Defend the Defenders | February 26, 2017
===== February 20 =====
Amnesty International Calls for Condemnation of Vietnamese Police Attack against Peaceful Marchers
On February 20, Amnesty International called on the international community to pay attention to the recent attack conducted by Vietnam’s authorities against around 700 men, women and children in Quynh Ngoc parish in the central province of Nghe An, as they were on their way to file a legal complaint against the Taiwanese-owned Formosa Steel Plant over polluting the local environment, a disaster that has affected their livelihoods.
In the early morning of February 14, 2017, approximately 700 people, mostly fishermen/women and others who rely on the fishing industry, gathered in the parish to submit 619 individual complaints in the neighboring province of Ha Tinh, where the Formosa plant is located. Collectively, their complaints call for compensation of approximately $20 million in damages caused by the devastation of fish stocks following the Formosa disaster in April 2016.
The group was attempting to travel the 170 kilometer-long journey by foot and motorbike as the bus companies that had agreed to transport them to Ha Tinh withdrew their services after receiving threats from the authorities. Traveling together and closely followed by hundreds of armed police, the group encountered a road block 20 kilometers outside Song Ngoc with more police waiting, bringing the number to around 2,000 in total. While the peaceful marchers spoke with the authorities, they were attacked by dozens plainclothes men who, according to a witness, attacked men, women and children by punching and kicking them. They also attacked those who were holding cameras and phones. A car containing ten people, including two who were livestreaming the event on Facebook, was towed from the scene – this has been confirmed by a video posted on YouTube. The violence lasted a few minutes, and the significant contingent of police looked on and did nothing to stop it.
Once the violence eased the group of mainly Catholic followers sat on the ground and prayed. A witness, who helped coordinate the compiling of the legal complaints, believes that unidentified plainclothes men infiltrated the prayer group and started to throw stones at the police, who in turn fired tear gas and what appears to have been flash grenades at the group. While running away, the group was again attacked, this time by police, with fists, rods and electric batons.
At least 15 men were taken away by the police, beaten and abandoned in remote areas to find their own way home, a witness told Amnesty International. Others were hospitalized, including one man who sustained a fractured spine and had four teeth knocked out, while three or four others remain in hospital with unknown injuries. Images circulated on social media show at least five people with serious head wounds.
Amnesty International calls on the international community to write letters to the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Minister of Public Security and Foreign Minister to demand them to promptly investigate the attack and bring those suspected of responsibility to account in fair trials, end the harassment of peaceful protestors in Vietnam, and respect and protect the human rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as facilitate the lodging of complaints by those affected by the April 2016 environmental disaster.
———————
Amnesty International Calls for Speaking out against the Inhuman Treatment Prisoner of Conscience Dinh Nguyen Kha Has Been Subjected To
Defend the Defenders: On February 20, Amnesty International called on the international community to speak out on the situation of Vietnamese prisoner of conscience Dinh Nguyen Kha, who has been denied medical treatment following an operation to remove a tumor from his stomach three months ago.
Kha, who was arrested in October 2012 on allegations that he distributed leaflets that were deemed critical of the Vietnamese government’s response to China’s actions in the disputed East Sea (South China Sea) under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, is serving an eight-year prison sentence handed by a court in Long An province.
He is currently detained at Xuyen Moc prison in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and is due to be released in October 2018.
Three months ago, Kha had an operation to remove a lemon-sized benign tumor from his stomach. However, despite repeated requests from him and his family, prison authorities are denying him follow-up medical treatment. While the scar from the operation has healed, there is swelling and he is concerned that he may have internal complications arising from the procedure. Following a recent visit, family has said that he was in physical pain and had lost about four kilograms in recent months.
A fit man in his mid-twenties when he arrived in prison, Kha is now unable to do physical activities, struggling to even lift his arms above his head. The prison has access to a local medical center in Vung Tau city but prison authorities do not grant him access.
The denial of medical treatment in these circumstances could amount to a violation of the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in violation of, among others, the Convention against Torture, ratified by Vietnam in February 2015, said Amnesty International.
Currently, Kha shares a 4×4 meter cell with another inmate in the high security section of Xuyen Moc prison. Without beds, both are forced to sleep on the floor beside a hole which is used as a toilet. Furthermore, as the roof is made of steel, the cell becomes extremely cold in the winter and hot during the summer. Kha has previously been placed in solitary confinement as punishment, including for a period of ten days in 2015 when he was shackled after he smuggled food to someone else in solitary confinement, his family informed Amnesty International.
