Defend the Defenders | May 21, 2017
===== May 15 =====
Vietnam Activist Arrested in Nghe An Province, Charged with Two Offences
Defend the Defenders: On May 15, authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An kidnapped activist Hoang Duc Binh (or Hoang Binh), a member of the independent Viet Labor Movement and a well-known blogger who has covered news on the Formosa-caused environmental disaster in the central coastal region.
In the morning of Monday, Binh travelled in a car with Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc from the Song Ngoc parish in Dien Chau district to Vinh city. Their car was stopped by plainclothes policemen in Dien Chau district’s center and police violently removed Binh from the car.
During the kidnapping, Binh was brutally beaten by plainclothes agents, witnesses said, adding the kidnappers took the 34-year-old activist into a car and drove away.
Later, Nghe An province’s authorities publicized an arrest warrant of Binh issued by the province’s People’s Procuracy two days earlier.
According to the arrest warrant, Binh will face charges of “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 and “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.
Binh will be detained at least for the next 90 days, according to the order. The police will hold him incommunicado during the period as is usual in other political cases.
According to Vietnam’s current law, he will face imprisonment of between six months and three years for the first charge, and up to seven years for the second charge.
Thousands of Catholic followers gathered in Dien Chau for hours to support Father Thuc and demand the immediate and unconditional release of Binh, saying his detention is illegal. Police brutally beat many of them and used U.S.-made sonic weapons Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) to disperse peaceful demonstrations.
Binh and Bach Hong Quyen are two bloggers who have covered information about the natural disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant as well as local protests against the pollution-causing investor.
On May 12, authorities in the central province of Ha Tinh issued an arrest warrant for Quyen, who was accused of “causing public disorder” for his peaceful activities.
Also on Monday, the Nghe An police publicized an arrest warrant for Catholic activist and former prisoner of conscience Thai Van Dung, accusing him of failing to comply with his sentence from an earlier prison term under Article 304 of the Penal Code. Accordingly, Dung, who has helped to organize anti-Formosa protests, violated his terms of probation and “fled his residence” on March 1.
The government’s moves against Binh, Quyen and Dung are part of its intensified crackdown against the environmental protest movement.
Last month, thousands of Catholic followers in Dien Chau tried to sue the Formosa company for causing the environmental disaster which killed thousands of tons of aquatic species in the 200-km coastline in the central region from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien Hue. Nghe An’s coastline has also been affected by the illegal discharge of toxic industrial waste of Formosa into the central waters. Instead of assisting local residents, authorities of Dien Chau and Nghe An province deployed thousands of police officers, militia and thugs to attack them, causing severe injuries to hundreds of people, including priest Dang Huu Nam.
Vietnam’s Communist government has used controversial articles of the Penal Code and fabricated charges to silence local dissidents, human rights advocates and social activists as well as independent bloggers.
In addition, it has used thugs and plainclothes agents to brutally attack local activists, causing severe injuries to many of them.
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Human Rights Attorney under Inhumane Treatment in Extended Detention in Hanoi
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Hanoi’s B14 detention facility under Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security have inhumanly treated human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, who has been kept in the facility since his arrest on December 16, 2015 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
Mrs. Vu Minh Khanh, who was permitted to meet with her husband Dai on May 10 – the third time since his arrest –, said he was placed in a room without ventilator during hot summer and no warm water during cold winter.
Mr. Dai told his wife that his room is very small, just 7 square meters, and does not contain any bed, so he is forced to sleep on the cement ground, which gets very cold during the winter.
His room is on the third floor of a building located near the Kim Giang Road on which thousands of vehicles including heavy trucks move every day and cause a lot of noise, so he cannot sleep.
Mr. Dai’s health is not good due to the injuries sustained as a result of an attack by plainclothes agents just a few days before he was arrested, Khanh said, adding she regularly sends drugs for him to treat hepatitis B; however, progress remains unknown as he has not done under medical check-up for a long time.
Dai said the prison authorities have greatly pressured him during the investigation.
In the third meeting between the couple, they were in different rooms and talked with each other by phone. Police officers stayed nearby and threatened to stop their talks if they talked about the way he was being treated or the situation in the country, Khanh said.
