Blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy in courtroom on March 23 (Picture from VietnamNet)
Ha Huy Son, one of eight lawyers of the two defendants, said Vinh did not admit wrongdoings but claimed innocent himself while Ms. Thuy demanded for fair trial.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, March 23, 2016
The People’s Court in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi on March 23 sentenced prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy with respective five and three years in jail in an open hearing which failed to meet international norms of fair trial.
The court found the duo guilty of “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state” under Article 258 of the country’s Penal Code. Particularly, Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy were accused of posting 24 articles on Anh Ba Sam news website which are considered by Vietnam’s authorities as having “untruthful and baseless content; distort the lines and policies of the Party and the law of the State; vilify a number of individuals and affect the prestige of offices and organizations; present a one-side and pessimistic view, causing anxiety and worry, and affecting the people’s confidence in the leadership of the Party, the Government, the National Assembly, and the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
Ha Huy Son, one of eight lawyers of the two defendants, said during the trial Vinh did not admit wrongdoings but claimed innocent himself while Ms. Thuy demanded for fair trial. The sentences were inhumane, said the Hanoi-based human rights lawyer.
Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy are expected to appeal their sentences soon, said well-known lawyer Tran Vu Hai.
The case of Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy has drawn attention of foreign governments and international human rights bodies. Many foreign diplomatic corporations in Hanoi want to attend the open trial inside the courtroom, however, only diplomats from the U.S., the EU, Australia and Canada were allowed to monitor the trial on screen in a next room while their colleagues from Sweden, Finland and Germany were forced to stay on streets far from the court building.
Mr. Martin Patzelt, a member of the German Parliament and member of its Human Rights Committee, went to Vietnam earlier this week for the case. He asked Vietnam’s approval to enter the court room, however, his request was turned down and he joined other diplomats on street to monitor the process via loud speaker from the court.
Vietnam’s security forces applied a number of measures to prevent local social activists from going to the areas near the court building. Many activists complained that their security agents blocked their residences, not allowing them to go out on Wednesday.
However, hundreds of activists successfully came to the court but they were not allowed to go inside but stay away from the court building. They then made peaceful demonstrations, hanging banners “Nguyen Huu Vinh innocent” and chanting to demand for immediate and unconditional release of Vinh and his assistant Thuy.
Security forces detained a number of social activists, including prominent economist Dr. Nguyen Quang A and lawyer Nguyen Dinh Ha in the areas near the courtroom, and blogger Doan Trang and land petitioner Tran Thi Hai in their residence. They were released afternoon after being questioned by police officers. Dr. A and Mr. Ha are two self-nominees for the upcoming general election for the country’s parliament scheduled on May 22.
Prior to the trial, the London-based Amnesty International and the New York-based Human Rights Watch issued statements to demand Vietnam to release Vinh and Thuy unconditionally and immediately.
“The bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy have been detained for almost two years simply for criticizing the Vietnam Communist Party and its leadership, even though the government has ratified international human rights law that unequivocally protects their actions,” said Asian Director at HRW Brad Adams.
“This is a textbook example of the authorities’ stamping out legitimate criticism and perpetuating a climate of fear in which people are forced to think twice before expressing themselves and asking questions of government,” said Champa Patel, director of the South East Asia Regional Office of Amnesty International.
Mr. Vinh, a son of a senior communist official, co-founded Anh Ba Sam news website in 2007. His blog has posted many articles on sensitive issues such as systemic corruption, multi-party democracy, Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, and the poor government management in socio-economic issues which are taboos for the state-run media.
His website has become very popular among online readers, providing them many news with different points of views. It has drawn attention of millions of Vietnamese people.
Vinh, a former security officer, and his assistant were arrested in early May 2014.
Regarding the arrest of the bloggers, the European Union (EU) raised its concerns about human rights violations in Vietnam as well as restrictions to freedom of expression, freedom of the media and freedom of assembly. It reiterated its serious concerns about harassment, arrest and detention of human rights defenders, activists and bloggers, especially Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy.
The hard sentences imposed over Minh and Thuy are part of the Vietnamese communist government’s efforts to silence political dissidents, social activists, online bloggers and human rights defenders in a bid to maintain the country under a one-party regime.
According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding 130 political prisoners while the U.S. non-government organization Freedom House said Vietnam remains one of the world’s largest prisons for bloggers, with 29 netizens being imprisoned and at least eight Vietnamese bloggers were arrested or prosecuted under Article 258.