Amnesty International urged individuals and activists worldwide to write letters to Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Minister of Public Security and Minister of Foreign Affairs to demand them to immediately and unconditionally release Kha as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression, and to provide Kha with appropriate medical care in accordance with his wishes and as necessary, including transfer to and treatment in a civil hospital if required.
Letters should be sent to Vietnam’s senior officials before April 3, the London-based human rights organization said.
———————
Vietnam’s Parliament to Keep National Security Provisions in the Penal Code
Defend the Defenders: It is likely that Vietnam’s highest legislative body, the National Assembly (NA), will keep controversial “national security” provisions in the Penal Code although many foreign countries and international human rights organizations have called for their repeal.
The Vietnamese government has used inter alia Articles 49, 87, 88, 258 of the Penal Code adopted by the Parliament in 1999 to silent local political dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders.
In 2015, the Parliament adopted the amended Penal Code but retained these provisions. It simply named them differently from the 1999 Penal Code. However, Vietnam suspended its implementation due to 90 “technical errors.”
On Monday, February 20, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee discussed the draft law on the amendments and supplements to the Penal Code. It did not discuss national security provisions. Instead, it tackled other, less sensitive issues.
State media reported that the committee disagreed with a congressional vote which would mean that juveniles are fully subject to criminal charges for rape, deliberately injuring people or kidnapping. Article 12 of the 2015 Penal Code regulated that any person from 14 to 16, while still legally a child, would be held responsible for criminal charges for a list of crimes, including rape, deliberately injuring people, or kidnapping.
Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri said that the government wanted to narrow down the crime level to which juveniles are subject to criminal charges, making it so they only face prison terms if their crimes are grave.
Children Chairman Phan Thanh Binh of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, and Adolescents said that those under 16 were considered children according to the Child Law.
Nguyen Khac Dinh, a member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Legal Affairs, suggested that the issue should be brought to the parliament for voting.
Hundreds of Vietnamese activists have been charged with national security provisions under the Penal Code and given long-term prison sentences. According to Amnesty International, Vietnam is holding at least 112 prisoners of conscience, who bravely exercised their basic rights of freedom of expression and assembly.
===== February 21 =====
Three Northern Vietnam Cops Probed for Beating Detainee to Death
Defend the Defenders: The Investigation Police Agency in Vietnam’s northern province of Vinh Phuc has proposed prosecuting three local police officers for beating a detainee to death, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
The agency said Luong Duy Tuyen, head of the police in Lang Cong commune, Song Lo district and two policemen, namely Tran Dang Khoi and Nguyen Trong Anh, beat Nguyen Cao Tan, who later died of his injuries.
On October 27, 2016, Tuyen summoned Tan to the communal police station to interrogate him for stealing a cell phone of Tan’s son. During the interrogation, the three policemen tortured the detainee, the police agency said. Tan was released on the same day but found dead in the morning of the next day.
The autopsy showed that Tan suffered from numerous internal injuries.
According to the police’s proposal, the three perpetrators will be charged of “intentionally injuring or causing harm to the health of other persons” under Article 104 of the Penal Code. They will face imprisonment of between five and 15 years.
However, human rights activists said the cops should be charged for murder.
Vietnam ratified the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) but people continue to suffer from torture in police custody. Hundreds of criminal suspects were found dead in police stations in the past few years. So far this year, five detainees have died and another five have suffered severe injuries in police custody nationwide.
===== February 22 ====
Mother Mushroom’s Temporary Detention Extended
Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa extended the pre-trial detention of prominent human rights activist and blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (also known as “Mother Mushroom”) for another four months, said her mother Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan.
The family only received an “oral notification” from the local police agency, Mrs. Lan told the Voice of America radio (VOA).
Quynh was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
===== February 23 =====
EU Parliamentarians Working on Human Rights Meet with Vietnamese Activists in Hanoi
On February 23, a delegation from the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by its Chairman Pier Antonio Panzeri, met with Vietnamese activists as part of their visit to Hanoi from February 21-24.
Vice-President of the Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Chief Executive Officer of Defend the Defenders Vu Quoc Ngu, human rights lawyer and former prisoner of conscience Le Cong Dinh, and bloggers Doan Trang, Nguyen Chi Tuyen and Nguyen Anh Tuan attended the meeting, which was held in the office of the EU Delegation to Vietnam.
During the meeting, the local activists reported on the human rights situation in Vietnam and asked the EU to pay more attention to it. The 28-nation bloc should press Vietnam to respect basic human rights, the rule of law and freedom of the press, the activists said.
During their stay in Vietnam, the EU delegation held a number of meetings with senior officials, state agencies, international organizations, religious and non-governmental organizations, as well as local leading human rights advocates.