Only family and health matters were allowed to be talked about. When Khanh tried to inform her husband that she had signed contracts with three lawyers who will defend him, police officers stopped the meeting. As a result, Mr. Dai has yet to know that he would have three lawyers to defend him.
Before being allowed to meet her husband, Khanh was forced to commit not to make the meeting and her husband’s situation public.
On May 6, Mr. Dai refused to receive monthly food supplements from his family to protest his extended pre-trial detention and request meeting with relatives.
——————–
Viet Labor Movement Issues Statement Condemning Arrest of Hoang Duc Binh
Defend the Defenders: One day after Vietnam’s authorities arrested Hoang Duc Binh, Vice-Chairman of the independent Vietnam Labor Movement, the organization issued a statement condemning his detention, saying the move violates basic human rights enshrined in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
The statement signed by Chairwoman Do Thi Minh Hanh, said the arrest aims to neutralize Mr. Hoang Duc Binh because he has assisted religious leaders in helping thousands of victims of the environmental disaster caused by the Formosa steel company and Ho Ho hydropower plant.
The police also arrested a number of other activists, it stated.
Viet Labor Movement urges Vietnam’s authorities to immediately and unconditionally free Mr. Binh. It also calls on the people and groups inside and outside Vietnam, and foreign countries and international human rights organizations to protect those under arrest.
Mr. Binh was kidnapped in the morning of May 15 by security forces in Nghe An province. Later, police publicized an arrest order, charging him with “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 and “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.
According to the Vietnam’s current law, Binh will face imprisonment of between six months and three years for the first charge, and up to seven years for the second charge.
——————–
Vietnam: Environmental rights defenders targeted for their coverage of Formosa waste spill protests
Front Line Defenders: On 15 May 2017, environmental rights defender, Hoang Duc Binh, was arrested by the police and charged with “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” and “abusing democratic freedoms” by the authorities of the province of Nghe An, in north-central Vietnam. The environmental rights defender, Bach Hong Quyen, is also facing charges of “causing public disorder” for his organisation of an environmental protest. He is currently hiding from a nationwide manhunt launched by the authorities in Ha Tinh province on 12 May 2017.
Hoang Duc Binh is an environmental rights defender and a member of Viet Labour, an organisation of labour groups inside and outside Vietnam aiming to protect the rights of workers. Bach Hong Quyen is an environmental rights defender and a member of the Vietnam Path Movement, a human rights group led by prisoner of conscience, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, and human rights lawyer, Le Cong Dinh. Bach Hong Quyen has been under surveillance since he organised, on 3 April 2017, a march to mark the one-year anniversary of the Formosa waste spill. Hoang Duc Binh and Bach Hong Quyen are active bloggers and covered the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese steel plant, Formosa, in April 2016, its impact on local populations, as well as protests against the company as a result of the pollution.
On the morning of 15 May 2017, Hoang Duc Binh was driving to Vinh City with a group of environmental activists – including Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc who is well known in Vietnam for his environmental rights work – when their car was stopped in the centre of the Dien Chau district by police officers in uniform and unidentified persons in civilian clothing. The police violently removed Hoang Duc Binh from the car, took him and drove away. During the arrest, the police had set up cellphone blockers so that witnesses of the scene could not publish any live videos or photos. Later in the day, the authorities of the province of Nghe An publicised an arrest order for Hoang Duc Binh issued by the province’s People’s Procuracy two days previously. According to the arrest order, the human rights defender is facing charges of “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 and “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 convicted, he faces imprisonment of between six months and three years for the first charge and up to seven years for the second charge. In light of the fact that mistreatment and torture are still widespread practices in Vietnamese jails and detention centres, there are legitimate fears that Hoang Duc Binh could be subjected to ill-treatment while detained by the authorities. The authorities will hold him for investigation for ninety days.
On 12 May 2017, the police in Vietnam’s central province of Ha Tinh officially issued a national arrest warrant against the human rights defender, Bach Hong Quyen, accusing him of “causing public disorder” under Article 245 of the country’s Penal Code. The charge carries a penalty of up to seven years imprisonment. Bach Hong Quyen is currently hiding from the authorities after state media broadcast pictures of him calling for his arrest.
