By Vu Quoc Ngu | Jun 12, 2015
Prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), a former political prisoner currently resides in the U.S., held a hearing on Vietnam’s human rights violations before the Canadian Parliament on June 4-10.
During the one-week event, Mr. Hai raised concerns about Ms. Ta Phong Tan, who is conducting a hunger strike for the 30th consecutive day in the Thanh Hoa province-based prison No. 5, and asked international human rights bodies and global community to voice to demand the communist government in Vietnam to release her and other prisoners of conscience.
Ms. Tan’s health is critical after one month of stopping taking food, Mr. Hai noted.
On June 11, blogger Dieu Cay met with Vietnamese Canadian Andrew Do, who is an inspector in Orange County. Mr. Hai firstly thanked Mr. Do for voicing his concerns about Hai when he was in Vietnam’s prison, and presented the current situation of blogger Tan, a co-founder of Club of Independent Journalists. One month ago, Ms. Tan started her hunger strike to protest inhumane treatment of prison’s authorities against prisoners, especially prisoners of conscience.
This is the third hunger strike of Ms. Tan in a bid to demand for human rights in prisons.
In turn, Mr. Do said his office has sent a letter to President Barack Obama to raise concerns about Ms. Tan’s case.
At Thursday’s noon, blogger Dieu Cay attended a program of “Vietnamese TV” to voice Ms. Tan’s case. He also praised her contribution to the country’s democratic process as well as her help given to military invalids of the Republic of Vietnam, the U.S.’s ally during the Vietnam War.
Ms. Tan was arrested in September 2011 and detained with infrequent access to her family and lawyer. Her mother, Dang Thi Kim Lieng, died after she set herself on fire in front of the local People’s Committee Office on 30 July 2012, in despair at the way the security forces were harassing Tan and her family. Tan was told about her mother’s death in prison, and was not allowed to attend her funeral ceremony.
Ms. Tan had been detained for 12 months before she was put on trial, at the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court, on 24 September 2012. This was longer than is allowed under national law. The proceedings, which only lasted a few hours, did not meet international fair trial standards. Only three witnesses out of nine summoned were present and the defense lawyers’ speeches were cut short, hindering her right to an adequate defense. Friends and supporters of the bloggers, including family members, were harassed, arbitrarily detained and assaulted to prevent them from attending the trial. Extracts of the trial were shown on national television.
The detention facility where Ms. Tan is held is 1,700 kilometers from Bac Lieu province, where her family live, making it difficult for them to visit.
Vietnam is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. However, these rights are severely restricted in law and practice in Vietnam.
Vaguely-worded articles in the national security section of Vietnam’s Criminal Code are frequently used to criminalize peaceful dissenting views or activities. Those at risk include people advocating peaceful political change, criticizing government policies or calling for respect for human rights. Article 88 (“conducting propaganda” against the state) is frequently used to detain, prosecute and imprison dissidents for their peaceful activism, including bloggers, labor rights and land rights activists, political activists, religious followers, human rights defenders and social justice activists, and even songwriters.
Prison conditions in Vietnam are harsh, with food and health care that fall short of the minimum requirements set out in the UN Standard Minimum Rules and other international standards. Prisoners of conscience have been held in solitary confinement as a punishment or in isolation for lengthy periods. They have also been subjected to ill-treatment, including beatings by other prisoners with no intervention by prison guards. Some prisoners of conscience are frequently moved from one detention facility to another, often without their families being informed.
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June 12, 2015
Prominent Blogger Conducts Hearing on Vietnam’s Poor Human Rights before Canadian Parliament
by Nhan Quyen • Ta Phong Tan
By Vu Quoc Ngu | Jun 12, 2015
Prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), a former political prisoner currently resides in the U.S., held a hearing on Vietnam’s human rights violations before the Canadian Parliament on June 4-10.
During the one-week event, Mr. Hai raised concerns about Ms. Ta Phong Tan, who is conducting a hunger strike for the 30th consecutive day in the Thanh Hoa province-based prison No. 5, and asked international human rights bodies and global community to voice to demand the communist government in Vietnam to release her and other prisoners of conscience.
Ms. Tan’s health is critical after one month of stopping taking food, Mr. Hai noted.
On June 11, blogger Dieu Cay met with Vietnamese Canadian Andrew Do, who is an inspector in Orange County. Mr. Hai firstly thanked Mr. Do for voicing his concerns about Hai when he was in Vietnam’s prison, and presented the current situation of blogger Tan, a co-founder of Club of Independent Journalists. One month ago, Ms. Tan started her hunger strike to protest inhumane treatment of prison’s authorities against prisoners, especially prisoners of conscience.
This is the third hunger strike of Ms. Tan in a bid to demand for human rights in prisons.
In turn, Mr. Do said his office has sent a letter to President Barack Obama to raise concerns about Ms. Tan’s case.
At Thursday’s noon, blogger Dieu Cay attended a program of “Vietnamese TV” to voice Ms. Tan’s case. He also praised her contribution to the country’s democratic process as well as her help given to military invalids of the Republic of Vietnam, the U.S.’s ally during the Vietnam War.
Ms. Tan was arrested in September 2011 and detained with infrequent access to her family and lawyer. Her mother, Dang Thi Kim Lieng, died after she set herself on fire in front of the local People’s Committee Office on 30 July 2012, in despair at the way the security forces were harassing Tan and her family. Tan was told about her mother’s death in prison, and was not allowed to attend her funeral ceremony.
Ms. Tan had been detained for 12 months before she was put on trial, at the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court, on 24 September 2012. This was longer than is allowed under national law. The proceedings, which only lasted a few hours, did not meet international fair trial standards. Only three witnesses out of nine summoned were present and the defense lawyers’ speeches were cut short, hindering her right to an adequate defense. Friends and supporters of the bloggers, including family members, were harassed, arbitrarily detained and assaulted to prevent them from attending the trial. Extracts of the trial were shown on national television.
The detention facility where Ms. Tan is held is 1,700 kilometers from Bac Lieu province, where her family live, making it difficult for them to visit.
Vietnam is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. However, these rights are severely restricted in law and practice in Vietnam.
Vaguely-worded articles in the national security section of Vietnam’s Criminal Code are frequently used to criminalize peaceful dissenting views or activities. Those at risk include people advocating peaceful political change, criticizing government policies or calling for respect for human rights. Article 88 (“conducting propaganda” against the state) is frequently used to detain, prosecute and imprison dissidents for their peaceful activism, including bloggers, labor rights and land rights activists, political activists, religious followers, human rights defenders and social justice activists, and even songwriters.
Prison conditions in Vietnam are harsh, with food and health care that fall short of the minimum requirements set out in the UN Standard Minimum Rules and other international standards. Prisoners of conscience have been held in solitary confinement as a punishment or in isolation for lengthy periods. They have also been subjected to ill-treatment, including beatings by other prisoners with no intervention by prison guards. Some prisoners of conscience are frequently moved from one detention facility to another, often without their families being informed.