Vietnam has achieved socio-economic progress and has begun the process of promoting socio-economic rights, said Mr. Panzeri, adding that during talks with Vietnamese governmental agencies, the delegation welcomed Vietnam’s ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
The delegation raised global issues such as human trafficking and gender-based domestic violence and welcomed the efforts of the Vietnamese government in those fields.
EU parliamentarians also warned Vietnam that a failure to improve the country’s human rights record would threaten to hinder the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement’s (FTA) ratification.
“If [human rights] conditions are not met, then it is going to be very difficult to approve the free trade agreement,” Panzeri was quoted by Channel News Asia as saying in Hanoi on February 23.
Lars Adaktusson, an EU parliamentarian from Sweden said that Vietnam needed to improve freedom of the press.
Vietnam and the EU concluded their negotiations on the FTA in 2015. Many international human rights organizations have criticized the bloc for prioritizing economic benefits while ignoring the human rights situation in the Southeast Asian nation.
Europe is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam, after China and the U.S. It imports electronics, textiles and agricultural products such as coffee, rice and seafood from the Southeast Asian country and exports high-tech products including electrical machinery and equipment, aircraft, vehicles and pharmaceuticals to Vietnam.
===== February 24 =====
Vietnam Ranked World’s Fifth Worst Death Penalty Executioner: VCHR
On February 17, the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) issued a press release highlighting Vietnam as the fifth worst death penalty executioner in the world.
The ranking was based on a recent report released by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), in which Vietnam said it had held executions for 429 people sentenced to death from August 2013 to June 2016. With that figure, Vietnam stands only behind China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S.
VCHR President Vo Van Ai said the use of the death penalty in Vietnam is due to unjust laws.
The MPS report, dated January 4, 2017, noted that in order to deal with the high number of death-sentence prisoners, Vietnam is building five new execution facilities in addition to the five already existing ones. Security officers are also being trained quickly to conduct poison injections.
Although the 2009 Penal Code has reduced the number of death-sentence crimes to 22 from the previous 44, the number of people sentenced to death remains high.
===== February 25 =====
Saigon-based Activist Harassed after Protesting against Fuel Price Hike
Defend the Defenders: Vu Huy Hoang, a social activist in Saigon, has been harassed after holding a protest against the recent fuel price hike.
On February 20, Hoang went to the southern region representative office of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City to express his disagreement with the Ministry’s approval of increase for the price of fuel. He held a banner indicating that fuel prices were too high and that a further rise would be illogical.
On the next day, his private house was attacked by bricks, which caused significant damage to the roof.
On February 23, his car was also attacked by thugs who broke its glasses. Hoang spent over VND 11.5 million ($500) on repairing the damage.
Hoang said he had no personal disputes with any person and that the attacks may be retribution for his social activities, including the protest against the fuel price hike.
===== February 26 =====
Amnesty International report 2016/17: Vietnam
Amnesty International: Severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, of association and of peaceful assembly continued. The media and the judiciary, as well as political and religious institutions, remained under state control. Prisoners of conscience were tortured and otherwise ill-treated, and subjected to unfair trials. Physical attacks against human rights defenders continued, and prominent activists were subjected to daily surveillance and harassment. Peaceful dissidents and government critics were arrested and convicted on national security charges. Demonstrations were repressed, with participants and organizers arrested and tortured. The death penalty was retained.
Background
The five-yearly leadership change took place in January at the congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. In May, a general election for the 500 seats in the National Assembly was contested by 900 Communist Party members nominated by central or local authorities and 11 independent candidates. Over 100 non-party candidates who attempted to register, including prominent government critics such as Nguyễn Quang A, were disqualified on tenuous administrative grounds. Some were subject to harassment and intimidation.
The implementation of key new laws, scheduled for July, was postponed due to flaws in the amended Penal Code. They included the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on the Organization of Criminal Investigation Agencies, the Law on the Implementation of Custody and Temporary Detention, and the amended Penal Code itself.
Repression of dissent
Peaceful criticism of government policies continued to be silenced through judicial and extra-legal means. There was extensive surveillance and harassment of activists, including those who demonstrated against the Formosa ecological disaster which affected the lives of an estimated 270,000 people (see below). Attacks against human rights defenders were commonplace.
The authorities continued to use vaguely worded legislation to convict peaceful activists under the national security section of the 1999 Penal Code, in particular: Article 258 “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens”; Article 88 “spreading propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam”; and Article 79 “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”.
