtungen nach dem UN Internationalen Pakt für Bürgerliche und Politische Rechte, dem Vietnam beigetreten ist, einzuhalten. [Weiterlesen]

Richterbund über Verurteilung von Bürgerrechtlern in Vietnam bestürzt

06.04.2018 (Deutscher Richterbund) - Berlin. Der Deutsche Richterbund (DRB) hat die Verurteilung von Menschenrechtsaktivisten in Vietnam scharf kritisiert. Am Donnerstag waren in Hanoi sechs Bürgerrechtler zu langjährigen Haftstrafen zwischen 7 und 15 Jahren verurteilt worden. Unter ihnen befindet sich auch Rechtsanwalt Nguyen Van Dai, dem der Deutsche Richterbund im Jahr 2017 in Abwesenheit den DRB-Menschenrechtspreis als Würdigung für seinen Einsatz verliehen hat.

„Diese Verurteilungen sind nicht zu rechtfertigen“, sagte der Vorsitzende des Deutschen Richterbundes, Jens Gnisa, am Freitag. „Alle Verurteilten haben sich lediglich für unverbrüchliche Freiheitsrechte, Rechtsstaatlichkeit und Demokratie eingesetzt.“ Gnisa sagte: „Die Wahrnehmung dieser Rechte, zu denen sich Vietnam selbst verpflichtet hat, kann nicht strafrechtlich verfolgt werden.“ [Weiterlesen]

Dissidenten in Vietnam verurteilt - 15 Jahre für den Wunsch nach Rechten

06.04.2018 Marina Mai (taz) - BERLIN | Wegen „Umsturzversuchen“ sind sechs vietnamesische Bürgerrechtler zu langen Haftstrafen verurteilt worden. Ihr Delikt: ein Manifest für Demokratie.

Das Volksgericht in Hanoi hat am Donnerstag sechs vietnamesische Bürgerrechtler wegen „Vorbereitung eines Umsturzversuches“ zu Freiheitsstrafen zwischen sieben und 15 Jahren verurteilt. Der Prozess wurde von internationalen Diplomaten beobachtet. Für das Delikt wäre nach dem Gesetz auch die Todesstrafe möglich gewesen.

Als Umsturzversuch interpretierten die Richter die Gründung eines Netzwerkes für Demokratie, das ein Manifest herausgegeben hatte. Darin wird etwa die Schaffung eines Mehrparteiensystems, eine Gewaltenteilung und die Sicherung von bürgerlichen Rechten gefordert. Darin sah das Gericht eine Gefahr „für die Existenz der Regierung“. [Weiterlesen]

Statement by the Spokesperson on the sentencing of human rights activists in Vietnam

05.04.2018 (EEAS) - The sentencing today of Mr Nguyen Van Dai, Ms Le Thu Ha, Mr Pham Van Troi, Mr Nguyen Trung Ton, Mr Nguyen Bac Truyen and Mr Truong Minh Duc as part of an extensive enforcement of the national security provisions of the Penal Code continues the negative trend of prosecuting and sentencing human rights activists and bloggers in Vietnam.

The European Union is strongly committed to the protection of human rights defenders across the world. We will continue to monitor and work with the authorities and all relevant stakeholders to improve the human rights situation in Vietnam. [read more]

La UE dice que las condenas a seis activistas en Vietnam violan las convenciones internacionales de DDHH

05.04.2018 (Europa Press) - La Unión Europea (UE) ha denunciado este jueves que las condenas dictadas contra el abogado vietnamita de Derechos Humanos Nguyen Van Dai y otros cinco activistas violan las convenciones internacionales de Derechos Humanos suscritas por Vietnam.

La UE dice que las condenas a seis activistas en Vietnam violan las convenciones internacionales de DDHH

Dai, de 48 años, ha sido sentenciado a 15 años de cárcel por incitar al "derrocamiento del Gobierno", mientras que los otros cinco activistas --Le Thu Ha, Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Bac Truyen y Truong Minh Duc-- que le acompañaban tendrán que cumplir entre 7 y 12 años de prisión. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam jails six pro-democracy activists

05.04.2018 (SBS) - A court in Vietnam has handed down a total of 66 years in prison and 17 years under house arrest to six pro-democracy activists.

Nguyen Van Dai, a prominent human rights lawyer, received 15 years in prison and five years under house arrest, his lawyer Doan Thai Duyen Hai told the DPA press agency.

He was arrested in 2007 and jailed for fours years for "anti-state propaganda". Two years after his release, in 2013, he founded the Brotherhood for Democracy.

A few foreign diplomats, including from Australia, Germany, the EU and US, were allowed to attend the trial although the court refused access to foreign media. [read more]

Ingresa en prisión un abogado y activista vietnamita acusado de intentar derrocar al Gobierno

05.04.2018 (Europa Press) - HANOI (Reuters/EP) - El abogado vietnamita de Derechos Humanos Nguyen Van Dai ha ingresado en prisión este jueves junto con otros cinco compañeros activistas, según ha confirmado su mujer. Dai, de 48 años, ha sido sentenciado a 15 años de cárcel por incitar al "derrocamiento del Gobierno". Los cinco activistas que le acompañaban tendrán que cumplir entre 7 y 12 años de prisión.

"Estoy muy decepcionada con el juicio y expresaré mi desacuerdo firmemente. Dai es inocente y ha defendido su inocencia hoy", ha declarado su esposa tras afirmar que recurrirá la sentencia. [seguir leyendo]

Six Vietnam activists jailed for attempt 'to overthrow state'

05.04.2018 (The Daily Mail) - Six activists were jailed for between seven and 15 years on Thursday for "attempting to overthrow the state", the harshest sentences in years as the communist country tightens its grip on critics.

The one-party state routinely locks up lawyers, bloggers and dissidents, but critics say a conservative leadership in charge since 2016 is a waging a crackdown that has sent a chill throughout the dissident community.The six defendants convicted Thursday, including prominent lawyer Nguyen Van Dai who got 15 years in jail, were sentenced after a one-day trial held under heavy security in the Vietnamese capital, lawyers told AFP. [read more]

Six Vietnamese bloggers get exceptionally long jail terms

05.04.2018 (RSF) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Vietnam’s partners to press for an end to the government’s intolerable current crackdown after a Hanoi people’s court passed sentences of fifteen, nine and seven years in prison on six bloggers at the end of a summary trial today.

Although bordering on farce, today’s proceedings ended with six bloggers who are members of Brotherhood for Democracy – a group that posts reports about human rights violations online – being sentenced to a total of 66 years in prison and 17 years under house arrest. [read more]

Lange Haftstrafen für sechs vietnamesische Regimekritiker

05.04.2018 (DW) - Im kommunistischen Vietnam müssen kritische Geister damit rechnen, als Aufrührer abgestempelt und entsprechend hart bestraft zu werden. Das ist auch bei dem Anwalt Nguyen Van Dai und seinen Mitstreitern nicht anders.

Ein Gericht in Vietnams Hauptstadt Hanoi hat sechs Regierungskritiker wegen Aufruhrs zu langen Haftstrafen verurteilt. Der prominente Menschenrechtsanwalt Nguyen Van Dai erhielt nach dem eintägigen Schauprozess mit 15 Jahren die härteste Strafe. Die anderen Dissidenten müssen für sieben bis zwölf Jahre ins Gefängnis, bei den meisten schließt sich auch noch ein mehrjähriger Hausarrest an. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: six blogueurs condamnés à des peines de prison d’une lourdeur sans précédent

05.04.2018  (RSF) - Aujourd’hui jeudi 5 avril, à l’issue d’une journée de procès qui confine à la parodie de justice, les six blogueurs proches de la Fraternité pour la démocratie (FPD), un groupe qui documente en ligne les violations des droits de l’homme au Vietnam, ont été condamnés à un total de 66 ans de prison et 17 ans de résidence surveillée par la Cour populaire de Hanoi.

