Defend the Defenders | March 12, 2017
===== March 07 =====
Civil Rights Defenders Calls for Ending Persecution of Vietnamese Women Activists
On March 7, one day prior to International Women’s Day (IWD), Civil Rights Defenders issued a statement requesting Vietnam’s Communist government to free women human rights defenders and end its persecution of women activists.
The Stockholm-based human rights organization said that “Be Bold for Change,” the theme for IWD 2017, was an opportunity for Vietnam to take a first step to demonstrate its commitment to women’s rights by releasing all women human rights defenders, activists and bloggers it arbitrarily detains.
“It is supreme hypocrisy for Vietnam to claim to uphold women’s rights while directly targeting women who advocate for a more just, open and gender-equal society,” said Civil Rights Defenders, adding the Southeast Asian nation should immediately and unconditionally release blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (a.k.a. Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom), Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, Can Thi Theu, Tran Thi Nga and all other women who are detained solely for the legitimate exercise of their rights.
Vietnamese female activists and bloggers face many forms of repression, including physical and judicial harassment, surveillance, intimidation, smear campaigns, arrest, detention, ill-treatment, sexual violence and physical assault, Civil Rights Defenders said.
In addition to release Vietnamese female activists and bloggers who were arbitrarily detained, Vietnam should hold all perpetrators of abuses against women, including women human rights defenders, activists and bloggers, to account and put an end to impunity for such abuses,” Civil Rights Defenders said.
Finally, Civil Rights Defenders urged Vietnam to also ensure all detained persons have access to a lawyer, their family and adequate medical care and to treat them in accordance with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (“Nelson Mandela Rules”).
Vietnam: Free Women Human Rights Defenders and End Persecution of Women Activists
——————–
Amnesty International Honors Human Rights Activist Tran Thi Nga on International Women Day
On March 7, one day ahead of International Women Day (March 8), Amnesty International issued a statement to recognize the work of six distinguished women human rights activists in Southeast Asian, who have faced harassment, threats, imprisonment, and violence for standing up for human rights in the region.
One of the honored female activists is Vietnamese land rights activist and pro-democracy advocate Tran Thi Nga, who was arrested on February 21, 2017 and charged with “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. Other activists are lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri from Thailand, high-profile political dissident Maria Chin Abdullah from Malaysia, human rights activist Tep Vanny from Cambodia, imprisoned Senator Leila de Lima from the Philippines, and human rights activist Wai Wai Nu from Myanmar.
“On this International Women’s Day this year, we want to recognize six women, from six different countries, whose heroism inspires many in the region and whose contributions to society should commended, not condemned,” the London-based human rights organization said.
“In Southeast Asia, there are few governments who can be proud of their human rights records, but there are countless women across the region who have braved great dangers to take a stand against injustice,” Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Champa Patel said in a statement posted on the organization’s website.
Southeast Asia: As governments fail on human rights, women stand up
——————–
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016 – Vietnam
U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by a single party, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), and led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President Tran Dai Quang, and Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. The most recent National Assembly elections, held on May 22, were neither free nor fair, despite limited competition among CPV-vetted candidates.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces.
The National Assembly delayed the implementation of several laws passed in 2015 affecting the rights of citizens, including a new penal code, criminal procedure code, and law on custody and temporary detention.
The most significant human rights problems in the country were severe government restrictions of citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government through free and fair elections; limits on citizens’ civil liberties, including freedom of assembly, association, and expression; and inadequate protection of citizens’ due process rights, including protection against arbitrary detention.
Other human rights abuses included arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of life; police attacks and corporal punishment; arbitrary arrest and detention for political activities; continued police mistreatment of suspects during arrest and detention, including the use of lethal force and austere prison conditions; and denial of the right to a fair and expeditious trial. The judicial system was opaque and lacked independence, and political and economic influences regularly affected judicial outcomes. The government limited freedom of speech and suppressed dissent; exercised control over and censored the press; restricted internet freedom and freedom of religion; maintained often-heavy surveillance of activists; and continued to limit privacy rights and freedoms of assembly, association, and movement. The government continued to control registration of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) closely, including human rights organizations. Authorities restricted visits by human rights NGOs and foreign press agencies that did not agree to government oversight. Corruption remained widespread throughout public-sector institutions, including police. The government maintained limits on workers’ rights to form and join independent unions and did not enforce safe and healthy working conditions adequately. Child labor persisted, especially in agricultural occupations.