Several human rights defenders have been harassed by the Vietnamese authorities for covering the April 2016 Formosa toxic waste spill, which resulted in a large number of fish dying, leaving fishermen jobless in four coastal provinces. Human rights defenders are also being persecuted for their involvement in ongoing protests against the Taiwanese steel plant, Formosa . On 2 May 2017, environmental rights defender, Le My Hanh, was violently attacked in Ho Chi Minh City by a group of five individuals, a month after she was brutally beaten while covering an environmental protest. On 10 October 2016, blogger and human rights defender, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, was arrested and charged for allegedly possessing “anti-government material” linked to the Formosa spill.
Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest and detention of Hoang Duc Binh as well as the arrest warrant issued against Bach Hong Quyen, which it believes are directly related to their peaceful and legitimate work in the defence of human rights in Vietnam.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Vietnam to:
Immediately drop all charges against Hoang Duc Binh and Bach Hong Quyen as it is believed that they are solely motivated by their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights;
Immediately and unconditionally release Hoang Duc Binh and revoke the arrest warrant for Bach Hong Quyen;
Ensure that the treatment of Hoang Duc Binh, while in detention, adheres to the conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment’, adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;
Allow Hoang Duc Binh immediate and unfettered access to his family and lawyer;
Cease targeting all human rights defenders in Vietnam and guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.
===== May 16 =====
Vietnam Suspected to Use Dangerous Devices to Disperse Peaceful Demonstrations
Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s government was suspected to use Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs), dangerous devices imported from the U.S., to disperse peaceful demonstrations, social networks have reported.
The devices, which are called “sonic weapons,” were initially imported to equip patrol ships of the Vietnam Coast Guard. They were reported to have been used by police in Nghe An on May 15 in order to intimidate thousands of people who gathered in front of the Dien Chau district’s police headquarters, who were demanding the release of activist Hoang Duc Binh.
The pictures and video clips circulated on Facebook accounts showed that two devices were likely placed on police cars and produced a strange noise which was headed to protestors.
Many activists have expressed concern about the new move of the government, asking the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam to investigate the reports.
Vietnam was said to have spent $800,000 to purchase 20 LRADs from the U.S. and committed to equipping its patrol ships to deal with foreign shipment intrusion and pirates.
The LRAD is an acoustic hailing device developed by LRAD Corporation to send messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers. LRAD systems are used for long range communications in a variety of applications including as a means of non-lethal, non-kinetic crowd control.
===== May 18 =====
An Giang Arrests Hoa Hao Buddhist Follower Vuong Van Tha and His Family
Defend the Defenders: On May 18, authorities in An Giang province detained Hoa Hao Buddhist follower Vuong Van Tha and his family after months of harassment and intimidation, social networks reported.
Police reportedly arrested him and his family and took them away in separate cars. His relatives have not been informed about their situation.
It is unclear what charges he will face.
Before the arrests, authorities in An Phu district deployed a large number of police and militia to block the areas near his house.
According to local social networks, Tha and his family had been under constant harassment by thugs and local residents for weeks.
The attackers, who are believed to have received support from the local authorities, have thrown stones and bricks at his private residence, where his old mother as well as children and grandchildren live.
Dozens of thugs have been stationed near his house and have disturbed his family for whole days, netizens said.
State media reported that some of his neighbors attacked his house by throwing eggs at it.
Mr. Tha was said to have set up a branch of the Hoa Hao sect, which is independent from the state. He has conducted numerous live streams on Facebook to allegedly defame Ho Chi Minh, the Communist leader and founder of modern Vietnam, as well as to call for the overthrow of the Communist government.
In 2013, he was arrested and 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. Later, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Vietnam’s authorities have harassed and intimidated independent religious groups as well as intensified their crackdown against local dissidents amid rising social unrest.
===== May 20 =====
Vietnam Tightens Control ahead of Human Rights Dialogue with U.S., Harassing Local Activists
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in many Vietnamese provinces and cities have tightened control, harassing local dissidents, human rights defenders and social activists few days ahead of an Annual Human Rights Dialogue with the U.S. scheduled to take place in Hanoi on May 23.
