Blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh and his AnhBaSam news website
Some observers said there is a little chance that the court will release the duo as a gift for U.S. President Barack Obama who is scheduled to visit the communist nation in May. President Obama has urged Vietnam to release all prisoners of conscience, including Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, March 11, 2016
Vietnam’s communist government will bring prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy to court on March 23, nearly 23 months of their detention.
Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy, who were arrested in early May 2014, will be tried on allegation of “abusing freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state” under Article 258 of the country’s Penal Code.
If proven guilty, they could face imprisonment of up to seven years, according to the Vietnamese law.
The People’s Court of Hanoi will be in charge of the trial, according to the notice sent to the defendants and their lawyers.
Some observers said there is a little chance that the court will release the duo as a gift for U.S. President Barack Obama who is scheduled to visit the communist nation in May. President Obama has urged Vietnam to release all prisoners of conscience, including Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy.
Earlier this year, the similar court was set to try the duo on January 19, few days ahead of the 12th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. However, the government postponed the first hearing, attributing the absence of some member of the People’s Jury of the court as the reason for delaying.
Mr. Vinh, a 58-year-old son of a senior communist official, was accused of posting online articles carrying out “incorrect contents that aim to defame the party and state,” on AnhBaSam news website which has millions of regular readers.
After the arrests of Vinh and Thuy, the governments and politicians of the U.S., EU countries, and Canada as well as international human rights groups have called on the Vietnamese government to release the duo, saying they did nothing wrong but exercised their right of freedom of opinions and expression which is enshrined in the Vietnamese Constitution.
The Vietnamese communist government has used controversial articles such as Article 79, 88 and 258 to silence local critics, social activists and human rights defenders.
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that independent news providers in Vietnam are subject to enhanced Internet surveillance, draconian directives, waves of arrests and sham trials in its annual Press Freedom Index released in December 2014.
In recent months, Vietnam has arrested a number of dissidents, including human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha, former political prisoners Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung and charged them of conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code. The arrested activists could face imprisonment up to 20 years.
In addition, many activists have been brutally attacked by thugs and sometime by police officers. The victims include former political prisoners Tran Minh Nhat and Tran Ngoc Thach, labor activists Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc, land rights activists Tran Thuy Nga and Nguyen Huy Tuan and prisoner of conscience Truong Minh Tam. In most recent cases on January 7-8, Mr. Tuan and Mr. Tam were kidnapped and robbed.
Many international rights groups have called on Vietnam to take measures to stop persecution against local dissident and conduct thorough investigation to bring perpetrators to court.
Other activists have been under constant persecution of police. On February 4, police detained pro-democracy activist Ngo Duy Quyen for one day, and searched the private apartment of his mother-in-law where he and his wife Le Thi Cong Nhan, a former political prisoner, live. Police confiscated $600 and a number of personal items, including laptops, cell phones and books.
For weeks, police in Ho Chi Minh City have barred former prisoners of conscience Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc from going out. Hanh, Duc and Nhan are key figures of the unsanctioned labor union named Lao Dong Viet (Viet Labor) which has provided legal assistance for local workers in disputes with their employers.
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March 11, 2016
Vietnam to Try Prominent Blogger on Mar 23 after Nearly 23 Months of Detention
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], Nguyen Huu Vinh (Anh Ba Sam), Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy
Blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh and his AnhBaSam news website
By Vu Quoc Ngu, March 11, 2016
Vietnam’s communist government will bring prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy to court on March 23, nearly 23 months of their detention.
Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy, who were arrested in early May 2014, will be tried on allegation of “abusing freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state” under Article 258 of the country’s Penal Code.
If proven guilty, they could face imprisonment of up to seven years, according to the Vietnamese law.
The People’s Court of Hanoi will be in charge of the trial, according to the notice sent to the defendants and their lawyers.
Some observers said there is a little chance that the court will release the duo as a gift for U.S. President Barack Obama who is scheduled to visit the communist nation in May. President Obama has urged Vietnam to release all prisoners of conscience, including Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy.
Earlier this year, the similar court was set to try the duo on January 19, few days ahead of the 12th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. However, the government postponed the first hearing, attributing the absence of some member of the People’s Jury of the court as the reason for delaying.
Mr. Vinh, a 58-year-old son of a senior communist official, was accused of posting online articles carrying out “incorrect contents that aim to defame the party and state,” on AnhBaSam news website which has millions of regular readers.
After the arrests of Vinh and Thuy, the governments and politicians of the U.S., EU countries, and Canada as well as international human rights groups have called on the Vietnamese government to release the duo, saying they did nothing wrong but exercised their right of freedom of opinions and expression which is enshrined in the Vietnamese Constitution.
The Vietnamese communist government has used controversial articles such as Article 79, 88 and 258 to silence local critics, social activists and human rights defenders.
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that independent news providers in Vietnam are subject to enhanced Internet surveillance, draconian directives, waves of arrests and sham trials in its annual Press Freedom Index released in December 2014.
In recent months, Vietnam has arrested a number of dissidents, including human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha, former political prisoners Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung and charged them of conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code. The arrested activists could face imprisonment up to 20 years.
In addition, many activists have been brutally attacked by thugs and sometime by police officers. The victims include former political prisoners Tran Minh Nhat and Tran Ngoc Thach, labor activists Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc, land rights activists Tran Thuy Nga and Nguyen Huy Tuan and prisoner of conscience Truong Minh Tam. In most recent cases on January 7-8, Mr. Tuan and Mr. Tam were kidnapped and robbed.
Many international rights groups have called on Vietnam to take measures to stop persecution against local dissident and conduct thorough investigation to bring perpetrators to court.
Other activists have been under constant persecution of police. On February 4, police detained pro-democracy activist Ngo Duy Quyen for one day, and searched the private apartment of his mother-in-law where he and his wife Le Thi Cong Nhan, a former political prisoner, live. Police confiscated $600 and a number of personal items, including laptops, cell phones and books.
For weeks, police in Ho Chi Minh City have barred former prisoners of conscience Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc from going out. Hanh, Duc and Nhan are key figures of the unsanctioned labor union named Lao Dong Viet (Viet Labor) which has provided legal assistance for local workers in disputes with their employers.