Parmi les condamnés, le cofondateur du groupe, Nguyen Van Dai, écope de quinze ans de prison et cinq ans de résidence surveillée. Le journaliste Truong Minh Duc et le blogueur Nguyen Trung Ton ont chacun été condamnés à douze ans derrière les barreaux et trois ans sous surveillance. Nguyen Bac Truyen, un autre cofondateur de la FPD, devra passer onze ans en cellule et trois ans en liberté surveillée. La blogueuse Le Thu Ha écope de neuf ans de prison et deux ans de mise à l’épreuve, tandis que Pham Van Troi passera sept ans derrière les barreaux suivi d’un an sous surveillance.

RSF appelle les pays membres de l’Union européenne à mettre leur veto à la mise en place de l’accord de libre-échange UE-Vietnam, qui devrait être votée courant 2018. Après le vote d’une résolution d’urgence en décembre dernier, l’Europe se déshonorerait si pareil accord était adopté avec un Etat qui est devenu ces derniers mois l’un des pires prédateurs de la liberté d’informer. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam protestors clash with police ahead of activist trial

05.04.2018 By Agence France-Presse Hanoi (The Nation) - Several protesters were hauled off by plainclothes police in Vietnam Thursday as they marched to the trial of a prominent lawyer and five other activists charged with "attempting to overthrow the state".

The case against the pro-democracy activists, including high-profile lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, has garnered widespread attention in the one-party state, where a hardline leadership in place since 2016 is accused of cracking down on critics.

A group of about a dozen supporters were blocked by uniformed and plainclothes police Thursday morning as they marched toward the courthouse in central Hanoi.At least two were hauled into unmarked vans by plainclothes security agents and others put on a bus, according to an AFP reporter at the scene who was also questioned by authorities. [read more]

Amnesty publishes list of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam

05.04.2018 (Ekklesia) - There are at least 97 prisoners of conscience in jails in Vietnam, many of whom are kept incommunicado in squalid conditions and routinely subjected to torture or other ill-treatment, new research by Amnesty International has revealed.

Amnesty published a list of the 97 prisoners on the day before a high-profile trial of six further activists.

On Thursday 5 April 2018, six people will face trial in Hanoi City for their peaceful activism. They include five members of the 'Brotherhood for Democracy', a group of peaceful activists, as well as human rights defender Nguyen Bac Truyen. [read more]

Viêt-Nam. De nouvelles recherches recensent près de 100 prisonniers d'opinion, tandis que la répression s’intensifie

04.04.2018 (Amnesty International) - Au moins 97 prisonniers d'opinion languissent actuellement derrière les barreaux au Viêt-Nam, et un grand nombre d’entre eux sont détenus au secret dans des conditions sordides, et régulièrement soumis à la torture et à d’autres formes de mauvais traitements, selon de nouvelles recherches effectuées par Amnesty International.

« Le Viêt-Nam est l’un des pays d’Asie du Sud-Est incarcérant le plus de militants pacifiques - une distinction honteuse à laquelle aucune nation ne devrait aspirer. Les 97 prisonniers d'opinion dont Amnesty International a connaissance dans ce pays sont des femmes et des hommes courageux, privés de leur liberté pour n’avoir rien fait d’autre que défendre les droits humains », a déclaré James Gomez, directeur pour l’Asie du Sud-Est et l’Océanie à Amnesty International. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam tiene casi un centenar de presos de conciencia, según Amnistía

03.04.2018 (eldiario.es) - Al menos 97 personas están encarceladas en Vietnam por razones políticas, muchas de ellas incomunicadas en condiciones precarias y sujetas a tortura y otros maltratos, según denunció hoy Amnistía Internacional (AI).

Entre los presos se encuentran abogados, blogueros, activistas a favor de los derechos humanos, la democracia y el medioambiente, que pese a recurrir solo a medios pacíficos recibieron largas penas de cárcel, indicó AI en un nuevo informe. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: New Research Reveals Almost 100 Prisoners Of Conscience As Crackdown On Dissent Intensifies

03.04.2018 (Amnesty International) - There are at least 97 prisoners of conscience languishing in jails in Vietnam, many of whom are kept incommunicado in squalid conditions and routinely subjected to torture or other ill-treatment, new research by Amnesty International reveals today.

The organization is publishing the list on the day before six activists – including five people from the Brotherhood for Democracy group – are facing an unfair trial on trumped-up charges of “attempting to overthrow the people’s government.” They all risk lengthy jail sentences.

Authorities primarily targeted human rights defenders, religious followers and peaceful environmental, social and political activists – including individuals expressing themselves online. [read more]

Vietnam briefly detains dissident singer after European tour

27.03.2018 HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnamese singer and activist Do Nguyen Mai Khoi, an outspoken campaigner for free speech, was briefly detained at an airport in the capital Hanoi on Tuesday after flying home from Europe, her husband told Reuters.

Often dubbed a Vietnamese version of “Pussy Riot” or Lady Gaga because of her activism and provocative style, Mai Khoi was among dozens of dissidents on the watch-list of Communist-ruled Vietnam for her strong words against the system.

“When Mai Khoi landed at Noi Bai airport, at 9:15 am this morning, she texted me to say: ‘Love, I just landed’,” Mai Khoi’s Australian husband, Benjamin Swanton, posted on her Facebook page, which has some 46,000 followers. [read more]

Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Rights Activist - Pro-Democracy Campaigner Persecuted for Advocating Pluralism

26.03.2018 (HRW) - (New York) – Vietnam should drop all charges against the pro-democracy activist Nguyen Viet Dung and release him immediately, Human Rights Watch said today. The police arrested him in September 2017 and charged him with conducting propaganda against the state. The People’s Court of Nghe An province is scheduled to hear his case on March 28, 2018.

“Vietnam is wasting its time using the discredited charge of ‘propaganda against the state’ to silence dissenters,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. [read more]

Online Vietnam Democracy Group Slams Government Move to Try Dissidents

26.03.2018 (RFA) - The online Brotherhood for Democracy advocacy group today slammed Vietnamese authorities’ arrests and upcoming trial of five group members, calling the scheduled April 5 court hearing a violation of Vietnam’s international commitments to protect the peaceful expression of political views.

Writing in a Facebook posting on March 26, the Vietnam-based group said that the five members had been involved only in protecting the environment, promoting an open political system, and calling international attention to human rights abuses in the one-party communist state. [read more]

French President Emmanuel Macron must demand respect of human rights in Vietnam during Communist Party leader’s visit to France

24.03.2018 (VCHR) – Three France-based human rights organizations, the FIDH, the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) and the League for Human Rights (LDH) have sent an Open Letter to French President Emmanuel Macron on the occcasion of the visit of Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng to France (25 – 27 March 2018). On behalf of their organizations, Dimitris Christopoulos (FIDH President), Võ Văn Ái (VCHR President) and Malik Salemkour (President, LDH) urged the French President to raise serious human rights concerns in his meeting with the VCP leader. Specifically, they urged President Macron to press Vietnam to immediately release all prisoners of conscience, cease harassments and beatings of civil society activists, end religious persecution and repeal anti-human rights legislation. [read more]

Emmanuel Macron doit exiger le respect des droits de l’Homme au Vietnam lors de la visite du chef du Parti Communiste vietnamien

24.03.2018 (VCHR) – PARIS – Trois organisations basées en France, la FIDH, le Comité Vietnam pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (VCHR) et la Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH) ont écrit une Lettre Ouverte au Président français Emmanuel Macron à l’occasion de la venue à Paris du Secrétaire-général du Parti Communiste (PCV) du Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng pour une visite officielle en France (25 au 27 mars 2018). Au nom de leurs organisations, Dimitris Christopoulos (Président de la FIDH), Võ Văn Ái (Président du VCHR) et Malik Salemkour (Président de la LDH), appellent le Président français à soulever la question brûlante des droits de l’Homme lors de ses discussions avec le chef du PCV. En particulier, ils demandent au Président Macron de presser le Vietnam de libérer immédiatement tous les prisonniers de conscience, de cesser les harcèlements et passages à tabac des militants de la société civile, de mettre fin aux persécutions religieuses et d’abroger les lois anti-droits de l’Homme. [en savoir plus]

France asked to put “forbidden” questions to visiting Vietnamese leader

23.03.2018 (RSF) - When Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visits France next week, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the French authorities to ask him the questions that are forbidden in Vietnam, questions about his crackdown on the freedom to inform in his country.