The government sometimes took corrective action, including prosecutions, against officials who violated the law, and police officers sometimes acted with impunity.
For details: https://vn.usembassy.gov/2016-country-reports-human-rights-practices-vietnam/
===== March 08 =====
UN Rights Experts Condemn Vietnam for Incommunicado Detention of Prominent Human Rights Defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh
On March 8, on the day of International Women’s Day, five human rights experts, mandate-holders of UN Human Rights Council special procedures, jointly urged Vietnam to immediately release detained prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who is also a popular blogger known as “Mother Mushroom.”
The high-profile experts are Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment John H. Knox, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst, and Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak.
Ms. Quynh was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. The activist, who was honored as Civil Rights Defender of the year in 2015 by the Stockholm-based organization Civil Rights Defenders, has been detained incommunicado since her arrest.
The charges against her are linked to her online activities that were critical of Vietnam’s government on a number of issues, including human rights, environment and weak response to China’s violations of the Vietnamese sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
“We are deeply concerned that Ms. Quynh is being detained because of the exercise of her right to freedom of opinion and expression on a matter of public interest,” the experts noted.
“We fear for her physical and psychological integrity, and denounce the violations of her fundamental right to due process, in particular her being detained incommunicado, the denial of her right to legal counsel and the banning of visits from her family,” they said in a statement posted on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The experts also pointed out that she has faced continuous intimidation by the government for almost eight years prior to her arrest and that the harassment included frequent travel bans, physical assaults and threats as well as blockage from participating in peaceful protests.
“As an environmental human rights defender, Mother Mushroom should be honored for her courage and perseverance in defending the environment and human rights for years without fear,” the experts noted.
“Bloggers such as Ms. Quynh help to ensure that the public has access to information about environmental threats that affect their health and well-being,” the experts stated. “Her prolonged detention sends a negative signal to the public that their right to information is not respected”.
The experts have already been in contact with the Government about the situation, reiterating the call made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for her release last October.
UN rights experts condemn Viet Nam for incommunicado detention of blogger ‘Mother Mushroom’
===== March 9 =====
Hoa Hao Buddhist Followers Requested not to Commemorate Death of Ven. Huynh Phu So
Vietnam’s authorities have requested followers of the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang not to gather to commemorate the death of Venerable Monk Huynh Phu So, the founder of the sect who was assassinated by the communists 70 years ago.
The request was made at a meeting in Cho Moi district on March 7 between the local authorities and senior clerks of the independent Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, said Mr. Nguyen Van Dien, president of the Church.
Authorities vowed to deploy security forces to block followers from attending the commemoration ceremony, which is slated on March 22.
The sect’s leadership plans to organize a hunger strike and a praying session at their private residence to protest the ban, said Mr. Dien.
===== March 10 =====
Vietnam Activists Detained after Commemorating Fallen Soldiers in Gac Ma
Defend the Defenders: On March 10, security forces in Vietnam’s southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau violently arrested three activists, namely Suong Quynh, Vinh Le and Tam Le, holding them for hours before releasing them.
Their brutal detention occurred after the three activists together with patriotic intellectuals and rights advocates, members of the Ho Chi Minh city-based club of Le Hieu Dang, held a demonstration at a local beach to commemorate the fallen soldiers who were killed in Gac Ma (Johnson South Reef) in the Truong Sa (Spratlys) by the People’s Liberation Army of China in 1988 when the northern neighbor held a military operation to invade the Vietnamese islands.
