October 23, 2014

Vietnam Rejects Holding Any Prisoners of Conscience

by • Nguyen Van Hai (Dieu Cay)

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by Vu Quoc Ngu, Oct 23, 2014
Defend the Defenders
Vietnam has not held any prisoners of consciences, but only law violators, said Deputy Spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
cờMs. Hang made this statement in Hanoi on Oct 22 in response to the statement of the U.S. State Department about the recent release of Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), in which Washington considers the prominent activist as prisoner of conscience.
Regarding the release of Mr. Hai on Oct 21, Ms. Hang said Vietnam’s government temporarily suspended his 12-year imprisonment and allowed him to go to the U.S. for humanitarian reasons.
Mr. Hai is a co-founder of the Club for Free Journalists and one of the most vocal activists against China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea. Mr. Hai has been held since April 2008 and sentenced to 30 months in jail for tax evasion.
He was scheduled for release in October 2010, however, his sentence was extended for “further investigation” and in April 2012, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for anti-state propaganda.
After years of protests from international human rights bodies, foreign governments and domestic activists demanding for his unconditional release, Mr. Hai was finally freed late on Tuesday and was forced to take an international flight to the U.S. without meeting or informing his relatives.
His release came on the eve of the visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski to Hanoi, where he is scheduled to discuss the importance of demonstrable progress on human rights to furthering U.S.-Vietnam bilateral ties, including on security assistance and economic cooperation.
Hai is among high-profile political prisoners that the communist-ruled Vietnam has released as Hanoi is negotiating with the U.S. for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and full removal of lethal weapon ban and the EU on Free Trade Agreement.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday welcomed the Vietnamese move, urging the communist government in Hanoi to release other political dissidents and improve the country’s human rights situation for stronger relations.
According to international human rights bodies, Vietnam still holds nearly 400 prisoners of conscience, including high-profile activists Le Quoc Quan, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Ta Phong Tan and Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly.
Responding to Hai’s release, Reporters Without Borders said it delighted with the news and expects he will not be kept apart from his family. It demanded Hanoi to free 26 other bloggers and journalists who are still being held for exercising their freedom of expression.
Without praising the act of the communist government in Hanoi, Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Research Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific said that Mr. Hai should never have been imprisoned in the first place. He was a prisoner of conscience, and his only crime was to peacefully express opinions that the Vietnamese authorities didn’t want aired, Mr. Abbott noted.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles international (LAX) airport late on Tuesday, Hai said that he continues to fight for Vietnam’s freedom and democracy and for his return to the home country. He urged other Vietnamese political prisoners to keep firm because they are not alone but supported by peace lovers around the world.
Since the beginning of this year, Hanoi has released around ten political prisoners, including Sorbonne-trained legal expert Cu Huy Ha Vu, teacher Dinh Dang Dinh and former lawmaker Le Van Tinh. Dr. Vu was forced to exile in the U.S. while Mr. Dinh died several months later due to the worsened health caused by prison’s hard conditions.
Mr. Tinh is on special medical treatment after decades of imprisonment.
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