Scheduled to arrive in Paris on 25 March for an official two-day visit at President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation, Trong has much more power than Vietnam’s president or prime minister. As the country’s real leader, he bears more responsibility than anyone else for the persecution of journalists and bloggers since his faction seized power within the party in 2016. [read more]

Vietnam : la France doit interpeller le chef du Parti communiste sur la répression de la liberté de la presse

23.03.2018 (RSF) - A l’occasion de la venue en France du secrétaire général du Parti communiste vietnamien à partir de dimanche, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) appelle les autorités à lui poser les questions interdites sur l’état déplorable de la liberté de la presse dans son pays.

Le secrétaire général du Parti communiste vietnamien, Nguyen Phu Trong, doit atterrir dimanche à Paris pour une visite officielle de deux jours, à l’invitation du président français Emmanuel Macron. Véritable tête du pouvoir au Vietnam, au-dessus des postes de président et de Premier ministre, il est, en tant que tel, le premier responsable de la terrible répression qui frappe journalistes et blogueurs depuis que son clan a pris le pouvoir au sein du parti en 2016. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam Transfers Political Prisoner Tran Thi Nga to Jail Far From Her Home Province

22.03.2018 (RFA) - Political prisoner Tran Thi Nga was transferred to a distant prison in Vietnam without informing her family, her partner, Phan Van Phong, told RFA's Vietnamese Service on Wednesday

Nga’s transfer is the second case this week in which a Vietnamese political prisoner has been moved to a jails far from his or her hometown, apparently to increase their isolation and make it difficult for family and friends to visit them. [read more]

Vietnam: UN experts concerned by threats against factory workers and labour activists

20.03.2018 (OHCHR) - GENEVA  – UN human rights experts* express their concern about reports that women workers at two Samsung Electronics factories in Viet Nam, as well as labour activists, have been subjected to intimidation and harassment after they raised concerns about working conditions at the plants.   

Among their concerns was the possible exposure of workers to toxic chemicals at the factories in Yen Phong Industrial Zone, Bac Ninh province, and Pho Yen Industrial Zone in Thai Nguyen province. [read more]

Vietnam Transfers Political Prisoner Nguyen Van Oai to Remote Jail

20.03.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese authorities have transferred prisoner of conscience Nguyen Van Oai to a remote prison far from his wife and hometown without notifying his family, his wife told RFA's Vietnamese Service on Monday.

"Oai is now in prison in Gia Trung of Gia Lai province," his wife Linh Chau told RFA.

"He is with other political prisoners and they make him do hard labor," she said by telephone. [read more]

Tag gegen Internetzensur: Verbotene Texte als Popsongs

12.03.2018 Ingo Dachwitz (Netzpolitik) - Mit Musik gegen Zensur: Reporter ohne Grenzen hat zum heutigen Tag gegen Internetzensur ein Album mit verbotenen Texten herausgebracht. Für die Aktion „Uncensored Playlist“ wurden in ihren Heimatländern zensierte Texte von fünf Autorinnen und Autoren aus Ägypten, China, Thailand, Usbekistan, Vietnam und Thailand in Popsongs verwandelt. Die Organisation will damit zum einen auf die zunehmende Bedrohung der Meinungsfreiheit im Internet durch staatliche Zensur aufmerksam machen. Zum anderen soll die Aktion aber auch Hoffnung machen und „beweisen, dass die Wahrheit auch wirklich immer einen Weg findet.“ Der inzwischen im deutschen Exil lebende Blogger Bùi Thanh Hiếu aus Vietnam macht bei der Aktion mit. [Weiterlesen]

Welttag der Internetzensur - Sag es mit Musik

11.03.2018 (SZ) - Zum Welttag gegen Internetzensur an diesem Montag verschafft die Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen ingesamt zehn in den Ländern ihrer Autoren verbotenen Texten internationales Gehör. Auch dort, wo sie eigentlich niemand sehen sollte, können die texte empfangen werden. Als Träger für die Schriften benutzt sie die Musik, als Transportmittel Streaming-Dienste. So entstand die "Uncensored Playlist".

Mitwirkende an dem Projekt sind vier Autorinnen und Autoren sowie ein Netzwerk. Der in Deutschland lebende Exil-Journalist Chang Ping aus China, ein Kritiker der Tibet-Politik seiner Heimat, darf dort schon seit 2008 nicht mehr arbeiten. Er hat unter anderem seine Dankesrede für den International Press Freedom Award 2015 vertont. Neben ihm finden sich auf der Playlist Texte der Usbekin Galima Bukharbaeva, der Ägypterin Basma Abdelaziz, des Bloggers Bui Thanh Hieu aus Vietnam und von Prachatai, ein Netzwerk für unabhängigen Journalismus aus Thailand. [Weiterlesen]

Prisoner of conscience Trần Thị Nga transferred to remote region during Lunar New Year

08.03.2018 CTV Danlambao * Translated by Jasmine Tran (Danlambao) - The Vietnamese government has transferred prisoner of conscience Trần Thị Nga from Hà Nam to Đắk Trung prison, which is located in a remote region of Cứ M'gar district, Đắk Lắk Province. Đắk Lắk is over a 1000 kilometres from Hà Nam.

On March 5th 2018, Mr Phan Văn Phong, Nga’s husband, informed us that prison officials had refused to pass on the necessities he had brought for Nga, as she had been transferred to another prison on February 28th (the 13th day of first month of the Lunar New Year). [read more]

Catholics attacked by 'Red Flags' for seeking explanation over school fees

03.03.2018 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - The militants of "Hội Cờ Đỏ" (Red Flags) attacked the parents of Catholic children excluded from a school in the Dien Doai municipality (Nghệ An province), after the families refused to pay what they have called "exorbitant fees". On February 23rd, the thugs of the pro-government group attacked the Catholics outside the institute's gates (photo), while the latter asked for a meeting with the school administrators. Several people were injured during "the sudden and violent" attack. [read more]

Persécution des chrétiens au Vietnam

03.03.2018 Aloys Evina, pasteur protestant (Le Journal Chrétien) - La persécution des chrétiens est en augmentation au Vietnam, où le pouvoir communiste exerce un contrôle accru sur les églises.

Les fonctionnaires du village ont violemment frappé un jeune chrétien appelé Dang pour l’inciter à renoncer à sa foi en Jésus.

Mais la réponse de Dang a été courte et claire: «Non! Je crois en Jésus!» Sept jours durant, les fonctionnaires du village le frappent constamment le matin à neuf heures et entre dix-sept et dix-huit heures. «Ils m’ont frappé à la tête, me tenant par les cheveux», a raconté Dang. Il a été gravement blessé à la tête. Sa femme ne lui a pas rendu visite, tant elle était terrifiée. Dang vit au Viêtnam dans une région montagneuse et isolée. [en savoir plus]

Pedían explicaciones sobre la rectitud de la escolástica, católicos agredidos por los ‘Banderas rojas’

03.03.2018 (AsiaNews) - Hanói (AsiaNews/RFA)- Los militantes de “Hội Cờ Đỏ” (banderas Rojas) agredieron a los padres de los niños católicos excluidos de una escuela estatal de Dien Doai (provincia de Nghệ An), después que las familias rechazaron pagar aquellas que definieron como “cuotas exorbitantes”. El pasado 23 de febrero, los matones del grupo pro-gobierno agredieron a los católicos fuera de los portones del instituto (foto), mientras que estos últimos pedían un encuentro con los administradores escolares. Diversas personas resultaron heridas durante el “imprevisto y violento ataque” [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam : la santé du pasteur Nguyen Trung Ton se détériore

03.03.2018 Isabelle Goepp (Le Journal Chrétien) - La santé de Nguyen Trung Ton, un pasteur chrétien qui défend la démocratie au Vietnam, est très mauvaise depuis qu’il a été emprisonné en juillet 2017. Selon son épouse, les blessures qu’il a subies au cours d’un passage à tabac quelques mois avant son arrestation ne seraient toujours pas guéries.