In an eight-day period in March, seven activists and government critics were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the peaceful expression of their views. They included Nguyễn Hữu Vinh, founder of the popular blog site Anh Ba Sàm, and his assistant Nguyễn Thi Minh Thúy who were convicted under Article 258 and given five- and three-year prison sentences respectively. They had spent nearly two years in pre-trial detention.
Prominent human rights lawyer Nguyễn Văn Đài and his assistant Lê Thu Hà remained in incommunicado detention following their arrest on charges under Article 88 in December 2015.
In October, well-known activist Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, known as blogger Mẹ Nấm (Mother Mushroom), was arrested on charges under Article 88 in connection with her blog postings criticizing the government. The Article carries a three- to 20-year prison sentence.
Routine beatings of human rights defenders and their relatives continued. In April, Trần Thị Hồng, wife of prisoner of conscience Pastor Nguyễn Công Chính, was arrested and severely beaten in custody soon after she met with a US delegation visiting Viet Nam.
Freedom of assembly
Large peaceful demonstrations over the Formosa disaster were frequent. Weekly demonstrations in urban centres around the country in April and May resulted in mass arrests and attacks against participants by police and individuals in plain clothes believed to be police or working under police orders. Many of those detained were tortured or otherwise ill-treated, including with beatings and the use of electric shocks. Demonstrations continued throughout the year, with those in provinces affected by the Formosa disaster gathering momentum. There were reports that 30,000 people demonstrated in August in Vinh City, Nghệ An province.
Land disputes
In July, a demonstration of around 400 ethnic minority Ede villagers in Buôn Ma Thuột, Đắk Lắk province protesting against the sale of 100 hectares of the community’s ancestral land to a private company was violently repressed by security forces; at least seven demonstrators were arrested and held in incommunicado detention.
In August, land activist Cấn Thị Thêu was convicted under Article 245 of “causing public disorder” by a court in the capital Ha Noi and sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment. She was accused of inciting protests against reclamation of land in Hà Đông district, Ha Noi, by posting photographs online.
Torture and other ill-treatment
Torture and other ill-treatment, including incommunicado detention, prolonged solitary confinement, beatings, withholding of medical treatment, and punitive transfers between facilities were practised on prisoners of conscience throughout the country. At least 88 prisoners of conscience were held in harsh conditions after unfair trials, some of whom were subjected to beatings, prolonged solitary confinement, deprivation of medical treatment and electric shocks. They included bloggers, labour and land rights activists, political activists, religious followers, members of ethnic groups and advocates for human rights and social justice.
Land rights activist Bùi Thị Minh Hằng, and Hòa Hảo Buddhist Trần Thị Thúy continued to be denied adequate medical treatment since 2015; Catholic activist Đặng Xuân Diệu was held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods and tortured; and Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức had been transferred between several prisons since 2009, apparently as a punishment or to intimidate him.
Refugees and asylum-seekers
In April and May, in two separate cases, eight asylum-seekers among groups intercepted en route to Australia and forcibly returned to Viet Nam were sentenced to between two and four years’ imprisonment under Article 275 of the Penal Code for “organizing and/or coercing other persons to flee abroad or to stay abroad illegally”.
Right to an adequate standard of living
An ecological disaster in early April killed huge numbers of fish stocks along the coast of Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế provinces, affecting the livelihoods of 270,000 people. After a two-month investigation, the authorities confirmed allegations by the public that a steel plant owned by the Taiwanese Formosa Plastics Group had caused toxic waste discharges. At the end of June, Formosa publicly acknowledged responsibility and announced that it would provide compensation of US$ 500 million. In October, a court in Hà Tĩnh rejected 506 cases filed by those affected. The plaintiffs were calling for increased compensation in damages for the impact on their livelihoods.
Death penalty
Death sentences continued to be imposed, including for drug-related offences. Official statistics remained classified as a state secret. Death sentences were reported in the media. There was no available information about executions.
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February 27, 2017
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders Weekly Feb 20-26: Amnesty International Says Vietnam’s Human Rights Record Remains Grave
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | February 26, 2017
Severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, of association and of peaceful assembly continued in Vietnam in 2016-2017, said Amnesty International in its annual report released this week.
In the communist country, the media and the judiciary, as well as political and religious institutions, remained under state control while prisoners of conscience were tortured and otherwise ill-treated, and subjected to unfair trials, the London-based human rights organization said.
Vietnam’s security forces have continued to attack human rights defenders and maintained their daily surveillance and harassment of leading activists. A number of peaceful dissidents and government critics were arrested and convicted on national security charges, Amnesty International said, adding that demonstrations were repressed, with participants and organizers arrested and tortured. The death penalty was retained in Vietnam, it noted.
