During the appeal hearing which lasted less than two hours, the court cut the jail sentence the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City gave him on March 30, saying the reduction was based on the contribution of his family to the communist cause.
By Defend the Defenders, October 5, 2016
The Higher People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on October 5 reduced the four-year sentence of well-known blogger Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (aka Nguyen Ngoc Gia) by one year but kept the three-year period of house arrest that follows the imprisonment.
During the appeal hearing which lasted less than two hours, the court cut the jail sentence the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City gave him on March 30, saying the reduction was based on the contribution of his family to the communist cause.
Mr. Ngoc, 50, is a former staff member at Ho Chi Minh City Television. He writes about social and political issues relating to democracy and human rights for the Vietnamese page of Radio Free Asia, and on independent websites including Dan Luan, Dan Lam Bao, and Dan Chim Viet. He has also expressed support for bloggers and activists imprisoned for exercising their basic rights, such as Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Le Quoc Quan, Dinh Nguyen Kha, and Bui Thi Minh Hang.
Ngoc was arrested on December 27, 2014 and charged with “conducting propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of the country’s Penal Code. According to the indictment, Ngoc was accused of sending many articles to foreign and domestic websites, 22 of them have contained untrue information and distorted the country’s leaders.
Similar to the trial in March, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City did not allow local activists to attend the appeal hearing.
The sentence reduction of Ngoc was rare especially in political cases in which defendants often rejected indictments of the court and claimed that they were innocent. On the appeal hearing of prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh on September 22, the Higher People’s Court in Hanoi upheld the five-year imprisonment although Vinh’s father was a senior diplomat and member of the party’s Central Committee.
Two days ahead of the appeal hearing, Human Rights Watch called on Vietnam to immediately free Mr. Ngoc and all other peaceful critics imprisoned for criticizing the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its government.
“Expressing critical views about the Vietnamese government should not be a crime,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based human rights organization. “The Vietnamese government should learn to tolerate different opinions, not just those that praise the ruling party and government.”
“The Vietnamese government should recognize that putting peaceful critics behind bars does not help with the country’s development or the government’s standing with its own people,” Mr. Adams said.
Vietnam’s new leadership formed after the party’s National Congress in late January has intensified its crackdown on local political dissidents, social activists and human rights in a bid to keep the nation under a one-party regime. Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has imprisoned 18 activists, including land right activist Can Thi Theu.
A number of other activists, including human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and former prisoner of conscience Tran Anh Kim have been detained for long periods without being brought to court.
Recently, the London-based Amnesty International urged Vietnam to release 82 prisoners of conscience, including bloggers Vinh, Ngoc, Kim and Theu.
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October 5, 2016
Vietnam Court Cuts Jail Sentence of Well-known Blogger to Three Years
by Nhan Quyen • Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (Nguyen Ngoc Gia)
By Defend the Defenders, October 5, 2016
The Higher People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on October 5 reduced the four-year sentence of well-known blogger Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (aka Nguyen Ngoc Gia) by one year but kept the three-year period of house arrest that follows the imprisonment.
During the appeal hearing which lasted less than two hours, the court cut the jail sentence the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City gave him on March 30, saying the reduction was based on the contribution of his family to the communist cause.
Mr. Ngoc, 50, is a former staff member at Ho Chi Minh City Television. He writes about social and political issues relating to democracy and human rights for the Vietnamese page of Radio Free Asia, and on independent websites including Dan Luan, Dan Lam Bao, and Dan Chim Viet. He has also expressed support for bloggers and activists imprisoned for exercising their basic rights, such as Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Le Quoc Quan, Dinh Nguyen Kha, and Bui Thi Minh Hang.
Ngoc was arrested on December 27, 2014 and charged with “conducting propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of the country’s Penal Code. According to the indictment, Ngoc was accused of sending many articles to foreign and domestic websites, 22 of them have contained untrue information and distorted the country’s leaders.
Similar to the trial in March, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City did not allow local activists to attend the appeal hearing.
The sentence reduction of Ngoc was rare especially in political cases in which defendants often rejected indictments of the court and claimed that they were innocent. On the appeal hearing of prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh on September 22, the Higher People’s Court in Hanoi upheld the five-year imprisonment although Vinh’s father was a senior diplomat and member of the party’s Central Committee.
Two days ahead of the appeal hearing, Human Rights Watch called on Vietnam to immediately free Mr. Ngoc and all other peaceful critics imprisoned for criticizing the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its government.
“Expressing critical views about the Vietnamese government should not be a crime,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based human rights organization. “The Vietnamese government should learn to tolerate different opinions, not just those that praise the ruling party and government.”
“The Vietnamese government should recognize that putting peaceful critics behind bars does not help with the country’s development or the government’s standing with its own people,” Mr. Adams said.
Vietnam’s new leadership formed after the party’s National Congress in late January has intensified its crackdown on local political dissidents, social activists and human rights in a bid to keep the nation under a one-party regime. Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has imprisoned 18 activists, including land right activist Can Thi Theu.
A number of other activists, including human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and former prisoner of conscience Tran Anh Kim have been detained for long periods without being brought to court.
Recently, the London-based Amnesty International urged Vietnam to release 82 prisoners of conscience, including bloggers Vinh, Ngoc, Kim and Theu.