En février 2017, le pasteur Nguyen Trung Ton a été enlevé puis emmené par des assaillants inconnus dans une forêt d’ une région montagneuse de la province de Ha Tinh. Battus pendant des heures, il a finalement été abandonné avec des ligaments déchirés. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam activist in hiding after book interrogation

01.03.2018 (Daily Mail) - A high-profile Vietnamese writer says she has gone into hiding after being interrogated about her banned book and placed under de-facto house arrest by plainclothes police, vowing Thursday to continue pressing for democracy in the one-party state.

Activist Pham Doan Trang said she was held for questioning by security officials for several hours on Saturday over her most recent book "Politics for the Masses", which is outlawed in Vietnam and includes sections on democracy and political ideology.

Plainclothes police surrounded her home in Hanoi after her release late Saturday, she told AFP. [read more]

Vietnamese Democracy Advocate's Health Failing in Prison, Wife Says

01.03.2018 (RFA) - A Vietnamese pastor and democracy advocate held in custody since last July is in failing health in jail, with injuries suffered in a beating last year still not fully healed, the man’s wife says.

Nguyen Trung Ton was arrested on July 30, 2017, in a roundup of members of an online democracy group, the Brotherhood for Democracy, and is currently being held in a detention center in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi.

Ton, who is still waiting to be tried, is in constant pain from his injuries, his wife Nguyen Thi  Lanh told RFA’s Vietnamese Service in an interview. [read more]

Le nouveau rapport du VCHR dénonce une véritable offensive contre les libertés au Vietnam

28.02.2018 (Quê Mẹ) - PARIS (VCHR) – Dans un nouveau rapport de 36 pages intitulé « Libertés Niées, Évaluation de la Situation des Droits de l’Homme au Vietnam au cours du 2ème cycle de son Examen Périodique Universel », le VCHR fait état d’une des pires répressions contre la société civile, les défenseurs des droits de l’Homme, les blogueurs, les dissidents et les fidèles religieux.

Il détaille l’accroissement des arrestations, détentions et condamnations arbitraires, le recours accru à la peine de mort, l’aggravation des brutalités policières contre les détenus ou les manifestants pacifiques, et le renforcement de la « dictature par le droit » qui consiste en l’adoption continue de lois et réglements qui annihilent les libertés fondamentales en criminalisant l’exercice des droits de l’Homme. [en savoir plus]

Well-known Vietnamese journalist hounded, facing imminent arrest

27.02.2018 (Reporters Without Borders) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the Vietnamese government's persecution of the journalist Pham Doan Trang and her family and calls for international pressure on the regime. After being picked up for questioning during the weekend, Trang is currently under house arrest and could be facing imminent arrest. RSF also urges the Vietnamese government to end its crackdown on independent journalists and bloggers or risk paying the consequences.

Trang was detained on 24 February when she went to Hanoi to celebrate the Têt (Lunar New Year) with her mother. The Hanoi police arrived unannounced at her mother’s home and took Pham Doan Trang away without showing a warrant. [read more]

La conocida periodista Pham Doan Trang, interrogada y vigilada, teme una detención inminente

27.02.2018 (elmercuriodigital) - Reporteros Sin Fronteras condena la persecución a la periodista Pham Doan Trang y a su familia, y pide a la comunidad internacional que presione al régimen vietnamita. Pham Doan Trang fue interrogada este fin de semana y está en la actualidad en arresto domiciliario, temiendo una inminente detención. RSF urge al gobierno vietnamita a poner fin a este acoso a periodistas y blogueros.

Dos semanas después de recibir el premio Homo Homini de derechos humanos de la ONG con sede en Praga, People in Need, la periodista fue detenida, el 24 de febrero, cuando viajó a Hanoi para celebrar el año nuevo con su madre. [seguir leyendo]

RSF appelle à faire pression sur le Vietnam avant l’arrestation imminente d’une célèbre journaliste

27.02.2018 (Reporters sans frontières) - La journaliste Pham Doan Trang a été arbitrairement placée en détention par la police vietnamienne, ce week-end à Hanoi. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) condamne les pressions exercées sur elle et sa famille, et appelle les autorités à mettre un terme à la vague de répression qui touchent les acteurs de l’information, sans quoi Hanoi va devoir en payer les conséquences.

Elle s’était rendue à Hanoi pour célébrer avec la fête du Têt, le nouvel an vietnamien, en compagnie de sa mère. La police de la capitale en a profité samedi pour débarquer au domicile de celle-ci sans le moindre mandat et enlever la journaliste Pham Doan Trang [en savoir plus]

NGO gives human rights award to Vietnamese blogger

14.02.2018 (Prague Daily Monitor) - Prague, Feb 13 (CTK) - Vietnamese blogger Pham Doan Trang will receive the Homo Homini award for human rights promotion from the Czech People in Need humanitarian organisation at the beginning of the One World film festival on March 5, Zuzana Gruberova, from the NGO, told CTK.

The One World International Human Rights Film Festival will be held in Prague on March 5-14. The organisers say Pham is one of the leading personalities of the Vietnamese dissent, who points to the injustice committed by the communist regime in her blog. She also calls on the Vietnamese to stand up against repressions. [read more]

Au Vietnam, deux catholiques écologistes condamnés à de lourdes peines

14.02.2018 Claire Lesegretain (La Croix) - Pour avoir soutenu des pêcheurs vietnamiens, après la grave pollution provoquée par l’aciérie taïwanaise Formosa, deux chrétiens ont été condamnés, le 6 février, à 14 ans et à 2 ans de prison.

Selon les trois avocats qui soutenaient les deux accusés, « le tribunal a transgressé toutes les règles et n’a avancé aucune preuve ». Les deux catholiques « ont été condamnés selon des accusations faites uniquement par procuration », affirme Ha Huy Son, l’un des rares avocats au Vietnam à oser défendre les militants et les écologistes. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese Authorities Transfer Jailed Blogger Mother Mushroom to Remote Prison

12.02.2018 (RFA) - Vietnamese authorities have transferred ailing jailed blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh to a remote prison more than 620 miles from her former location in the city of Nha Trang on the country’s south central coast without notifying her family, her mother said Monday.

Quynh — also known by her blogger handle Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom — was arrested Oct. 10, 2016, while on her way to visit a fellow rights campaigner in prison and was sentenced in June 2017 to a decade in jail on charges of spreading “propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.

She is now incarcerated in No. 5 Prison in Yen Dinh, Thanh Hoa province, along the country’s north central coast region [read more]

Hoa Hao Buddhist Family, Friends Handed Prison Terms in Vietnam

09.02.2018 (RFA) - Four family members belonging to an unofficial branch of Vietnam’s Hoa Hao Buddhist community were convicted on Friday in the country’s An Giang province on charges of disrupting public order during a confrontation with authorities at their home last year.

Bui Van Trung, the family father, and his son Bui Van Tham were both sentenced to six years, while his daughter Bui Thi Bich Nguyen received a three-year term, another daughter, Bui Thi Kim Thoa, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.

“Our mother, Le Thi Hien, was given a two-year suspended sentence because she is ill,” Thoa said.