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March 23, 2016
Vietnam Prominent Blogger Sentenced to Five Years in Jail for Abusing Democracy Freedom
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], Nguyen Huu Vinh (Anh Ba Sam), Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy
Blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy in courtroom on March 23 (Picture from VietnamNet)
By Vu Quoc Ngu, March 23, 2016
The People’s Court in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi on March 23 sentenced prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy with respective five and three years in jail in an open hearing which failed to meet international norms of fair trial.
The court found the duo guilty of “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state” under Article 258 of the country’s Penal Code. Particularly, Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy were accused of posting 24 articles on Anh Ba Sam news website which are considered by Vietnam’s authorities as having “untruthful and baseless content; distort the lines and policies of the Party and the law of the State; vilify a number of individuals and affect the prestige of offices and organizations; present a one-side and pessimistic view, causing anxiety and worry, and affecting the people’s confidence in the leadership of the Party, the Government, the National Assembly, and the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
Ha Huy Son, one of eight lawyers of the two defendants, said during the trial Vinh did not admit wrongdoings but claimed innocent himself while Ms. Thuy demanded for fair trial. The sentences were inhumane, said the Hanoi-based human rights lawyer.
Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy are expected to appeal their sentences soon, said well-known lawyer Tran Vu Hai.
The case of Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy has drawn attention of foreign governments and international human rights bodies. Many foreign diplomatic corporations in Hanoi want to attend the open trial inside the courtroom, however, only diplomats from the U.S., the EU, Australia and Canada were allowed to monitor the trial on screen in a next room while their colleagues from Sweden, Finland and Germany were forced to stay on streets far from the court building.
Mr. Martin Patzelt, a member of the German Parliament and member of its Human Rights Committee, went to Vietnam earlier this week for the case. He asked Vietnam’s approval to enter the court room, however, his request was turned down and he joined other diplomats on street to monitor the process via loud speaker from the court.
Vietnam’s security forces applied a number of measures to prevent local social activists from going to the areas near the court building. Many activists complained that their security agents blocked their residences, not allowing them to go out on Wednesday.
However, hundreds of activists successfully came to the court but they were not allowed to go inside but stay away from the court building. They then made peaceful demonstrations, hanging banners “Nguyen Huu Vinh innocent” and chanting to demand for immediate and unconditional release of Vinh and his assistant Thuy.
Security forces detained a number of social activists, including prominent economist Dr. Nguyen Quang A and lawyer Nguyen Dinh Ha in the areas near the courtroom, and blogger Doan Trang and land petitioner Tran Thi Hai in their residence. They were released afternoon after being questioned by police officers. Dr. A and Mr. Ha are two self-nominees for the upcoming general election for the country’s parliament scheduled on May 22.
Prior to the trial, the London-based Amnesty International and the New York-based Human Rights Watch issued statements to demand Vietnam to release Vinh and Thuy unconditionally and immediately.
“The bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy have been detained for almost two years simply for criticizing the Vietnam Communist Party and its leadership, even though the government has ratified international human rights law that unequivocally protects their actions,” said Asian Director at HRW Brad Adams.
“This is a textbook example of the authorities’ stamping out legitimate criticism and perpetuating a climate of fear in which people are forced to think twice before expressing themselves and asking questions of government,” said Champa Patel, director of the South East Asia Regional Office of Amnesty International.
Mr. Vinh, a son of a senior communist official, co-founded Anh Ba Sam news website in 2007. His blog has posted many articles on sensitive issues such as systemic corruption, multi-party democracy, Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, and the poor government management in socio-economic issues which are taboos for the state-run media.
His website has become very popular among online readers, providing them many news with different points of views. It has drawn attention of millions of Vietnamese people.
Vinh, a former security officer, and his assistant were arrested in early May 2014.
Regarding the arrest of the bloggers, the European Union (EU) raised its concerns about human rights violations in Vietnam as well as restrictions to freedom of expression, freedom of the media and freedom of assembly. It reiterated its serious concerns about harassment, arrest and detention of human rights defenders, activists and bloggers, especially Mr. Vinh and Ms. Thuy.
The hard sentences imposed over Minh and Thuy are part of the Vietnamese communist government’s efforts to silence political dissidents, social activists, online bloggers and human rights defenders in a bid to maintain the country under a one-party regime.
According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding 130 political prisoners while the U.S. non-government organization Freedom House said Vietnam remains one of the world’s largest prisons for bloggers, with 29 netizens being imprisoned and at least eight Vietnamese bloggers were arrested or prosecuted under Article 258.