Trial of Anh Ba Sam

Re: [Vsg] the Trial of Anh Ba Sam

vsg-list-archive

David Brown <nworbd@gmail.com>

Mar 23, 2016, 12:55 PM

Many of my Asia Sentinel (and before that, Asia Times) stories on things happening in and around Vietnam have also appeared on the Anh Ba Sam blog in translation.  It's a good arrangement, because I'm able to review the translation before it is posted (meaning, if I get in trouble with the regime on one of my trips back to Vietnam, at least it will be for something I truly intended to say.

Full disclosure: I'm the source of the 'reports' that CPJ representative Shawn Crispin references.

Attached is the updated story that Asia Sentinel will post as the sun rises over Vietnam on Thursday.  Key points:

'Anh Ba Sam' is among the most respected of Vietnam's many political blogs.

This trial was postponed until after the Communist Party congress and so is a litmus test of the new leadership group's posture on civil rights.

Vietnamese verdicts like this one will give anti-TPP legislators in the US, Australia, NZ and Canada one more reason to oppose ratification.

Best, David Brown

On Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 10:29 AM, Paul Mooney <pjmooney@me.com> wrote:

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Committee to Protect Journalists

 News Ale

Vietnamese bloggers imprisoned for 'abusing democratic freedoms' 

Bangkok, March 23, 2016 - The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns a Hanoi court's sentencing today of two Vietnamese bloggers to prison terms on charges of "abusing democratic freedoms."

In a one-day trial, Hanoi's People's Court sentenced Nguyen Huu Vinh, founder of the news website and aggregator Ba Sam, and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, his editorial assistant, to five and three years respectively under article 258 of the Penal Code, which carries maximum penalties of seven years in jail for "abusing democratic freedoms," according to press reports. Both bloggers were held for more than 22 months in pre-trial detention. It wasn't clear if the time they already served would count against the sentences the court imposed today. They were taken back to the B-14 detention center in Hanoi following the verdict.

"Today's harsh convictions of bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy are inconsistent with Vietnam's obligations as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative. "If Vietnam wants to be viewed as a responsible member of the international community and a reliable partner in multilateral agreements, these bogus anti-state convictions must stop immediately."

The charges stemmed from 24 entries posted to Ba Sam and two other blogs Vinh established: Dan Quyen (Citizen's Rights) and Chep Su Viet (Writing Vietnamese History). Both blogs were carried on Ba Sam's site, reports said. Judge Nguyen Van Pho ruled that the articles in question had distorted the ruling Communist Party's policies, reduced public trust in the party, and went against the interests of the nation, according to news reports.

The bloggers' lawyer, Ha Huy San, told The Associated Press before the ruling that both had denied the charges, claiming they had "no relations" to the postings in question. It was not immediately clear if either Vinh or Thuy intend to appeal the verdict. Vietnamese authorities have increasingly used Article 258 to stifle media criticism and persecute independent bloggers and journalists, according to CPJ research.

Vinh, a former police officer, established Ba Sam (Talking Nonsense) as an independent news platform in September 2007. The blog posted links to state-run Vietnamese media, often with critical commentary added by the blog's administrators, as well as translated versions of foreign news reports on political, economic, and social issues, according to press accounts. The site also published articles and commentary from local activists and dissidents, the reports said.

It was unclear if Vinh was still actively running Ba Sam at the time of his and Thuy's arrests in May 2014. In September 2012, Vinh announced he would end his direct involvement with the blog due to increased pressure by the authorities, reports said. Due to frequent cyber-attacks against Ba Sam, the blog has appeared at different Web addresses, reports said. The blog is still operational, through an administrator based in the United States, reports said.  

Vinh's health has declined while in detention, according to a petition and separate appeal for action filed with authorities by his wife, Le Thi Minh Ha. After a prison visit last October, she said that Vinh had developed a rash all over his body, a condition she speculated was symptomatic of liver and blood disorders caused by lack of exposure to sunlight. 

Vietnam held at least six reporters behind bars, including Vinh and Thuy, on December 1, 2015, when CPJ conducted its most recent census of journalists imprisoned around the world.

###

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Contact:

Shawn Crispin

Senior Southeast Asia Representative

Tel. +66.81.488.4264  (Bangkok)

Email: swcrispin@yahoo.com

Bob Dietz

Asia Program Coordinator

Tel. +1.212.465.1004 ext. 140 or +1.609.647.3075 (New York)

Email: bdietz@cpj.org

facebook.com/cpjasia, @cpjasia