Rights groups say that authorities in An Giang routinely harass followers of the unapproved groups, prohibiting public readings of the Hoa Hao founder’s writings and discouraging worshipers from visiting Hoa Hao pagodas in An Giang and other provinces. [read more]

Procesan a familia budista Hoa Hao por reunirse a rezar

08.02.2018 (AsiaNews) Hanói  - Mañana se desarrollará, en la sede del tribunal del distrito de An Phu, provincia suroccidental de An Giang, el proceso de cuatro miembros de una familia perteneciente a la secta budista de Hoa Hao, no reconocida por el gobierno. Se los acusa de “haber perturbado el orden público” durante una dura confrontación con las autoridades, ocurrida el año pasado en su casa. Bui Van Trung, su hijo Bui Van Tham, su hija Bui Bich Tuyen y su esposa Le Thi Hen también fueron acusados de “haber obstaculizado [la labor] de los agentes en servicio” en el incidente del 19 de abril de 2017, en el cual la policía golpeó a los fieles que se habían reunido en la vivienda para rezar.

El día anterior, la policía de seguridad vial, acompañada por hombres no identificados vestidos de civil, había detenido a los budistas Hoa Hao que se dirigían a la casa de la familia Bui para observar el aniversario de la muerte de un amigo, y confiscaron sus motocicletas y sus documentos de registro. [seguir leyendo]

Une église de maison fermée à Quang Binh au Vietnam

08.02.2018 Isabelle Goepp (Le Journal Chrétien) - Les chrétiens d’une église de maison à Quang Binh au Vietnam ont été contraints de ne plus de rencontrer après une visité de la police le premier jour de cette année. Comme cette communauté religieuse n’est pas reconnue, les autorités de police ont déclaré qu’elle devait attendre la décision du gouvernement la concernant.

Après avoir interrompu la réunion chrétienne, les policiers ont demandé à l’église de faire une

déclaration écrite qu’elle ne se réunirait pas avant d’avoir reçu un signe du gouvernement. Par conséquent, toutes les activités de l’église ont été arrêtées. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam: das Hanoier Regime schickt die Bürger ununterbrochen wie am laufenden Band ins Gefängnis

08.02.2018 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Harte Haftstrafen gegen sechs Dissidenten innerhalb einer Woche - Ununterbrochen wie am laufenden Band schickt Vietnam, ein Staat mit einem Einparteisystem, Kritiker und Bürgerrechtler ins Gefängnis: am 31.01.2018 Tran Hoang Phuc, Nguyen Van Dien, und Vu Quang Thuan (Demokratieaktivist), am 02.02.2018  Dr. Ho Van Hai (Umweltschützer) und am 06.02.2018 Hoang Duc Binh und Nguyen Nam Phong (Umweltaktivist). Die Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Bärbel Kofler, hat die Verurteilung des Bürgerrechtlers Hoang Duc Binh in Vietnam zu 14 Jahren Haft scharf kritisiert. Weil derzeit die Weltöffentlichkeit ihr Hauptaugenmerk auf den Prozess gegen den aus Berlin entführten, in Ungnade gefallenen Ex-Funktionär der KP Vietnams Trinh Xuan Thanh richtet, nutzt das Regime die Gelegenheit aus, um sozusagen „in Ruhe“ und abseits der Öffentlichkeit die unliebsamen Bürger und Andersdenkende weg zu sperren. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: End Repression Against Religious Activists

07.02.2018 (HRW) - (New York) – Vietnam should suspend charges against six Hoa Hao Buddhist followers and investigate whether police actions against them were taken for discriminatory reasons or religious persecution, Human Rights Watch said today. Criminal trials for the six on public order charges are scheduled for February 9, 2018, before the People’s Court in An Phu district, An Giang province.

The arrests stem from a public demonstration the defendants staged to protest police actions against believers in An Giang who were on their way to commemorate the death of a religious leader’s mother. Police have frequently harassed independent members of this religious minority, which has a long history of friction with the government. [read more]

Meinungsfreiheit - USA und Deutschland kritisieren Haftstrafen vietnamesischer Aktivisten

07.02.2018 (DW) - Mit dem Urteil setze das kommunistische Vietnam seinen "Kurs der Unterdrückung von Zivilgesellschaft sowie Meinungs- und Demonstrationsfreiheit" fort, so die Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Bärbel Kofler.

Die vietnamesische Regierung solle Bürger nicht für die Wahrnehmung ihrer Rechte in Haft nehmen, verlangte Kofler. Stattdessen sollten politische Häftlinge freigelassen und die Zivilgesellschaft in den politischen Entscheidungsprozess eingebunden werden. Auch die USA forderten die Freilassung der Aktivisten Hoang Duc Binh und Nguyen Nam Phong. [Weiterlesen]

Menschenrechtsbeauftragte anlässlich der Verurteilung des vietnamesischen Menschenrechtsaktivisten Hoang Duc Binh

07.02.2018 (Auswärtiges Amt) - Zur Verurteilung des vietnamesischen Menschenrechtsaktivisten Hoang Duc Binh zu 14 Jahren Haft sagte die Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Bärbel Kofler, heute (07.02.):

Erneut ist in Vietnam ein Aktivist zu einer hohen Gefängnisstrafe verurteilt worden, der sich friedlich für ‎inhaftierte Menschenrechtsverteidiger, Umweltschutz und unabhängige Gewerkschaftsarbeit eingesetzt hat. Die vietnamesische Regierung setzt damit ihren Kurs der Unterdrückung von  Zivilgesellschaft sowie Meinungs- und Demonstrationsfreiheit fort – das gilt vor allem mit Blick auf die präzedenzlos hohe Haftstrafe für Vergehen wie 'Missbrauch demokratischer Rechte' und 'Widerstand gegen die Staatsgewalt'.

Vietnam verstößt damit gegen internationale Konventionen, die es selbst gezeichnet hat. Vor allem aber: Die vietnamesische Verfassung selbst garantiert Meinungs- und Demonstrationsfreiheit. Es ist darum unverständlich, wenn kritische Bürger wegen ihres friedlichen Engagements auch für die sozio-ökonomische  Entwicklung des Landes ‎unter Verweis auf angeblichen Missbrauch eben dieser Grundrechte verurteilt werden. [Weiterlesen]

Pressefreiheit - Umweltaktivist in Vietnam zu 14 Jahren Haft verurteilt

06.02.2018 (DW) - Der prominente Blogger hatte eine Protestaktion gegen eine Stahlfabrik per Livestream im Internet verbreitet. Ein Mitstreiter wurde zu zwei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt.

Der 35-jährige Blogger Hoang Binh habe jahrelang Anti-Regierungs-Propaganda verbreitet, Widerstand gegen Funktionäre geleistet und demokratische Freiheiten missbraucht, um Aufruhr anzuzetteln, befand ein Gericht in Zentralvietnam. Wie asiatische Medien weiter berichten, wurde der zweite Aktivist, Nguyen Nam Phong, verurteilt, weil er sich Anordungen der Polizei widersetzt hatte.

Binh hatte im Februar 2017 einen Protestmarsch von Fischern live im Internet übertragen, der sich gegen die taiwanesische Stahlfabrik Formosa Ha Tinh richtete.

Bei einem Testlauf der Fabrik war 2016 Abwasser mit Phenol, Zyanid und anderen giftigen Substanzen ausgetreten. Dadurch wurden 200 Kilometer Küste in Zentralvietnam verseucht. Ein Fischsterben und Einbrüche im Tourismus waren die Folge. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam jails activist for 14 years for livestreaming pollution march

06.02.2018 (The Guardian) - A court in central Vietnam has sentenced an activist to 14 years in jail for livestreaming fishermen marching to file a lawsuit against a Taiwan-owned steel plant’s spill of toxins into the ocean.

Hoang Duc Binh, 34, was convicted of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state, organisation and people, and opposing officers on duty, following a trial on Tuesday by the people’s court in Nghe An province, lawyer Ha Huy Son said.