Ms. Suong Quynh, a Saigon-based activist, said police confiscated her cell phone and destroyed it. They freed her at a location nine kilometers away from the initial place. Police treated the activists like criminals, Suong Quynh noted.
Meanwhile, blogger Le Cong Vinh said he was interrogated and beaten by police before being released in the afternoon.
Police also collected wreaths of flowers which attendees floated in the water at a beach.
Claiming both the Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa in the East Sea (South China Sea) and verbally opposing China’s illegal occupation of its islands on the two archipelagos, Vietnam’s Communist government has nevertheless suppressed anti-China activists who spoke out against China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty.
On January 19 and February 17 this year, Vietnamese security forces violently dispersed peaceful gatherings of activists which aimed to pay tribute to fallen soldiers and condemn China’s military invasion of the Hoang Sa in 1974 and of the six northernmost provinces in 1979, respectively.
In the past few years, hundreds of anti-China activists have been detained and some of them sentenced to years in prisons on trumped-up criminal charges.
In addition to the arrests and detentions, Vietnam has persecuted anti-China activists, deploying thugs to attack them or causing trouble for their families. Due to the government-backed assaults, many anti-China activists, including bloggers La Viet Dung and Nguyen Chi Tuyen in Hanoi, as well as Tran Bang in Saigon, sustained severe injuries.
Vietnam’s security forces have been halting the sports activities of the No-U football teams, which consist of activists who are opposing the Chinese U-shaped line claim in the East Sea. Security forces have forced owners of sports facilities not to allow the teams to hire fields to play and sent thugs to attack players and supporters.
As on these two occasions, namely the 43rd anniversary of the loss of Hoang Sa to China and the 38th anniversary of the Chinese military attack against the six northernmost provinces, Vietnam is expected to take action to prevent local activists from gathering on March 14 to mark the 29th year of the loss of Gac Ma to China. Plainclothes agents are expected to be sent to the private residences of activists to place them under the facto house arrest, while security forces and militia are ready to detain those who manage to come to the scheduled gathering places.
===== March 11 =====
Vietnam Continues to Detain Activists Vu Quang Thuan and Nguyen Van Dien
Defend the Defenders: Police in Hanoi are still holding two activists, Vu Quang Thuan and Nguyen Van Dien, who were arrested on March 3 on allegations that they made and spread “harmful video clips” on the Internet.
So far, authorities in Vietnam’s capital city have not unveiled any official charges against the duo. Under the Vietnamese current law, every detainee should be freed after a maximum of nine days of detention if the police agency fails to press official charges against them.
Some unofficial sources said that Mr. Dien was charged with “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 258 of the Penal Code. If this is the case, he could face imprisonment of between six months and three years.
In recent months, the duo produced tens of video clips in which Mr. Thuan as a speaker criticized the Communist leaders and their government for human rights violations, corruption, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
Late President Ho Chi Minh and incumbent General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong are among figures criticized by Mr. Thuan, who is a former prisoner of conscience.
Their clips were viewed by millions of Vietnamese Internet users.
Mr. Thuan and Mr. Dien are among the five activists Vietnam has arrested so far in 2017. Others are human rights activist Tran Thi Nga, former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Van Oai, and blogger Nguyen Van Hoa.
Land rights and labor rights activist Nga is charged with “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code, while pro-democracy activist Oai is accused of resisting on-duty state officials under Article 145. Blogger Hoa is accused of “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 258.
According to Amnesty International, Vietnam is holding at least 112 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi has consistently denied this, saying it only detains persons who broke the law.
===== March 12 =====
Security Forces in Ho Chi Minh City Lock Local Activist’s Apartment to Bar Her from Going Out
Defend the Defenders: Security forces in Ho Chi Minh City have maintained their constant harassment of Nguyen Thanh Loan, a local human rights defender, the victim told Defend the Defenders.
At 11:00pm on Saturday March 11, a security officer came to her private residence in Go Vap district and told her that she had to stay inside and not to go out on Sunday to search for a new apartment since her current landlord, under the pressure of local authorities, had requested her to leave.