During the week, Amnesty International also called on the international community to pay attention to the health condition of prisoner of conscience Dinh Nguyen Kha, who is serving an eight-year imprisonment sentence. His family said he has been denied medical treatment after a stomach operation, three months ago.
Amnesty International urged the international community to condemn Vietnam’s government over the police attack against Catholic followers in the central province of Nghe An on February 14, when they tried to launch a lawsuit against the Formosa Group, which is responsible for causing an environmental catastrophe in the central coastal region last April.
Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa have extended the pre-trial detention of prominent human rights advocate Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (also known as “Mother Mushroom”) for an additional period of four months.
It is likely that Vietnam’s highest legislative body National Assembly (NA) will keep the controversial “national security” provisions in the country’s Penal Code although many foreign countries and international human rights organizations have called for their repeal.
And other news
===== February 20 =====
Amnesty International Calls for Condemnation of Vietnamese Police Attack against Peaceful Marchers
On February 20, Amnesty International called on the international community to pay attention to the recent attack conducted by Vietnam’s authorities against around 700 men, women and children in Quynh Ngoc parish in the central province of Nghe An, as they were on their way to file a legal complaint against the Taiwanese-owned Formosa Steel Plant over polluting the local environment, a disaster that has affected their livelihoods.
In the early morning of February 14, 2017, approximately 700 people, mostly fishermen/women and others who rely on the fishing industry, gathered in the parish to submit 619 individual complaints in the neighboring province of Ha Tinh, where the Formosa plant is located. Collectively, their complaints call for compensation of approximately $20 million in damages caused by the devastation of fish stocks following the Formosa disaster in April 2016.
The group was attempting to travel the 170 kilometer-long journey by foot and motorbike as the bus companies that had agreed to transport them to Ha Tinh withdrew their services after receiving threats from the authorities. Traveling together and closely followed by hundreds of armed police, the group encountered a road block 20 kilometers outside Song Ngoc with more police waiting, bringing the number to around 2,000 in total. While the peaceful marchers spoke with the authorities, they were attacked by dozens plainclothes men who, according to a witness, attacked men, women and children by punching and kicking them. They also attacked those who were holding cameras and phones. A car containing ten people, including two who were livestreaming the event on Facebook, was towed from the scene – this has been confirmed by a video posted on YouTube. The violence lasted a few minutes, and the significant contingent of police looked on and did nothing to stop it.
Once the violence eased the group of mainly Catholic followers sat on the ground and prayed. A witness, who helped coordinate the compiling of the legal complaints, believes that unidentified plainclothes men infiltrated the prayer group and started to throw stones at the police, who in turn fired tear gas and what appears to have been flash grenades at the group. While running away, the group was again attacked, this time by police, with fists, rods and electric batons.
At least 15 men were taken away by the police, beaten and abandoned in remote areas to find their own way home, a witness told Amnesty International. Others were hospitalized, including one man who sustained a fractured spine and had four teeth knocked out, while three or four others remain in hospital with unknown injuries. Images circulated on social media show at least five people with serious head wounds.
Amnesty International calls on the international community to write letters to the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Minister of Public Security and Foreign Minister to demand them to promptly investigate the attack and bring those suspected of responsibility to account in fair trials, end the harassment of peaceful protestors in Vietnam, and respect and protect the human rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as facilitate the lodging of complaints by those affected by the April 2016 environmental disaster.
———————
Amnesty International Calls for Speaking out against the Inhuman Treatment Prisoner of Conscience Dinh Nguyen Kha Has Been Subjected To
Defend the Defenders: On February 20, Amnesty International called on the international community to speak out on the situation of Vietnamese prisoner of conscience Dinh Nguyen Kha, who has been denied medical treatment following an operation to remove a tumor from his stomach three months ago.
Kha, who was arrested in October 2012 on allegations that he distributed leaflets that were deemed critical of the Vietnamese government’s response to China’s actions in the disputed East Sea (South China Sea) under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, is serving an eight-year prison sentence handed by a court in Long An province.
He is currently detained at Xuyen Moc prison in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and is due to be released in October 2018.
Three months ago, Kha had an operation to remove a lemon-sized benign tumor from his stomach. However, despite repeated requests from him and his family, prison authorities are denying him follow-up medical treatment. While the scar from the operation has healed, there is swelling and he is concerned that he may have internal complications arising from the procedure. Following a recent visit, family has said that he was in physical pain and had lost about four kilograms in recent months.
A fit man in his mid-twenties when he arrived in prison, Kha is now unable to do physical activities, struggling to even lift his arms above his head. The prison has access to a local medical center in Vung Tau city but prison authorities do not grant him access.