Fellow activist Nguyen Nam Phong was given two years in jail for opposing officers on duty.

Reuters reported that the 14-year jail term is one of the toughest sentences to have been delivered against an activist in Vietnam. [read more]

Un blogueur vietnamien condamné à quatorze ans de prison

06.02.2018 (Reuters) - Le blogueur dissident vietnamien Hoang Duc Binh a été condamné mardi à 14 ans de prison pour abus de liberté démocratique et opposition à des agents de l‘Etat, a annoncé son avocat.

Hoang Duc Binh, 35 ans, a organisé plusieurs manifestations contre le gouvernement, pour protester contre sa gestion de la catastrophe industrielle de l‘aciérie taïwanaise Formosa Plastics en 2016, qui avait libéré accidentellement des déchets toxiques, polluant plus de 200 km de côtes.

“Le procès a été conduit sans preuve et sans objectivité”, a déclaré l‘avocat de Hoang Binh, Ha Huy Son, joint par téléphone. [en savoir plus]

Condenaron a 14 años de cárcel al bloguero Hoang Duc Binh

06.02.2018 (AsiaNews) - Hanói - Las autoridades vietnamitas han condenado hoy a Hoang Duc Binh, importante bloguero disidente, a 14 años de cárcel por “haber abusado de la libertad democrática en contraste con los intereses del Estado y opuesto resistencia a oficiales en servicio. Es cuanto refiere el abogado Ha Huy Son, legal del sindicalista y activista por los derechos humanos.

Hoang Duc Binh, de 35 años, fue arrestado en Nghe An, en Vietnam central, a más de un año después de haber organizado protestas por el desastre ecológico causado por la compañía taiwanesa Formosa Plastics Group y de la inadecuada respuesta del gobierno. Binh es también vice-presidente de una organización llamada “El movimiento de los trabajadores de Vietnam”, que tiene como la finalidad la ayuda a los obreros. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: vier Jahre Haft für Dr. Ho Van Hai, einen Umweltaktivisten

05.02.2018  haduong (Forum Vietnam 21) - Der Umweltaktivist Dr. Ho Van Hai, ein praktizierender Allgemeinmediziner, wurde bereits vor dreizehn Monaten, am 2. November 2016 in Ho Chi Minh-Stadt (ehemals Saigon) verhaftet. Als Umweltaktivist hat der Arzt auf seinem Blog über eine Umweltkatastrophe in der Provinz Ha Tinh, Vietnam, berichtet und machte auf giftige chemische Verbindungen aus einem Stahlwerk der taiwanesischen Firma Formosa aufmerksam, die ins Meer geleitet wurden und Millionen von Fischen vergifteten. Am 01.02.2018 wurde Dr. Ho Van Hai, 52, also nach 13 Monaten in Haft, in Saigon ohne seine Anwälte hinter verschlossenen Türen vor Gericht gestellt. Mit Bezug auf den Artikel 88 des Strafgesetzbuches hat ein sogenanntes Volksgericht in Saigon den Mediziner wegen "staatsfeindlicher Propaganda" zu vier Jahren Gefängnis und zwei Jahren Hausarrest verurteilt.

Dr. Hos Verurteilung unterstreicht die desaströse Menschenrechtslage in Vietnam. Sie zeigt, dass der Regierung jedes Mittel recht ist, um Kritiker zum Schweigen zu bringen.

Derzeit sind mehr als 100 AktivistInnen in Vietnam inhaftiert. Vietnam liegt fast ganz am Ende des World Press Freedom Index 2017 von der Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen auf Rang 175 von 180 Ländern.

Im Jahr 2005 wurde das „Gesetz über die Unterzeichnung, Beitritt und Implementierung von Internationalen Abkommen" vom vietnamesischen Parlament  verabschiedet. Nach Artikel 6 dieses Gesetzes geht die Anwendung internationalen Rechts, dem Vietnam beigetreten ist, bei der Auslegung von vietnamesischen Gesetzen vor. Artikel 88 des vietnamesischen StGB müsse daher gestrichen werden, da er gegen die durch Art. 19 des Internationalen Paktes für Bürgerliche und Politische Recht (IPBPR) geschützte Meinungs- und Redefreiheit verstoße. (s.a. PolitikExpress)

Four years in prison for Vietnamese blogger

02.02.2018 (RSF) - After Vietnamese blogger Ho Van Hai’s four-year jail sentence at the end of secret trial yesterday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the international community to step up its pressure on Vietnam to end its repeated violations of the freedom to inform.

Charged with “anti-state propaganda” under 88 of the penal code, Hai, 52, was sentenced to four years in prison followed by two years of house arrest. After being held for more than a year, he was tried behind closed doors in Ho Chi Minh City without his lawyers being present. [read more]

Vietnam: 4 ans de prison pour l'auteur d'un blog critique du gouvernement

02.02.2018 (laminute.info) - Un blogueur vietnamien a été condamné à quatre ans de prison pour “propagande anti-étatique”, selon les médias officiels de ce pays communiste, qui ne cesse de durcir sa répression contre les opposants.

Ho Van Hai, médecin de 54 ans, a été arrêté en novembre 2016 pour une série de blogs critiquant le gouvernement. Hai est également accusé d’avoir appelé à des manifestations publiques contre le géant taïwanais de l’acier, Formosa, responsable d’une immense pollution marine dans le centre du Vietnam en 2016.

Quelque 10.000 nouveaux cyber-inspecteurs ont été déployés récemment pour combattre les “mauvaises opinions” et la propagande anti-étatique sur internet. [en savoir plus]

Quatre ans de prison pour le blogueur vietnamien Ho Van Hai

02.02.2018 (RSF) - Le blogueur vietnamien Ho Van Hai a été condamné jeudi à une peine de quatre ans de prison pour “propagande contre l’Etat” à l’issue d’un procès à huis-clos. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) appelle la communauté internationale à intensifier sa pression sur le pays pour que cessent ces violations répétées de la liberté d’informer.

Le blogueur vietnamien Ho Van Hai, 52 ans, a été condamné jeudi à quatre ans de prison et deux ans d’assignation à résidence pour “propagande anti-étatique”, en vertu de l’article 88 du code pénal. Arrêté le 2 novembre 2016, le journaliste citoyen a déjà passé plus d’un an en détention provisoire. [en savoir plus]

Prisión para un médico en Vietnam por difundir propaganda contra el estado

02.02.2018 (La Vanguardia) - Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) (EFE) - Un tribunal de Vietnam condenó a cuatro años de cárcel a un médico acusado de difundir propaganda contra el estado por publicar varios artículos críticos con el régimen comunista, informó hoy la prensa local.

Ho Van Hai, de 54 años, fue detenido en 2016 tras denunciar en su blog y su página de Facebook la actuación del gobierno a raíz de un desastre medioambiental provocado por el vertido tóxico de una empresa taiwanesa en la costa central del país.

Grupos de defensa de los derechos humanos consideran que esta acusación, regulada con el artículo 88 del código penal, es utilizada por las autoridades para silenciar las críticas.[seguir leyendo]

Vietnam doctor jailed for 'anti-state' posts

02.02.2018 (Daily Mail) - A doctor in Vietnam has been sentenced to four years in jail for "anti-state propaganda", state media reported, as part of a fresh wave of convictions in the one-party state accused of waging a crackdown on critics.

At least 24 activists were convicted last year, with another 28 arrested, according to Human Rights Watch, making 2017 one of the worst years for activists in the country.

The latest to be jailed is Ho Van Hai, 54, a doctor who was arrested in November 2016 over a series of blog posts criticising the government. [read more]

US citizen accused of 'insulting' Vietnamese national hero

01.02.2018 (BBC) - Daniel Hauer lives in Vietnam, is married to a local woman and speaks fluent Vietnamese.

