asianewsweekly | Sep 22, 2015
Ta Phong Tan, author of the blog Justice and Truth was convicted in 2012 of writing propaganda against Vietnam and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Tan, who previously had served in Vietnam’s armed police services, started her blog in 2006. She frequently targeted the government for what she saw as abuses and incompetence. Later, Tan joined fellow dissident bloggers Nguyen Van Hai and Phan Thanh Hai to form the “Free Vietnamese Journalists Club.”
All three subsequently were arrested on different charges but were found guilty in the same trial on allegations they “… distorted the truth about State and Party, created anxiety among citizens and supported schemes to overthrow the government.” While in detention, Tan’s mother immolated herself in protest and died from her injuries.
In 2014, Nguyen Van Hai was released from prison and came to the U.S. Nguyen Van Hai was one of the first to greet Tan on her arrival. Phan Thanh Hai remains jailed in Vietnam.
Tan says the decision to release her was based on US pressure. Now in the United States, she vowed to continued to fight for basic human rights where people are being robbed of their freedoms.
“While we welcome Ta Phong Tan’s release from a Vietnam prison, no one should forget that she should have never been detained in the first place for exercising her right to express her views. Ta Phong Tan’s so-called ‘crime’ was simply blogging about human rights, corruption, governance and other issues that Vietnamese criticize their government about every day – but she had a growing group of followers online, and that influence made Hanoi nervous enough to throw her in prison. This release continues Vietnam’s cynical practice of releasing high-profile dissidents from prison directly into forced exile, with immediate departure from the country being the price of their freedom,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch’s Asia division.
The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Bob Dietz called the news “gratifying,” though he added that there are more than a dozen journalists still being held in Vietnamese prisons. In 2015, the CPJ ranked Vietnam as the sixth-most censored country in the world, and in 2014 said Vietnam rated fifth-worst for jailing journalists.
Ta Phong Tan was named a winner of the U.S. State Department’s “2013 International Women of Courage” award. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tan was “an inspiration” to women in Vietnam. She also was one of the women profiled in the State Department’s #FreeThe20 campaign that draws attention to the plight of women political prisoners and other prisoners of concern.
Journalism isn’t a crime and while many might say that bloggers aren’t journalists, in this age of citizen journalism and mega-media outlets operating in the blogosphere, that line continues to be blurred. What this case was truly about was freedom and the rights of individuals to call out the government when irregularities are observed. If we don’t fight for our freedoms and challenge unethical practices by our leaders, we’re on collision course for a dystopian society.
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September 23, 2015
Vietnamese blogger freed, but more still behind bars
by Nhan Quyen • Ta Phong Tan
asianewsweekly | Sep 22, 2015
Ta Phong Tan, author of the blog Justice and Truth was convicted in 2012 of writing propaganda against Vietnam and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Tan, who previously had served in Vietnam’s armed police services, started her blog in 2006. She frequently targeted the government for what she saw as abuses and incompetence. Later, Tan joined fellow dissident bloggers Nguyen Van Hai and Phan Thanh Hai to form the “Free Vietnamese Journalists Club.”
All three subsequently were arrested on different charges but were found guilty in the same trial on allegations they “… distorted the truth about State and Party, created anxiety among citizens and supported schemes to overthrow the government.” While in detention, Tan’s mother immolated herself in protest and died from her injuries.
In 2014, Nguyen Van Hai was released from prison and came to the U.S. Nguyen Van Hai was one of the first to greet Tan on her arrival. Phan Thanh Hai remains jailed in Vietnam.
Tan says the decision to release her was based on US pressure. Now in the United States, she vowed to continued to fight for basic human rights where people are being robbed of their freedoms.
“While we welcome Ta Phong Tan’s release from a Vietnam prison, no one should forget that she should have never been detained in the first place for exercising her right to express her views. Ta Phong Tan’s so-called ‘crime’ was simply blogging about human rights, corruption, governance and other issues that Vietnamese criticize their government about every day – but she had a growing group of followers online, and that influence made Hanoi nervous enough to throw her in prison. This release continues Vietnam’s cynical practice of releasing high-profile dissidents from prison directly into forced exile, with immediate departure from the country being the price of their freedom,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch’s Asia division.
The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Bob Dietz called the news “gratifying,” though he added that there are more than a dozen journalists still being held in Vietnamese prisons. In 2015, the CPJ ranked Vietnam as the sixth-most censored country in the world, and in 2014 said Vietnam rated fifth-worst for jailing journalists.
Ta Phong Tan was named a winner of the U.S. State Department’s “2013 International Women of Courage” award. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tan was “an inspiration” to women in Vietnam. She also was one of the women profiled in the State Department’s #FreeThe20 campaign that draws attention to the plight of women political prisoners and other prisoners of concern.
Journalism isn’t a crime and while many might say that bloggers aren’t journalists, in this age of citizen journalism and mega-media outlets operating in the blogosphere, that line continues to be blurred. What this case was truly about was freedom and the rights of individuals to call out the government when irregularities are observed. If we don’t fight for our freedoms and challenge unethical practices by our leaders, we’re on collision course for a dystopian society.