The denial of medical treatment in these circumstances could amount to a violation of the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in violation of, among others, the Convention against Torture, ratified by Vietnam in February 2015, said Amnesty International.
Currently, Kha shares a 4×4 meter cell with another inmate in the high security section of Xuyen Moc prison. Without beds, both are forced to sleep on the floor beside a hole which is used as a toilet. Furthermore, as the roof is made of steel, the cell becomes extremely cold in the winter and hot during the summer. Kha has previously been placed in solitary confinement as punishment, including for a period of ten days in 2015 when he was shackled after he smuggled food to someone else in solitary confinement, his family informed Amnesty International.
Amnesty International urged individuals and activists worldwide to write letters to Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Minister of Public Security and Minister of Foreign Affairs to demand them to immediately and unconditionally release Kha as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression, and to provide Kha with appropriate medical care in accordance with his wishes and as necessary, including transfer to and treatment in a civil hospital if required.
Letters should be sent to Vietnam’s senior officials before April 3, the London-based human rights organization said.
———————
Vietnam’s Parliament to Keep National Security Provisions in the Penal Code
Defend the Defenders: It is likely that Vietnam’s highest legislative body, the National Assembly (NA), will keep controversial “national security” provisions in the Penal Code although many foreign countries and international human rights organizations have called for their repeal.
The Vietnamese government has used inter alia Articles 49, 87, 88, 258 of the Penal Code adopted by the Parliament in 1999 to silent local political dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders.
In 2015, the Parliament adopted the amended Penal Code but retained these provisions. It simply named them differently from the 1999 Penal Code. However, Vietnam suspended its implementation due to 90 “technical errors.”
On Monday, February 20, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee discussed the draft law on the amendments and supplements to the Penal Code. It did not discuss national security provisions. Instead, it tackled other, less sensitive issues.
State media reported that the committee disagreed with a congressional vote which would mean that juveniles are fully subject to criminal charges for rape, deliberately injuring people or kidnapping. Article 12 of the 2015 Penal Code regulated that any person from 14 to 16, while still legally a child, would be held responsible for criminal charges for a list of crimes, including rape, deliberately injuring people, or kidnapping.
Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri said that the government wanted to narrow down the crime level to which juveniles are subject to criminal charges, making it so they only face prison terms if their crimes are grave.
Children Chairman Phan Thanh Binh of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, and Adolescents said that those under 16 were considered children according to the Child Law.
Nguyen Khac Dinh, a member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Legal Affairs, suggested that the issue should be brought to the parliament for voting.
Hundreds of Vietnamese activists have been charged with national security provisions under the Penal Code and given long-term prison sentences. According to Amnesty International, Vietnam is holding at least 112 prisoners of conscience, who bravely exercised their basic rights of freedom of expression and assembly.
===== February 21 =====
Three Northern Vietnam Cops Probed for Beating Detainee to Death
Defend the Defenders: The Investigation Police Agency in Vietnam’s northern province of Vinh Phuc has proposed prosecuting three local police officers for beating a detainee to death, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
The agency said Luong Duy Tuyen, head of the police in Lang Cong commune, Song Lo district and two policemen, namely Tran Dang Khoi and Nguyen Trong Anh, beat Nguyen Cao Tan, who later died of his injuries.
On October 27, 2016, Tuyen summoned Tan to the communal police station to interrogate him for stealing a cell phone of Tan’s son. During the interrogation, the three policemen tortured the detainee, the police agency said. Tan was released on the same day but found dead in the morning of the next day.
The autopsy showed that Tan suffered from numerous internal injuries.
According to the police’s proposal, the three perpetrators will be charged of “intentionally injuring or causing harm to the health of other persons” under Article 104 of the Penal Code. They will face imprisonment of between five and 15 years.
However, human rights activists said the cops should be charged for murder.
Vietnam ratified the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) but people continue to suffer from torture in police custody. Hundreds of criminal suspects were found dead in police stations in the past few years. So far this year, five detainees have died and another five have suffered severe injuries in police custody nationwide.
===== February 22 ====
Mother Mushroom’s Temporary Detention Extended
Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa extended the pre-trial detention of prominent human rights activist and blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (also known as “Mother Mushroom”) for another four months, said her mother Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan.
The family only received an “oral notification” from the local police agency, Mrs. Lan told the Voice of America radio (VOA).
Quynh was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
===== February 23 =====
EU Parliamentarians Working on Human Rights Meet with Vietnamese Activists in Hanoi
On February 23, a delegation from the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by its Chairman Pier Antonio Panzeri, met with Vietnamese activists as part of their visit to Hanoi from February 21-24.