He has a wide local following on Facebook and Youtube for his English language teaching videos and his observations about Vietnamese and Western culture.

But a joke about General Vo Nguyen Giap triggered widespread condemnation on social media. Hundreds of people are calling for him to stop teaching and leave the country.

He has since posted an apology video, was summoned by the authorities and is now facing a fine or a warning. It is thought to be the first time a foreign citizen has had to appear before officials for comments posted online.

Communist Vietnam has a high rate of social media usage, but exercises strict control over the internet, filtering out content deemed undermining of the government of its values. [read more]

Vietnam Disidencia - Tres activistas condenados a prisión en Vietnam por delitos contra el Estado

01.02.2018 (La Vanguardia) - Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), 1 feb (EFE).- Un tribunal de Vietnam condenó a tres activistas pro democracia a penas de cárcel por delitos de "propaganda contra el Estado", cargo que se suele imputar a quienes critican al régimen comunista, informaron hoy medios locales.

Vu Quang Thuan, Nguyen Van Dien, y Tran Hoang Phuc -de 51, 35 y 23 años- fueron sentenciados a ocho años, seis años y medio y cuatro años de prisión, respectivamente, además de imponer entre 4 y 5 años de arresto domiciliaron una vez salgan de la penitenciaría. [seguir leyendo]Vietnam Jails Three Democracy Advocates Over Online Postings

31.01.2018 (RFA) - A court in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi sentenced three democracy activists to long jail terms on Wednesday after convicting them of criticizing the country’s one-party communist government online, sources said.

Vu Quang Thuan, 51, Nguyen Van Dien, 35, and Tran Hoang Phuc, 23, were found guilty of “spreading propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of the country’s penal code and handed sentences of eight years, six and a half years, and four years in prison, respectively. Additional terms of from four to five years of house arrest were also imposed, to be served following their release. [read more]

Mehrjährige Haftstrafen für Dissidenten in Vietnam

31.01.2018 (SN) - Wegen regierungskritischer Videoclips sind drei Dissidenten in Vietnam zu mehrjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt worden. Ein Gericht in Hanoi befand die Männer im Alter von 23 und 51 Jahren am Mittwoch für schuldig, mehr als ein Dutzend Videos in soziale Netzwerke eingestellt zu haben, über die sie die kommunistische Einheitspartei des Landes kritisiert hatten.

Alle drei hatten die Vorwürfe nach Angaben der Verteidigung zurückgewiesen. Die Menschenrechtsorganisation Human Rights Watch forderte ihre Freilassung. [Weiterlesen]

Brot für die Welt beklagt zunehmende Einschränkungen von Bürgerrechten

31.01.2018 (Stern) - Die Hilfsorganisation Brot für die Welt hat sich alarmiert über Einschränkungen von Bürger- und Freiheitsrechten in der Welt geäußert. 173 Staaten behinderten in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß die Arbeit von Menschenrechtlern, Journalisten und politischen Aktivisten oder beschnitten brutal die Entfaltungsmöglichkeiten ihrer Bürger, warnte sie am Mittwoch in ihrem Report zur weltweiten Lage der Zivilgesellschaft.

Routinemäßig eingeschüchtert und systematisch unterdrückt wird die Gesellschaft demnach in 34 Ländern mit 1,3 Milliarden Bürgern, darunter Russland, Mexiko, der Türkei und Thailand. In weiteren 21 Staaten mit zwei Milliarden Einwohnern gestatten die Zustände gar keine Möglichkeit zur Formulierung von Kritik. In die Kategorie fallen neben Bürgerkriegsländern wie Syrien und dem Jemen auch China, Vietnam, Saudi-Arabien, Kuba, Äthiopien sowie der Iran. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: Drop Charges, Release Democracy Activists - Wave of Repression Spreads as Communist Party Tightens Grip on Power

29.01.2018 (HRW) - (New York) – The Vietnamese government should immediately drop all charges and release rights activists Vu Quang Thuan, Nguyen Van Dien, and Tran Hoang Phuc, Human Rights Watch said today. The first two were arrested in March and the latter in June 2017 for publishing material on the internet critical of the government, and each was charged with conducting propaganda against the state.

The People’s Court of Hanoi is scheduled to hear their case on January 31, 2018. [read more]

Mass declared illegal in Nghệ An under a new law that hinders religious activities

29.01.2018 Joseph Huy (AsiaNews) – Hanoi - The Mass celebrated on 23 January in Song Ngọc parish, in the diocese of Vinh, has been declared "illegal” by the People's Committee of Quỳnh Ngọc, a municipality in the north-central province of Nghệ An.

In an official note, the authorities censure the vicar and the parish’s pastoral committee, ordering Fr Nguyễn Đình Thục and his parishioners to "register all their religious activities" in accordance with a local bylaw (N.08/UBND). [read more]

La nouvelle loi vietnamienne sur la religion inquiète les chrétiens

29.01.2018 Billy Graham (Journal Chretien) - Une nouvelle loi sur la croyance et la religion entrée en vigueur le 1er janvier au Vietnam inquiète les chrétiens car elle menace de limiter leurs libertés.

La loi vietnamienne sur la croyance et la religion entrée en vigueur le 1er janvier insiste sur le fait que les groupes religieux doivent être enregistrés et approuvés par le gouvernement. La formulation vague de la loi pourrait également être exploitée pour limiter les activités de l’église. [en savoir plus]

Nghệ An: Misas "ilegales". La nueva ley busca ‘obstaculizar las actividades religiosas’

29.01.2018 Joseph Huy (AsiaNews) – Hanói -  La misa celebrada el 23 de enero pasado en la parroquia de Song Ngọc, en la diócesis de Vinh, es “ilegal”. Es lo que establece el Comité del pueblo de la comuna de Quỳnh Ngọc, en la provincia centro-septentrional de Nghệ An, que en un comunicado oficial amonesta al vicario y al Comité pastoral de la iglesia. En el documento, el gobierno local intima al Pbro. Nguyễn Đình Thục y a los fieles a “registrar todas sus actividades religiosas”. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: Crackdown on Rights Activists - Pro-Environment Supporters Targeted

24.01.2018 (Human Rights Watch) - (New York) – Vietnam should drop charges against human rights defender Hoang Duc Binh and another defendant, Nguyen Nam Phong, and immediately release them, Human Rights Watch said today. Criminal trials for the two men are scheduled for January 25, 2018, before the People’s Court in Dien Chau district, Nghe An province.

Both men have been charged under the criminal code for taking part in protests and advocacy in relation to the massive marine disaster caused by the Taiwanese steel company Formosa along the central coast of Vietnam in April 2016. [read more]

Vietnam: Renewed Crackdown on Rights Bloggers, Activists - US Withdrawal from TPP Leads to Spike in Arrests

18.01.2018 (Human Rights Watch) - (New York) – Vietnam’s repression of human rights and democracy activists increased significantly in 2017, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2018. Despite this, most of Vietnam’s donors continued to prioritize trade over rights.

After the United States withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, Vietnamese authorities engaged in a renewed crackdown against rights activism, arresting dozens of bloggers and activists and sentencing many to long prison terms. Basic rights including freedom of speech, assembly, association, movement, and religion remain severely restricted in Vietnam’s one-party state. State-sanctioned thugs often attacked dissidents, while police brutality, including deaths in police custody, remains a serious problem. [read more]

• HRW World Report 2018 - Country Summary Vietnam

Vietnam redobla sus esfuerzos para controlar internet

18.01.2018 Eric San Juan (14ymedio) - (EFE).- El aumento de la contestación ciudadana en blogs y redes sociales ha obligado al régimen socialista de Vietnam a redoblar esfuerzos para controlar los contenidos de internet, para lo que busca la colaboración de grandes empresas como Google y Facebook.

Una de las medidas más llamativas ha sido la creación en diciembre de la llamada Fuerza 47, una unidad militar de 10.000 agentes que pretende combatir los "puntos de vista equivocados" en la red.