In order to prevent her from going out on Sunday, the day when some activists had called for a peaceful gathering to protest the polluting Formosa plant, authorities in Go Vap sent six plainclothes agents to station near Ms. Thanh’s apartment on Saturday evening. The police officers locked her apartment from outside with a big lock and an iron chain, Loan said.
During the night, the policemen played music and talked loudly and when Thanh requested them to keep quiet, they became even louder.
Ms. Thanh has been harassed by the local police in recent months. She was summoned to the local police station where she was interrogated about her relationship with pro-democracy activist Nguyen Vinh Luu, who was arrested on November 6, 2016 and charged with “attempting to overthrow the people’s government” under Article 79 of the Penal Code.
Thanh participated in a number of peaceful demonstrations on environmental issues and to protest China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). She has posted a number of articles on her Facebook page to call for enhanced human rights and multi-party democracy.
Meanwhile, security forces in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have deployed a large number of police officers and militia around the private residences of local activists on Saturday and Sunday, effectively placing them under de facto house arrest for the second consecutive weekend.
Last weekend, despite enhanced security, dozens of southern activists gathered at the Notre Dame Saigon Church in the center of Ho Chi Minh City to hold a demonstration to protest the Taiwanese Formosa plant, the government’s bad management of socio-economic issues and its increasing suppression of local dissent. However, they were quickly detained by security forces and militia at police stations, where they were interrogated and forced to confess of causing public disorder before being released several days later. Many of them said they were brutally beaten by police officers and militia in their custody and in police stations.
Activist Le Trong Hung from Hanoi reported that plainclothes agents beat him and his six-year-old boy in the morning of March 12 when they tried to go out. The attack occurred near the private residence of the activist, who was said to have close relations with detained Vu Quang Thuan and Nguyen Van Dien.
Authorities in Vietnamese localities are on alert of rising public discontent on a number of issues, including systemic corruption, human rights violations, and the authorities’ weak response to China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea. Since mid-February, former prisoner of conscience Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly and other activists have called for a nationwide general protest every Sunday from March 5 to oppose the Communist government.
On March 14, local activists plan to gather to pay tribute to the soldiers who were killed in Gac Ma Island (Johnson South Reef) in the Truong Sa (Spratlys) by the People’s Liberation Army of China in 1988 when the northern neighbor held a military operation to invade the Vietnamese island.
Vietnam’s communist government has violently dispersed commemorations of the loss of the Hoang Sa (Paracels) to China in 1974 and the Chinese military invasions of Vietnam’s six northernmost provinces in 1979 and Gac Ma Island in 1988.
On March 10, authorities in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau violently detained three activists, Suong Quynh, Le Cong Vinh and Tam Le, when they held a tribute to the Gac Ma fallen soldiers. Police interrogated the three activists, beating Vinh and Le and destroying Ms. Quynh’s cell phone before releasing them on the same day.
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March 13, 2017
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders Weekly March 6-12: Security Forces Step Up Repression in a Bid to Prevent Protests amid Increasing International Condemnation
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | March 12, 2017
Vietnam’s security forces have stepped up their repression of local political dissidents, social activists and human rights advocates amid rising social dissatisfaction and international condemnation.
On March 11-12, police blocked numerous activists nationwide from going out in order to prevent them from attending peaceful protests on issues including environmental pollution in relation with the Taiwanese Formosa Steel Plant in the central province of Ha Tinh. Authorities in several provinces and cities deployed large numbers of police officers and militia around the private residences of local activists, placing them under de facto house arrest. Some activists reported that they were beaten by police officers.
On March 10, a group of patriotic intellectuals and rights advocates, members of the Saigon-based club of Le Hieu Dang, went to the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to hold a commemoration ceremony for 64 fallen soldiers, who were killed by China during its invasion of Gac Ma (Johnson South Reef) in Truong Sa (Spratlys) in 1988. As they were on their way back to Ho Chi Minh City, local authorities arbitrarily detained bloggers Suong Quynh, Le Cong Vinh and Tam Le for hours. Police confiscated Ms. Suong Quynh’s cell phone and destroyed it, beating the other two activists before releasing them.