Many activists in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City complained that the local governments have been deploying large numbers of plainclothes agents to station near their private residences, effectively placing them under de facto house arrest in order to prevent them from meeting with the U.S. delegation attending the event.
Independent journalist and environmental activist Pham Doan Trang said Hanoi’s authorities have sent numerous plainclothes agents and thugs to her private house, who are preventing her from going out and beating other activists who came to support her.
The government’s close surveillance is predicted to continue until the dialogue ends.
On May 19, police in Hanoi detained former political prisoner Vi Duc Hoi when he came to the capital city to meet with local activists. Arriving in Hanoi in the morning, he was immediately detained by police who took him to the Thanh Xuan district police headquarters and later police from his province came to pick him up to his home of Huu Lung district on the same day.
Mr. Hoi, former party school rector in Huu Lung district, was imprisoned for five years and placed under house arrest for two years on charges of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. His probation period ended on April 12 this year, thus the police actions against him were totally illegal.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s authorities blocked a training workshop scheduled in Hanoi on May 20-21 on journalism and human rights with 20 participants including human rights defenders and independent bloggers. The Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi People’s Committee warned the event organizers that if they went ahead with the event, there would be “serious consequences” for the participants. On Saturday, police barred many activists from going out of their house in a bid to prevent them from taking part in the workshop, and sent a large group of police officers to station outside the workshop’s venue in Ba Dinh district. As a result of the severe restrictions and serious risks faced by the participants, the organizers were forced to cancel the event.
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Nha Trang Authorities Harassing Family of Detained Human Rights Activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh
Defend the Defenders: In the evening of May 20, authorities in Vietnam’s central city of Nha Trang deployed around 50 police officers and plainclothes agents to block the private residence of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, mother of detained human rights defender and prominent blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh.
The police forces stationed all the routes leading to the house, effectively placing Ms. Lan’s family de facto under house arrest.
Mrs. Lan who raises two children of Ms. Quynh, said she did not understand why they cannot go out.
The move is likely related to the upcoming Vietnam-U.S. Annual Human Rights Dialogue which is scheduled in Hanoi on May 23. The arbitration arrest of Ms. Quynh may be discussed at the event so the local authorities try not to allow the family to meet with the U.S. delegation attending the event.
The U.S. has repeatedly urged Vietnam’s government to immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Quynh who was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
In late March of this year, Quynh was awarded with the 2017 U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award and the prize was held over to her representative by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon.
===== May 21 =====
Human Rights Activist Tran Thi Nga Denied the Right to Meet with her Two Kids
By Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s authorities have refused to allow detained human rights activist Tran Thi Nga to meet with her family, including her two kids, Phu, 7 and Tai, 4, according to her husband Phan Van Phong.
Mrs. Nga was arrested on January 21, one week prior to the Lunar New Year or Tet Festival, and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. She is facing imprisonment up to 20 years under the Vietnamese current law.
According to her lawyer Ha Huy Son, police in the northern province of Ha Nam had completed their investigation into the case and handed over the investigation results to the province’s People’s Procuracy. Her trial is expected to be held soon.
She has not been permitted to meet with her kids and family since being arrested. Earlier this month, she was allowed to meet with her lawyer for the first time.
Ha Nam police told Mr. Phong, another human rights activist in Hanoi, that Nga could not meet her kids as “she remains stubborn” during the investigation period which ended on May 5. She rejected all accusations of the police and affirmed her innocence, the police said.
Prior to her arrest, she had been persecuted and intimidated by Vietnam’s security forces, who kept her under close surveillance. She was brutally beaten by plainclothes agents in Hanoi in 2014 and her children were attacked with dirty substances last year.
Many foreign countries such as the U.S. and the EU, international human rights organizations such as the Southeast Asia Regional Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a partnership of FIDH and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)) and Human Rights Watch, have called for her immediate and unconditional release. Thirty domestic civil society organizations and 816 activists also signed a petition addressed to Vietnam’s government to urge it to release the mother of four children, including a seven-year-old and a four-year-old.
Ms. Nga is among the six Southeast Asian women human rights activists who have been honored by Amnesty International on March 7, one day ahead of International Women’s Day (May 8).