Vice-President of the Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Chief Executive Officer of Defend the Defenders Vu Quoc Ngu, human rights lawyer and former prisoner of conscience Le Cong Dinh, and bloggers Doan Trang, Nguyen Chi Tuyen and Nguyen Anh Tuan attended the meeting, which was held in the office of the EU Delegation to Vietnam.
During the meeting, the local activists reported on the human rights situation in Vietnam and asked the EU to pay more attention to it. The 28-nation bloc should press Vietnam to respect basic human rights, the rule of law and freedom of the press, the activists said.
During their stay in Vietnam, the EU delegation held a number of meetings with senior officials, state agencies, international organizations, religious and non-governmental organizations, as well as local leading human rights advocates.
Vietnam has achieved socio-economic progress and has begun the process of promoting socio-economic rights, said Mr. Panzeri, adding that during talks with Vietnamese governmental agencies, the delegation welcomed Vietnam’s ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
The delegation raised global issues such as human trafficking and gender-based domestic violence and welcomed the efforts of the Vietnamese government in those fields.
EU parliamentarians also warned Vietnam that a failure to improve the country’s human rights record would threaten to hinder the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement’s (FTA) ratification.
“If [human rights] conditions are not met, then it is going to be very difficult to approve the free trade agreement,” Panzeri was quoted by Channel News Asia as saying in Hanoi on February 23.
Lars Adaktusson, an EU parliamentarian from Sweden said that Vietnam needed to improve freedom of the press.
Vietnam and the EU concluded their negotiations on the FTA in 2015. Many international human rights organizations have criticized the bloc for prioritizing economic benefits while ignoring the human rights situation in the Southeast Asian nation.
Europe is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam, after China and the U.S. It imports electronics, textiles and agricultural products such as coffee, rice and seafood from the Southeast Asian country and exports high-tech products including electrical machinery and equipment, aircraft, vehicles and pharmaceuticals to Vietnam.
===== February 24 =====
Vietnam Ranked World’s Fifth Worst Death Penalty Executioner: VCHR
On February 17, the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) issued a press release highlighting Vietnam as the fifth worst death penalty executioner in the world.
The ranking was based on a recent report released by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), in which Vietnam said it had held executions for 429 people sentenced to death from August 2013 to June 2016. With that figure, Vietnam stands only behind China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S.
VCHR President Vo Van Ai said the use of the death penalty in Vietnam is due to unjust laws.
The MPS report, dated January 4, 2017, noted that in order to deal with the high number of death-sentence prisoners, Vietnam is building five new execution facilities in addition to the five already existing ones. Security officers are also being trained quickly to conduct poison injections.
Although the 2009 Penal Code has reduced the number of death-sentence crimes to 22 from the previous 44, the number of people sentenced to death remains high.
===== February 25 =====
Saigon-based Activist Harassed after Protesting against Fuel Price Hike
Defend the Defenders: Vu Huy Hoang, a social activist in Saigon, has been harassed after holding a protest against the recent fuel price hike.
On February 20, Hoang went to the southern region representative office of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City to express his disagreement with the Ministry’s approval of increase for the price of fuel. He held a banner indicating that fuel prices were too high and that a further rise would be illogical.
On the next day, his private house was attacked by bricks, which caused significant damage to the roof.
On February 23, his car was also attacked by thugs who broke its glasses. Hoang spent over VND 11.5 million ($500) on repairing the damage.
Hoang said he had no personal disputes with any person and that the attacks may be retribution for his social activities, including the protest against the fuel price hike.
===== February 26 =====
Amnesty International report 2016/17: Vietnam
Amnesty International: Severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, of association and of peaceful assembly continued. The media and the judiciary, as well as political and religious institutions, remained under state control. Prisoners of conscience were tortured and otherwise ill-treated, and subjected to unfair trials. Physical attacks against human rights defenders continued, and prominent activists were subjected to daily surveillance and harassment. Peaceful dissidents and government critics were arrested and convicted on national security charges. Demonstrations were repressed, with participants and organizers arrested and tortured. The death penalty was retained.
Background
The five-yearly leadership change took place in January at the congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. In May, a general election for the 500 seats in the National Assembly was contested by 900 Communist Party members nominated by central or local authorities and 11 independent candidates. Over 100 non-party candidates who attempted to register, including prominent government critics such as Nguyễn Quang A, were disqualified on tenuous administrative grounds. Some were subject to harassment and intimidation.