Activist Nguyen Thanh Loan from Go Vap district in HCM City reported that local police barred her from going out to search for a new apartment after they requested her current landlord to cancel her contract. In the evening of March 11, police used a lock and iron chain to lock her inside her room, and played loud music all night in order to scare her off.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8), mandate-holders of special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, Civil Rights Defenders and Amnesty International urged Vietnam’s government to immediately and unconditionally release female human rights defenders and social activists as well as bloggers who have been arbitrarily imprisoned just for exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. They named some specific cases of female activists, including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Tran Thi Nga.
They also called on Vietnam to end persecution of female activists.
The U.S. released its report on Vietnam’s human rights record in 2016, in which Washington said the most significant human rights problems in Vietnam were severe government restrictions on citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government through free and fair elections; limits on citizens’ civil liberties, including freedoms of assembly, association, and expression; and inadequate protection of citizens’ due process rights, including protection against arbitrary detention.
===== March 07 =====
Civil Rights Defenders Calls for Ending Persecution of Vietnamese Women Activists
On March 7, one day prior to International Women’s Day (IWD), Civil Rights Defenders issued a statement requesting Vietnam’s Communist government to free women human rights defenders and end its persecution of women activists.
The Stockholm-based human rights organization said that “Be Bold for Change,” the theme for IWD 2017, was an opportunity for Vietnam to take a first step to demonstrate its commitment to women’s rights by releasing all women human rights defenders, activists and bloggers it arbitrarily detains.
“It is supreme hypocrisy for Vietnam to claim to uphold women’s rights while directly targeting women who advocate for a more just, open and gender-equal society,” said Civil Rights Defenders, adding the Southeast Asian nation should immediately and unconditionally release blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (a.k.a. Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom), Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, Can Thi Theu, Tran Thi Nga and all other women who are detained solely for the legitimate exercise of their rights.
Vietnamese female activists and bloggers face many forms of repression, including physical and judicial harassment, surveillance, intimidation, smear campaigns, arrest, detention, ill-treatment, sexual violence and physical assault, Civil Rights Defenders said.
In addition to release Vietnamese female activists and bloggers who were arbitrarily detained, Vietnam should hold all perpetrators of abuses against women, including women human rights defenders, activists and bloggers, to account and put an end to impunity for such abuses,” Civil Rights Defenders said.
Finally, Civil Rights Defenders urged Vietnam to also ensure all detained persons have access to a lawyer, their family and adequate medical care and to treat them in accordance with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (“Nelson Mandela Rules”).
Vietnam: Free Women Human Rights Defenders and End Persecution of Women Activists
——————–
Amnesty International Honors Human Rights Activist Tran Thi Nga on International Women Day
On March 7, one day ahead of International Women Day (March 8), Amnesty International issued a statement to recognize the work of six distinguished women human rights activists in Southeast Asian, who have faced harassment, threats, imprisonment, and violence for standing up for human rights in the region.
One of the honored female activists is Vietnamese land rights activist and pro-democracy advocate Tran Thi Nga, who was arrested on February 21, 2017 and charged with “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. Other activists are lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri from Thailand, high-profile political dissident Maria Chin Abdullah from Malaysia, human rights activist Tep Vanny from Cambodia, imprisoned Senator Leila de Lima from the Philippines, and human rights activist Wai Wai Nu from Myanmar.
“On this International Women’s Day this year, we want to recognize six women, from six different countries, whose heroism inspires many in the region and whose contributions to society should commended, not condemned,” the London-based human rights organization said.
“In Southeast Asia, there are few governments who can be proud of their human rights records, but there are countless women across the region who have braved great dangers to take a stand against injustice,” Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Champa Patel said in a statement posted on the organization’s website.