Her arrest is part of Vietnam’s ongoing political crackdown against local dissidents. According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam holds around 130 political prisoners, while Amnesty International said the Southeast Asian nation detains around 90 prisoners of conscience.
Hanoi has consistently rejected holding any prisoners of conscience, saying it only detains persons who have violated the law.
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Appeal Court for Political Activists Tran Anh Kim, Le Thanh Tung Set on May 26
Defend the Defenders: Political activists Tran Anh Kim from Thai Binh and Le Thanh Tung from Hanoi will have their appeal heard on May 26, more than five months after the first trial held by the People’s Court of the northern province of Thai Binh.
Mr. Kim was arrested in September 2016 while Mr. Tung was detained few months later. On December 16, the court found Kim and Tung guilty of the charges and handed down sentences of respectively 13 years and 12 years in prison to them. In addition, the two will be placed under house arrest for five and four years respectively after completing their terms.
According to the indictment, Mr. Kim, 67, had the intention to establish an organization called “People Forces for Democracy Promotion” with the participation of army officers to overthrow the current regime and replace it with a democratic government. The two activists planned to publicize their organization on September 21, 2016 but Vietnam’s security forces arrested Mr. Kim a few hours before the organization’s debut.
Mr. Kim, a former lieutenant of the Vietnam People’s Army and deputy head of the military political department of Thai Binh city before the 1990s, is a former political prisoner. During 1995-2005, he participated in a number of groups which promoted multi-party democracy, including the 8406 Bloc. He assisted farmers whose land was illegally seized by local authorities in seeking justice and participated in anti-corruption campaigns.
Mr. Kim was honored with the Hellman/Hammett Prize awarded by the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch in 2009.
He was arrested in July 2009 and charged for attempts to “overthrow the people’s government” under Article 79 of the Penal Code. He was later sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail and released in July 2015.
Mr. Tung is also a former prisoner of conscience, who completed his four-year term in mid 2015. Mr. Tung is a member of pro-democracy Bloc 8406. After being freed, Mr. Tung committed to continue to fight for multi-party democracy in Vietnam.
Tung was re-arrested in mid-December 2015 when he went to work in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.
Human rights lawyer Vo An Don, who is among the group of lawyers defending the accused, said his clients are innocent as their activities were simply unrealized ideas.
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HCM City Authorities Harassing Activist Victim of Torture, Protecting Perpetrators
Defend the Defenders: Ho Chi Minh City authorities have harassed environmental activist Le My Hanh, who was brutally beaten by government loyalists three weeks ago, and strived to protect one of the perpetrators, Phan Hung, the activist told Defend the Defenders.
The city’s authorities have created difficulty for her lawyers in accessing case files. They have yet to prosecute Hung and his band so the attackers in the assault against Hanh and her friends remain free, she said.
Asked to progress the case, police in the city said they are still investigating the case.
In order to cooperate with the city’s police in the case, Ms. Hanh has to stay in the city. However, local authorities have created problems for her, ordering land owners not to allow her and her friend to stay in a room ten days after moving in.
Police have also requested her older brother not to permit her to stay with his family, Hanh said, adding police summoned him to a local police station to work on allowing “unknown individual” to stay in his private residence.
Hanh questioned the attitude of HCM City’s police, saying they are trying to protect torture perpetrators but harassing their victims.
She calls on international and domestic community to support her in seeking justice.
Back to May 2, in Ho Chi Minh City, a group of ten government loyalists brutally attacked Le My Hanh, a female environmental activist from Hanoi for her activities, which aim to promote multi-party democracy, human rights and environmental protection.
Ms. Hanh said that the attackers, including women, broke in as she stayed at her friend’s private residence in Vietnam’s biggest economic hub. They sprayed tear gas at the two women and beat them.
After causing severe injuries to Ms. Hanh and her friend, the group left. Later, they posted a video clip of the attack on their Facebook accounts.
Hanh reported that she received online warnings from government loyalists who threatened to assault her when she was due to arrive in the city.
Several days later, police detained Phan Hung, who posted the video clip on his Facebook account, but released him on the next day.