The implementation of key new laws, scheduled for July, was postponed due to flaws in the amended Penal Code. They included the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on the Organization of Criminal Investigation Agencies, the Law on the Implementation of Custody and Temporary Detention, and the amended Penal Code itself.
Repression of dissent
Peaceful criticism of government policies continued to be silenced through judicial and extra-legal means. There was extensive surveillance and harassment of activists, including those who demonstrated against the Formosa ecological disaster which affected the lives of an estimated 270,000 people (see below). Attacks against human rights defenders were commonplace.
The authorities continued to use vaguely worded legislation to convict peaceful activists under the national security section of the 1999 Penal Code, in particular: Article 258 “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens”; Article 88 “spreading propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam”; and Article 79 “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”.
In an eight-day period in March, seven activists and government critics were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the peaceful expression of their views. They included Nguyễn Hữu Vinh, founder of the popular blog site Anh Ba Sàm, and his assistant Nguyễn Thi Minh Thúy who were convicted under Article 258 and given five- and three-year prison sentences respectively. They had spent nearly two years in pre-trial detention.
Prominent human rights lawyer Nguyễn Văn Đài and his assistant Lê Thu Hà remained in incommunicado detention following their arrest on charges under Article 88 in December 2015.
In October, well-known activist Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, known as blogger Mẹ Nấm (Mother Mushroom), was arrested on charges under Article 88 in connection with her blog postings criticizing the government. The Article carries a three- to 20-year prison sentence.
Routine beatings of human rights defenders and their relatives continued. In April, Trần Thị Hồng, wife of prisoner of conscience Pastor Nguyễn Công Chính, was arrested and severely beaten in custody soon after she met with a US delegation visiting Viet Nam.
Freedom of assembly
Large peaceful demonstrations over the Formosa disaster were frequent. Weekly demonstrations in urban centres around the country in April and May resulted in mass arrests and attacks against participants by police and individuals in plain clothes believed to be police or working under police orders. Many of those detained were tortured or otherwise ill-treated, including with beatings and the use of electric shocks. Demonstrations continued throughout the year, with those in provinces affected by the Formosa disaster gathering momentum. There were reports that 30,000 people demonstrated in August in Vinh City, Nghệ An province.
Land disputes
In July, a demonstration of around 400 ethnic minority Ede villagers in Buôn Ma Thuột, Đắk Lắk province protesting against the sale of 100 hectares of the community’s ancestral land to a private company was violently repressed by security forces; at least seven demonstrators were arrested and held in incommunicado detention.
In August, land activist Cấn Thị Thêu was convicted under Article 245 of “causing public disorder” by a court in the capital Ha Noi and sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment. She was accused of inciting protests against reclamation of land in Hà Đông district, Ha Noi, by posting photographs online.
Torture and other ill-treatment
Torture and other ill-treatment, including incommunicado detention, prolonged solitary confinement, beatings, withholding of medical treatment, and punitive transfers between facilities were practised on prisoners of conscience throughout the country. At least 88 prisoners of conscience were held in harsh conditions after unfair trials, some of whom were subjected to beatings, prolonged solitary confinement, deprivation of medical treatment and electric shocks. They included bloggers, labour and land rights activists, political activists, religious followers, members of ethnic groups and advocates for human rights and social justice.
Land rights activist Bùi Thị Minh Hằng, and Hòa Hảo Buddhist Trần Thị Thúy continued to be denied adequate medical treatment since 2015; Catholic activist Đặng Xuân Diệu was held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods and tortured; and Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức had been transferred between several prisons since 2009, apparently as a punishment or to intimidate him.
Refugees and asylum-seekers
In April and May, in two separate cases, eight asylum-seekers among groups intercepted en route to Australia and forcibly returned to Viet Nam were sentenced to between two and four years’ imprisonment under Article 275 of the Penal Code for “organizing and/or coercing other persons to flee abroad or to stay abroad illegally”.
Right to an adequate standard of living
An ecological disaster in early April killed huge numbers of fish stocks along the coast of Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế provinces, affecting the livelihoods of 270,000 people. After a two-month investigation, the authorities confirmed allegations by the public that a steel plant owned by the Taiwanese Formosa Plastics Group had caused toxic waste discharges. At the end of June, Formosa publicly acknowledged responsibility and announced that it would provide compensation of US$ 500 million. In October, a court in Hà Tĩnh rejected 506 cases filed by those affected. The plaintiffs were calling for increased compensation in damages for the impact on their livelihoods.
Death penalty
Death sentences continued to be imposed, including for drug-related offences. Official statistics remained classified as a state secret. Death sentences were reported in the media. There was no available information about executions.