Southeast Asia: As governments fail on human rights, women stand up
——————–
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016 – Vietnam
U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by a single party, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), and led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President Tran Dai Quang, and Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. The most recent National Assembly elections, held on May 22, were neither free nor fair, despite limited competition among CPV-vetted candidates.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces.
The National Assembly delayed the implementation of several laws passed in 2015 affecting the rights of citizens, including a new penal code, criminal procedure code, and law on custody and temporary detention.
The most significant human rights problems in the country were severe government restrictions of citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government through free and fair elections; limits on citizens’ civil liberties, including freedom of assembly, association, and expression; and inadequate protection of citizens’ due process rights, including protection against arbitrary detention.
Other human rights abuses included arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of life; police attacks and corporal punishment; arbitrary arrest and detention for political activities; continued police mistreatment of suspects during arrest and detention, including the use of lethal force and austere prison conditions; and denial of the right to a fair and expeditious trial. The judicial system was opaque and lacked independence, and political and economic influences regularly affected judicial outcomes. The government limited freedom of speech and suppressed dissent; exercised control over and censored the press; restricted internet freedom and freedom of religion; maintained often-heavy surveillance of activists; and continued to limit privacy rights and freedoms of assembly, association, and movement. The government continued to control registration of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) closely, including human rights organizations. Authorities restricted visits by human rights NGOs and foreign press agencies that did not agree to government oversight. Corruption remained widespread throughout public-sector institutions, including police. The government maintained limits on workers’ rights to form and join independent unions and did not enforce safe and healthy working conditions adequately. Child labor persisted, especially in agricultural occupations.
The government sometimes took corrective action, including prosecutions, against officials who violated the law, and police officers sometimes acted with impunity.
For details: https://vn.usembassy.gov/2016-country-reports-human-rights-practices-vietnam/
===== March 08 =====
UN Rights Experts Condemn Vietnam for Incommunicado Detention of Prominent Human Rights Defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh
On March 8, on the day of International Women’s Day, five human rights experts, mandate-holders of UN Human Rights Council special procedures, jointly urged Vietnam to immediately release detained prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who is also a popular blogger known as “Mother Mushroom.”
The high-profile experts are Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment John H. Knox, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst, and Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak.
Ms. Quynh was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. The activist, who was honored as Civil Rights Defender of the year in 2015 by the Stockholm-based organization Civil Rights Defenders, has been detained incommunicado since her arrest.
The charges against her are linked to her online activities that were critical of Vietnam’s government on a number of issues, including human rights, environment and weak response to China’s violations of the Vietnamese sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
“We are deeply concerned that Ms. Quynh is being detained because of the exercise of her right to freedom of opinion and expression on a matter of public interest,” the experts noted.
“We fear for her physical and psychological integrity, and denounce the violations of her fundamental right to due process, in particular her being detained incommunicado, the denial of her right to legal counsel and the banning of visits from her family,” they said in a statement posted on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The experts also pointed out that she has faced continuous intimidation by the government for almost eight years prior to her arrest and that the harassment included frequent travel bans, physical assaults and threats as well as blockage from participating in peaceful protests.
“As an environmental human rights defender, Mother Mushroom should be honored for her courage and perseverance in defending the environment and human rights for years without fear,” the experts noted.
“Bloggers such as Ms. Quynh help to ensure that the public has access to information about environmental threats that affect their health and well-being,” the experts stated. “Her prolonged detention sends a negative signal to the public that their right to information is not respected”.
The experts have already been in contact with the Government about the situation, reiterating the call made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for her release last October.
UN rights experts condemn Viet Nam for incommunicado detention of blogger ‘Mother Mushroom’
===== March 9 =====
Hoa Hao Buddhist Followers Requested not to Commemorate Death of Ven. Huynh Phu So
Vietnam’s authorities have requested followers of the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang not to gather to commemorate the death of Venerable Monk Huynh Phu So, the founder of the sect who was assassinated by the communists 70 years ago.