This was the second attack of government loyalists against Ms. Hanh within a month. On April 5, she and blogger Trinh Dinh Hoa were brutally beaten by Hanoi-based government loyalists in Ho Tay (West Lake) as they were broadcasting a live stream on Facebook about the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant in the central coastal region in April 2016.
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Composer Tran Vu Anh Binh Released Four Months Ahead of Term End
Defend the Defenders: Composer and pro-democracy activist Tran Vu Anh Binh was released on May 21, four months before his six-year sentence was due to be completed.
Mr. Binh and his colleague Vo Minh Tri (also known as composer Viet Khang) were arrested on September 21, 2011. In October 2012, the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced him to six years and Mr. Tri to four years in prison for participation in an anti-state organization namely “Patriotic Youths.”
The court convicted him of producing “anti-state songs” composed by Mr. Tri and posting many other articles on the organization’s website. He was also accused of disseminating anti-state leaflets and hanging the flag of the Vietnam Republic which fell in 1975.
Immediately after the trial, the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam condemned the sentences, saying they are signs of limiting the freedom of expression in the Southeast Asian nation.
Mr. Tri was released in December 2015, while Mr. Binh will have to spend two more years under house arrest.
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May 21, 2017
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders Weekly May 15-21: Vietnam Arrests Labor, Environmental Activist Hoang Duc Binh amid Rising Dissatisfaction of Central Fishermen
by Nhan Quyen • DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | May 21, 2017
On May 15, authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An kidnapped independent Viet Labor Movement Vice-Chairman Hoang Duc Binh and charged him with “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 and “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.
Mr. Binh is one of the main activists helping Formosa-affected fishermen in the central region and covering news on the environmental catastrophe caused by the Taiwanese steel plant. He will be held incommunicado for at least 90 days and, if convicted, he will face a lengthy prison term, according to Vietnam’s current law.
In response to Binh’s arrest, the Viet Labor Movement issued a statement urging Vietnam’s authorities to immediately and unconditionally free him. The Dublin-based group Front Line Defenders also released a statement condemning the arrest and requesting his release.
Vietnam’s authorities have intensified their crackdown against local dissidents, human rights advocates and social activists a few days ahead of the Vietnam-U.S. Annual Human Rights Dialogue, which is scheduled to take place in Hanoi on May 23. Many activists in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been under close surveillance while others have been harassed and detained.
Police in An Giang arrested Vuong Van Tha and his family. He attempted to form an independent Hoa Hao Buddhist group and produced many live streams on his Facebook calling for the overthrow of the communist regime.
Authorities in Ha Nam have refused to allow detained human rights activist Tran Thi Nga to meet with her kids as retaliation for her brave withstanding during the investigation period, which ended on May 5. Mrs. Nga was said to have rejected all accusations of the police and to have insisted on her innocence.
Detained human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai, who was honored with the Human Rights Award by the German Association of Judges (Deutscher Richterbund, or DRB) for his contribution to fighting for human rights enhancement in the Southeast Asian nation, is being treated inhumanely while under pre-trial detention in the B14 detention facility managed by the Ministry of Public Security, his wife Vu Minh Khanh told Defend the Defenders.
And other news
===== May 15 =====
Vietnam Activist Arrested in Nghe An Province, Charged with Two Offences
Defend the Defenders: On May 15, authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An kidnapped activist Hoang Duc Binh (or Hoang Binh), a member of the independent Viet Labor Movement and a well-known blogger who has covered news on the Formosa-caused environmental disaster in the central coastal region.
In the morning of Monday, Binh travelled in a car with Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc from the Song Ngoc parish in Dien Chau district to Vinh city. Their car was stopped by plainclothes policemen in Dien Chau district’s center and police violently removed Binh from the car.
During the kidnapping, Binh was brutally beaten by plainclothes agents, witnesses said, adding the kidnappers took the 34-year-old activist into a car and drove away.
Later, Nghe An province’s authorities publicized an arrest warrant of Binh issued by the province’s People’s Procuracy two days earlier.
According to the arrest warrant, Binh will face charges of “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 and “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.
Binh will be detained at least for the next 90 days, according to the order. The police will hold him incommunicado during the period as is usual in other political cases.
According to Vietnam’s current law, he will face imprisonment of between six months and three years for the first charge, and up to seven years for the second charge.
