Mr. Dung at the green protest before being arrested in April 2015
The hearing, starting at 8 AM, will be open for public, according to lawyer Vo An Don who will defend on behalf of Mr. Dung. Mr. Dung was arrested by Hanoi police on April 12 last year on allegation under Article 245 of the country’s Penal Code.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, March 07, 2016
On March 13, the People’s Court in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi will hold an appeal hearing for Nguyen Viet Dung, the leader and the founder of unsanctioned Republican Party of Vietnam who was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charge of causing public disorder in a first-instance trial on December 14 last year which failed to meet international standards of fair trial.
The hearing, starting at 8 AM, will be open for public, according to lawyer Vo An Don who will defend on behalf of Mr. Dung. Mr. Dung was arrested by Hanoi police on April 12 last year on allegation under Article 245 of the country’s Penal Code.
In the first hearing, the People’s Court in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi found him guilty as its judgment was based only on the fabricated reports of the district police, said defense lawyers. The judges refused to listen to Dung’s four defense lawyers. They even expelled lawyer Le Van Luan and did not allow the three others to present their statements. The judges also did not respect statements of other witnesses which were in favor of the defendant, so the three lawyers left the courtroom before the trial ended.
Many activists tried to attend the open court, however, Hanoi’s authorities deployed a large number of police officers, plainclothes agents and militia to block all the roads leading to the courtroom. Police were reported to send thugs to attack activists, knocking down one land petitioner who fell unconscious.
On April 12, 2014, Mr. Dung and four friends were detained by Hanoi security forces right after they attended a peaceful demonstration in the city’s center to protest the local government’s plan to chop down 6,700 aged valuable trees in some of the city’s main streets.
The police released his friends but kept Dung and accused him of “causing public disorders”. Following Mr. Dung’s arrest, police conducted a search of his home and seized many other items associated with the former Republic of Vietnam.
Blogger Doan Tranh and Tuan Anh, organizers of the green protest, said in their statement to the court that Mr. Dung and his friends peacefully attended the demonstration on April 12. However, the court ignored their opinions.
The detention of Mr. Dung has drawn great concern among Vietnamese and international human rights bodies. The unsanctioned Vietnam Blogger Network (VBN) released a statement condemning his arrest, saying his participation in the peaceful demonstration is not public disturbance.
Based on the facts, the VBN considers the arrest of Mr. Dung by Hanoi’s police as arbitrary detention, showing the power abuse of police forces in the capital city. The arrest is a serious violation of human rights, it noted.
Several days after the trial, the London-based Amnesty International issued a statement calling Hanoi to immediately and unconditionally release him, saying it is concerned by the proceedings leading to Dung’s conviction which did not comply with the right to a fair trial.
Australian lawmaker Chris Haynes wrote a letter to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to warn her about the case of Dung and urge her to take actions for his release.
Mr. Dung’s imprisonment is closely related to his role in the establishment of the Republican Party of Vietnam, local observers said, adding the ruling party has vowed to keep the nation under one-party regime, and ordered the security forces not to allow opposition to be established.
Vietnam has intensified crackdown against local government critics and human rights activists in recent months before and after the communist party’s 12th National Congress which was held in late January.
The communist government has used controversial Articles 79, 88 and 258 of the Penal Code as well as other faked charges such as tax evasion and public disorders to stifle local dissents who bravely speak out about corruption, poor economic management and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
According to international human rights bodies, Vietnam is imprisoning at least 130 political dissidents, bloggers and human rights activists while Hanoi says it holds no prisoners of conscience but only law violators.
Last year, Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang, who is expected to be the next president for the 2016-2021 period, labeled 60 unregistered civil societies as “reactionary groups”.
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March 8, 2016
Leader of Unsanctioned Republican Party of Vietnam Appeals His 15-month Imprisonment on Charge of Causing Public Disorders Next Week
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], Nguyen Viet Dung
Mr. Dung at the green protest before being arrested in April 2015
By Vu Quoc Ngu, March 07, 2016
On March 13, the People’s Court in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi will hold an appeal hearing for Nguyen Viet Dung, the leader and the founder of unsanctioned Republican Party of Vietnam who was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charge of causing public disorder in a first-instance trial on December 14 last year which failed to meet international standards of fair trial.
The hearing, starting at 8 AM, will be open for public, according to lawyer Vo An Don who will defend on behalf of Mr. Dung. Mr. Dung was arrested by Hanoi police on April 12 last year on allegation under Article 245 of the country’s Penal Code.
In the first hearing, the People’s Court in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi found him guilty as its judgment was based only on the fabricated reports of the district police, said defense lawyers. The judges refused to listen to Dung’s four defense lawyers. They even expelled lawyer Le Van Luan and did not allow the three others to present their statements. The judges also did not respect statements of other witnesses which were in favor of the defendant, so the three lawyers left the courtroom before the trial ended.
Many activists tried to attend the open court, however, Hanoi’s authorities deployed a large number of police officers, plainclothes agents and militia to block all the roads leading to the courtroom. Police were reported to send thugs to attack activists, knocking down one land petitioner who fell unconscious.
On April 12, 2014, Mr. Dung and four friends were detained by Hanoi security forces right after they attended a peaceful demonstration in the city’s center to protest the local government’s plan to chop down 6,700 aged valuable trees in some of the city’s main streets.
The police released his friends but kept Dung and accused him of “causing public disorders”. Following Mr. Dung’s arrest, police conducted a search of his home and seized many other items associated with the former Republic of Vietnam.
Blogger Doan Tranh and Tuan Anh, organizers of the green protest, said in their statement to the court that Mr. Dung and his friends peacefully attended the demonstration on April 12. However, the court ignored their opinions.
The detention of Mr. Dung has drawn great concern among Vietnamese and international human rights bodies. The unsanctioned Vietnam Blogger Network (VBN) released a statement condemning his arrest, saying his participation in the peaceful demonstration is not public disturbance.
Based on the facts, the VBN considers the arrest of Mr. Dung by Hanoi’s police as arbitrary detention, showing the power abuse of police forces in the capital city. The arrest is a serious violation of human rights, it noted.
Several days after the trial, the London-based Amnesty International issued a statement calling Hanoi to immediately and unconditionally release him, saying it is concerned by the proceedings leading to Dung’s conviction which did not comply with the right to a fair trial.
Australian lawmaker Chris Haynes wrote a letter to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to warn her about the case of Dung and urge her to take actions for his release.
Mr. Dung’s imprisonment is closely related to his role in the establishment of the Republican Party of Vietnam, local observers said, adding the ruling party has vowed to keep the nation under one-party regime, and ordered the security forces not to allow opposition to be established.
Vietnam has intensified crackdown against local government critics and human rights activists in recent months before and after the communist party’s 12th National Congress which was held in late January.
The communist government has used controversial Articles 79, 88 and 258 of the Penal Code as well as other faked charges such as tax evasion and public disorders to stifle local dissents who bravely speak out about corruption, poor economic management and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
According to international human rights bodies, Vietnam is imprisoning at least 130 political dissidents, bloggers and human rights activists while Hanoi says it holds no prisoners of conscience but only law violators.
Last year, Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang, who is expected to be the next president for the 2016-2021 period, labeled 60 unregistered civil societies as “reactionary groups”.