The request was made at a meeting in Cho Moi district on March 7 between the local authorities and senior clerks of the independent Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, said Mr. Nguyen Van Dien, president of the Church.
Authorities vowed to deploy security forces to block followers from attending the commemoration ceremony, which is slated on March 22.
The sect’s leadership plans to organize a hunger strike and a praying session at their private residence to protest the ban, said Mr. Dien.
===== March 10 =====
Vietnam Activists Detained after Commemorating Fallen Soldiers in Gac Ma
Defend the Defenders: On March 10, security forces in Vietnam’s southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau violently arrested three activists, namely Suong Quynh, Vinh Le and Tam Le, holding them for hours before releasing them.
Their brutal detention occurred after the three activists together with patriotic intellectuals and rights advocates, members of the Ho Chi Minh city-based club of Le Hieu Dang, held a demonstration at a local beach to commemorate the fallen soldiers who were killed in Gac Ma (Johnson South Reef) in the Truong Sa (Spratlys) by the People’s Liberation Army of China in 1988 when the northern neighbor held a military operation to invade the Vietnamese islands.
Ms. Suong Quynh, a Saigon-based activist, said police confiscated her cell phone and destroyed it. They freed her at a location nine kilometers away from the initial place. Police treated the activists like criminals, Suong Quynh noted.
Meanwhile, blogger Le Cong Vinh said he was interrogated and beaten by police before being released in the afternoon.
Police also collected wreaths of flowers which attendees floated in the water at a beach.
Claiming both the Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa in the East Sea (South China Sea) and verbally opposing China’s illegal occupation of its islands on the two archipelagos, Vietnam’s Communist government has nevertheless suppressed anti-China activists who spoke out against China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty.
On January 19 and February 17 this year, Vietnamese security forces violently dispersed peaceful gatherings of activists which aimed to pay tribute to fallen soldiers and condemn China’s military invasion of the Hoang Sa in 1974 and of the six northernmost provinces in 1979, respectively.
In the past few years, hundreds of anti-China activists have been detained and some of them sentenced to years in prisons on trumped-up criminal charges.
In addition to the arrests and detentions, Vietnam has persecuted anti-China activists, deploying thugs to attack them or causing trouble for their families. Due to the government-backed assaults, many anti-China activists, including bloggers La Viet Dung and Nguyen Chi Tuyen in Hanoi, as well as Tran Bang in Saigon, sustained severe injuries.
Vietnam’s security forces have been halting the sports activities of the No-U football teams, which consist of activists who are opposing the Chinese U-shaped line claim in the East Sea. Security forces have forced owners of sports facilities not to allow the teams to hire fields to play and sent thugs to attack players and supporters.
As on these two occasions, namely the 43rd anniversary of the loss of Hoang Sa to China and the 38th anniversary of the Chinese military attack against the six northernmost provinces, Vietnam is expected to take action to prevent local activists from gathering on March 14 to mark the 29th year of the loss of Gac Ma to China. Plainclothes agents are expected to be sent to the private residences of activists to place them under the facto house arrest, while security forces and militia are ready to detain those who manage to come to the scheduled gathering places.
===== March 11 =====
Vietnam Continues to Detain Activists Vu Quang Thuan and Nguyen Van Dien
Defend the Defenders: Police in Hanoi are still holding two activists, Vu Quang Thuan and Nguyen Van Dien, who were arrested on March 3 on allegations that they made and spread “harmful video clips” on the Internet.
So far, authorities in Vietnam’s capital city have not unveiled any official charges against the duo. Under the Vietnamese current law, every detainee should be freed after a maximum of nine days of detention if the police agency fails to press official charges against them.
Some unofficial sources said that Mr. Dien was charged with “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 258 of the Penal Code. If this is the case, he could face imprisonment of between six months and three years.
In recent months, the duo produced tens of video clips in which Mr. Thuan as a speaker criticized the Communist leaders and their government for human rights violations, corruption, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
Late President Ho Chi Minh and incumbent General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong are among figures criticized by Mr. Thuan, who is a former prisoner of conscience.