Thousands of Catholic followers gathered in Dien Chau for hours to support Father Thuc and demand the immediate and unconditional release of Binh, saying his detention is illegal. Police brutally beat many of them and used U.S.-made sonic weapons Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) to disperse peaceful demonstrations.
Binh and Bach Hong Quyen are two bloggers who have covered information about the natural disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant as well as local protests against the pollution-causing investor.
On May 12, authorities in the central province of Ha Tinh issued an arrest warrant for Quyen, who was accused of “causing public disorder” for his peaceful activities.
Also on Monday, the Nghe An police publicized an arrest warrant for Catholic activist and former prisoner of conscience Thai Van Dung, accusing him of failing to comply with his sentence from an earlier prison term under Article 304 of the Penal Code. Accordingly, Dung, who has helped to organize anti-Formosa protests, violated his terms of probation and “fled his residence” on March 1.
The government’s moves against Binh, Quyen and Dung are part of its intensified crackdown against the environmental protest movement.
Last month, thousands of Catholic followers in Dien Chau tried to sue the Formosa company for causing the environmental disaster which killed thousands of tons of aquatic species in the 200-km coastline in the central region from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien Hue. Nghe An’s coastline has also been affected by the illegal discharge of toxic industrial waste of Formosa into the central waters. Instead of assisting local residents, authorities of Dien Chau and Nghe An province deployed thousands of police officers, militia and thugs to attack them, causing severe injuries to hundreds of people, including priest Dang Huu Nam.
Vietnam’s Communist government has used controversial articles of the Penal Code and fabricated charges to silence local dissidents, human rights advocates and social activists as well as independent bloggers.
In addition, it has used thugs and plainclothes agents to brutally attack local activists, causing severe injuries to many of them.
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Human Rights Attorney under Inhumane Treatment in Extended Detention in Hanoi
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Hanoi’s B14 detention facility under Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security have inhumanly treated human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, who has been kept in the facility since his arrest on December 16, 2015 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
Mrs. Vu Minh Khanh, who was permitted to meet with her husband Dai on May 10 – the third time since his arrest –, said he was placed in a room without ventilator during hot summer and no warm water during cold winter.
Mr. Dai told his wife that his room is very small, just 7 square meters, and does not contain any bed, so he is forced to sleep on the cement ground, which gets very cold during the winter.
His room is on the third floor of a building located near the Kim Giang Road on which thousands of vehicles including heavy trucks move every day and cause a lot of noise, so he cannot sleep.
Mr. Dai’s health is not good due to the injuries sustained as a result of an attack by plainclothes agents just a few days before he was arrested, Khanh said, adding she regularly sends drugs for him to treat hepatitis B; however, progress remains unknown as he has not done under medical check-up for a long time.
Dai said the prison authorities have greatly pressured him during the investigation.
In the third meeting between the couple, they were in different rooms and talked with each other by phone. Police officers stayed nearby and threatened to stop their talks if they talked about the way he was being treated or the situation in the country, Khanh said.
Only family and health matters were allowed to be talked about. When Khanh tried to inform her husband that she had signed contracts with three lawyers who will defend him, police officers stopped the meeting. As a result, Mr. Dai has yet to know that he would have three lawyers to defend him.
Before being allowed to meet her husband, Khanh was forced to commit not to make the meeting and her husband’s situation public.
On May 6, Mr. Dai refused to receive monthly food supplements from his family to protest his extended pre-trial detention and request meeting with relatives.
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Viet Labor Movement Issues Statement Condemning Arrest of Hoang Duc Binh
Defend the Defenders: One day after Vietnam’s authorities arrested Hoang Duc Binh, Vice-Chairman of the independent Vietnam Labor Movement, the organization issued a statement condemning his detention, saying the move violates basic human rights enshrined in the country’s 2013 Constitution.
The statement signed by Chairwoman Do Thi Minh Hanh, said the arrest aims to neutralize Mr. Hoang Duc Binh because he has assisted religious leaders in helping thousands of victims of the environmental disaster caused by the Formosa steel company and Ho Ho hydropower plant.
The police also arrested a number of other activists, it stated.