"El objetivo es proteger las opiniones del Partido Comunista. Lo que significa que quieren controlar la opinión pública en internet", explica a Efe el activista político Nguyen Chi Tuyen. [seguir leyendo]

Nghệ An, confirman condena del activista católico Nguyen Van Oai

17.01.2018 (AsiaNews) – Hanói – Un tribunal de la provincia centro-septentrional de Nghệ An confirma la pena de reclusión para el bloguero católico Nguyen Van Oai (foto), rechazando su apelación y llevándolo nuevamente a prisión. El 18 de septiembre pasado, el tribunal del pueblo de Hoàng Mai condenó al activista y ex prisionero político a cinco años de prisión y cuatro de arresto domiciliario por “resistencia a oficial público” y “violación de la libertad vigilada”. [seguir leyendo]

The Press Is Under Attack In Southeast Asia And It's Only Going To Get Worse

16.01.2018 Megha Rajagopalan (BuzzFeed News) - From Vietnam to Indonesia, press freedom in Southeast Asia is deteriorating, spurred by the rise of authoritarian governments and enabled by the Trump administration's relative indifference to human rights issues.

In Vietnam, citizen journalist Nguyen Van Hoa was sentenced to seven years in prison for using a camera mounted on a drone to film protesters demonstrating against a toxic steel plant spill. [read more]

Vietnam upholds jail term for dissident amid crackdown on activists

15.01.2018 (Reuters) - HANOI - A court in Vietnam upheld a five-year prison sentence on Monday for a dissident convicted of anti-state activities who violated the terms of his probation, state media said, the latest ruling in a series against activists.

Nguyen Van Oai, 36, a prominent human rights activist and blogger who has been publicly critical of the Vietnamese government’s handling of human rights and environmental issues had been sentenced to four years in jail in 2013 for “activities aimed at overthrowing the government”. [read more]

Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Nguyen Van Oai - Intensive Crackdown on Rights Campaigners

14.01.2018 (HRW) - (New York) – Vietnam should drop charges of violating probation against the veteran human rights activist Nguyen Van Oai and allow him to go home, Human Rights Watch said today. The People’s Court of Nghe An province will hear his appeal on January 15, 2018.

“The government’s pursuit of Nguyen Van Oai is vindictive and unwarranted,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. [read more]

Vietnam bei der taz in Berlin

12.01.2018 Jutta Lietsch (taz) - Selten war es so voll in unserem Café in der Berliner Rudi-Dutschke-Straße wie Mittwochabend. Die taz hatte zu einer ihrer Diskussionsveranstaltungen geladen, im Mittelpunkt stand diesmal: Vietnam und sein Umgang mit Journalisten und Bloggern – unter der Überschrift „Der lange Arm Hanois?“.

Durch den Abend geführt von der Berliner Journalistin Marina Mai, berichteten ihr Kollege Trung Khoa Le und der prominente Blogger Bui Thanh Hieu über ihre jüngsten Erfahrungen

Anne Renzenbrink von Reporter ohne Grenzen, die gemeinsam mit der taz eingeladen hatten, informierte über die miserable Lage der Pressefreiheit allgemein in Vietnam. [Weiterlesen]

Benedictine monks in Thiên An resist pressures and interference from local authorities

12.01.2018 Nguyen Van (AsiaNews) - Hanoi – The monks of the Benedictine monastery of Thiên An, in the archdiocese of Huế (Thừa Thiên Huế province), have launched a protest against the interference by the authorities in the life of their community.

Backed by local Catholics and interfaith associations like the Vietnam Interreligious Council, they have accused the president of the province and his deputy of abuse of power and using pressures to remove their superior, Fr Nguyễn Văn Đức. [read more]

Vietnam’s “cyber-troop” announcement fuels concern about troll armies

12.01.2018 (RSF) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed to learn that Vietnam has announced the deployment of 10,000 “cyber-troops” to combat online dissent. This move reinforces RSF’s concern about the disturbing trend for governments to organize armies of Internet trolls to attack and silence independent journalists and media outlets.

A senior general revealed that Vietnam has developed a 10,000-strong force of “core-fighters” ready to combat “wrongful views” in cyber-space “every second, minute and hour.” [read more]

Thien An, presiones e injerencias: monjes benedectinos contra las autoridades locales

12.01.2018 Nguyen Van (AsiaNews) - Hanói – Los monjes de monasterio benedictino de Thiên An, en la arquidiócesis de Huế (provincia centro-septentrional de Thừa Thiên Huế), protestan contra la injerencia en la vida de su comunidad. Apoyados por los católicos locales y por asociaciones inter-confesionales como el Vietnam Interreligious Council, ellos acusan en un documento al presidente de la provincia y a su vice de abuso de poder y presiones para alejar a su superior, el p. Nguyễn Văn Đức. [seguir leyendo]

Cyber-soldats vietnamiens : RSF s’inquiète de l’augmentation des armées de trolls, prédateurs en ligne des journalistes

12.01.2018 (RSF) - Le Vietnam a annoncé le déploiement d’une armée de 10.000 “cyber-inspecteurs”, qui aura pour objectif affiché de combattre la dissidence en ligne. RSF alerte sur cette tendance inquiétante des Etats qui consiste à monter des armées de trolls pour mieux cibler, attaquer et faire taire les journalistes et médias indépendants.

L’annonce, fin décembre, avait des allures de cadeau de Noël aux censeurs du régime autoritaire vietnamien. Soucieux de combattre la dissidence en ligne, le Vietnam a en effet lancé une brigade un peu spéciale : une armée de 10.000 “cyber-soldats” chargés d’identifier les “opinions répréhensibles” pour mieux les “combattre à chaque seconde, chaque minute, chaque heure”. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese Former Political Prisoner Arrested For 'Distributing Anti-State Materials Online'

12.01.2018 (RFA) - A former political prisoner arrested in December by police in southeastern Vietnam’s Dong Nai province was taken into custody without a warrant and with no word given to his family as to when he may be released, the man’s son said.

Doan Van Dien was arrested at his home in Dong Nai’s Xuan Loc district on Dec. 17, 2017 for allegedly “distributing anti-State materials online,” but no documents authorizing the arrest were presented by police, Dien’s son Doan Huy Chuong told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Jan. 12. [read more]

Vietnamese Former Political Prisoner Held on ‘Public Disorder’ Charge

05.01.2018 (RFA) - A Vietnamese democracy advocate was taken into custody in Hanoi on Thursday by police who charged him with disorderly conduct after they broke up a lunch meeting held with friends at a local restaurant, sources said.

Vu Hung, a former political prisoner and school teacher, was taken first to a local police station and then transferred to a district station, and was beaten in detention, his wife Ly Thi Tuyet Mai told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Friday while waiting to visit her husband in jail. [read more]

Vietnamese Catholics Protest Officials’ Interference in Their Parish

03.01.2018 (RFA) - Leaders of a Catholic monastery in north-central Vietnam’s Thua Thien Hue province are protesting authorities’ interference in the life of their community, accusing local officials of seeking to have their senior priest removed from his office, sources say.

In a Dec. 31 letter sent to top-level authorities in the province, priests at Thien An asserted their legal right to construct buildings on nearby village land owned and managed by the church since the 1940s. [read more]

Force 47 – The Vietnamese brigade tasked with fighting “wrongful views” spreading online

02.01.2018 By Pierluigi Paganini (Security Affairs) - Force 47 is a brigade composed of 10,000 cyber warriors to fight online dissent in Vietnam, a new threat to freedom of speech in the country.

The news was revealed by a top Vietnamese general last week, the official that the brigade dubbed ‘Force 47’ has been tasked with fighting “wrongful views” spreading online.

Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson believes that the brigade Force 47 is a “shocking new dimension to Vietnam’s crackdown on dissent”. [read more]