Their clips were viewed by millions of Vietnamese Internet users.
Mr. Thuan and Mr. Dien are among the five activists Vietnam has arrested so far in 2017. Others are human rights activist Tran Thi Nga, former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Van Oai, and blogger Nguyen Van Hoa.
Land rights and labor rights activist Nga is charged with “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code, while pro-democracy activist Oai is accused of resisting on-duty state officials under Article 145. Blogger Hoa is accused of “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 258.
According to Amnesty International, Vietnam is holding at least 112 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi has consistently denied this, saying it only detains persons who broke the law.
===== March 12 =====
Security Forces in Ho Chi Minh City Lock Local Activist’s Apartment to Bar Her from Going Out
Defend the Defenders: Security forces in Ho Chi Minh City have maintained their constant harassment of Nguyen Thanh Loan, a local human rights defender, the victim told Defend the Defenders.
At 11:00pm on Saturday March 11, a security officer came to her private residence in Go Vap district and told her that she had to stay inside and not to go out on Sunday to search for a new apartment since her current landlord, under the pressure of local authorities, had requested her to leave.
In order to prevent her from going out on Sunday, the day when some activists had called for a peaceful gathering to protest the polluting Formosa plant, authorities in Go Vap sent six plainclothes agents to station near Ms. Thanh’s apartment on Saturday evening. The police officers locked her apartment from outside with a big lock and an iron chain, Loan said.
During the night, the policemen played music and talked loudly and when Thanh requested them to keep quiet, they became even louder.
Ms. Thanh has been harassed by the local police in recent months. She was summoned to the local police station where she was interrogated about her relationship with pro-democracy activist Nguyen Vinh Luu, who was arrested on November 6, 2016 and charged with “attempting to overthrow the people’s government” under Article 79 of the Penal Code.
Thanh participated in a number of peaceful demonstrations on environmental issues and to protest China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). She has posted a number of articles on her Facebook page to call for enhanced human rights and multi-party democracy.
Meanwhile, security forces in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have deployed a large number of police officers and militia around the private residences of local activists on Saturday and Sunday, effectively placing them under de facto house arrest for the second consecutive weekend.
Last weekend, despite enhanced security, dozens of southern activists gathered at the Notre Dame Saigon Church in the center of Ho Chi Minh City to hold a demonstration to protest the Taiwanese Formosa plant, the government’s bad management of socio-economic issues and its increasing suppression of local dissent. However, they were quickly detained by security forces and militia at police stations, where they were interrogated and forced to confess of causing public disorder before being released several days later. Many of them said they were brutally beaten by police officers and militia in their custody and in police stations.
Activist Le Trong Hung from Hanoi reported that plainclothes agents beat him and his six-year-old boy in the morning of March 12 when they tried to go out. The attack occurred near the private residence of the activist, who was said to have close relations with detained Vu Quang Thuan and Nguyen Van Dien.
Authorities in Vietnamese localities are on alert of rising public discontent on a number of issues, including systemic corruption, human rights violations, and the authorities’ weak response to China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea. Since mid-February, former prisoner of conscience Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly and other activists have called for a nationwide general protest every Sunday from March 5 to oppose the Communist government.
On March 14, local activists plan to gather to pay tribute to the soldiers who were killed in Gac Ma Island (Johnson South Reef) in the Truong Sa (Spratlys) by the People’s Liberation Army of China in 1988 when the northern neighbor held a military operation to invade the Vietnamese island.
Vietnam’s communist government has violently dispersed commemorations of the loss of the Hoang Sa (Paracels) to China in 1974 and the Chinese military invasions of Vietnam’s six northernmost provinces in 1979 and Gac Ma Island in 1988.
On March 10, authorities in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau violently detained three activists, Suong Quynh, Le Cong Vinh and Tam Le, when they held a tribute to the Gac Ma fallen soldiers. Police interrogated the three activists, beating Vinh and Le and destroying Ms. Quynh’s cell phone before releasing them on the same day.