Viet Labor Movement urges Vietnam’s authorities to immediately and unconditionally free Mr. Binh. It also calls on the people and groups inside and outside Vietnam, and foreign countries and international human rights organizations to protect those under arrest.
Mr. Binh was kidnapped in the morning of May 15 by security forces in Nghe An province. Later, police publicized an arrest order, charging him with “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 and “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.
According to the Vietnam’s current law, Binh will face imprisonment of between six months and three years for the first charge, and up to seven years for the second charge.
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Vietnam: Environmental rights defenders targeted for their coverage of Formosa waste spill protests
Front Line Defenders: On 15 May 2017, environmental rights defender, Hoang Duc Binh, was arrested by the police and charged with “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” and “abusing democratic freedoms” by the authorities of the province of Nghe An, in north-central Vietnam. The environmental rights defender, Bach Hong Quyen, is also facing charges of “causing public disorder” for his organisation of an environmental protest. He is currently hiding from a nationwide manhunt launched by the authorities in Ha Tinh province on 12 May 2017.
Hoang Duc Binh is an environmental rights defender and a member of Viet Labour, an organisation of labour groups inside and outside Vietnam aiming to protect the rights of workers. Bach Hong Quyen is an environmental rights defender and a member of the Vietnam Path Movement, a human rights group led by prisoner of conscience, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, and human rights lawyer, Le Cong Dinh. Bach Hong Quyen has been under surveillance since he organised, on 3 April 2017, a march to mark the one-year anniversary of the Formosa waste spill. Hoang Duc Binh and Bach Hong Quyen are active bloggers and covered the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese steel plant, Formosa, in April 2016, its impact on local populations, as well as protests against the company as a result of the pollution.
On the morning of 15 May 2017, Hoang Duc Binh was driving to Vinh City with a group of environmental activists – including Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc who is well known in Vietnam for his environmental rights work – when their car was stopped in the centre of the Dien Chau district by police officers in uniform and unidentified persons in civilian clothing. The police violently removed Hoang Duc Binh from the car, took him and drove away. During the arrest, the police had set up cellphone blockers so that witnesses of the scene could not publish any live videos or photos. Later in the day, the authorities of the province of Nghe An publicised an arrest order for Hoang Duc Binh issued by the province’s People’s Procuracy two days previously. According to the arrest order, the human rights defender is facing charges of “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 and “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 convicted, he faces imprisonment of between six months and three years for the first charge and up to seven years for the second charge. In light of the fact that mistreatment and torture are still widespread practices in Vietnamese jails and detention centres, there are legitimate fears that Hoang Duc Binh could be subjected to ill-treatment while detained by the authorities. The authorities will hold him for investigation for ninety days.
On 12 May 2017, the police in Vietnam’s central province of Ha Tinh officially issued a national arrest warrant against the human rights defender, Bach Hong Quyen, accusing him of “causing public disorder” under Article 245 of the country’s Penal Code. The charge carries a penalty of up to seven years imprisonment. Bach Hong Quyen is currently hiding from the authorities after state media broadcast pictures of him calling for his arrest.
Several human rights defenders have been harassed by the Vietnamese authorities for covering the April 2016 Formosa toxic waste spill, which resulted in a large number of fish dying, leaving fishermen jobless in four coastal provinces. Human rights defenders are also being persecuted for their involvement in ongoing protests against the Taiwanese steel plant, Formosa . On 2 May 2017, environmental rights defender, Le My Hanh, was violently attacked in Ho Chi Minh City by a group of five individuals, a month after she was brutally beaten while covering an environmental protest. On 10 October 2016, blogger and human rights defender, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, was arrested and charged for allegedly possessing “anti-government material” linked to the Formosa spill.
Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest and detention of Hoang Duc Binh as well as the arrest warrant issued against Bach Hong Quyen, which it believes are directly related to their peaceful and legitimate work in the defence of human rights in Vietnam.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Vietnam to:
Immediately drop all charges against Hoang Duc Binh and Bach Hong Quyen as it is believed that they are solely motivated by their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights;
Immediately and unconditionally release Hoang Duc Binh and revoke the arrest warrant for Bach Hong Quyen;
Ensure that the treatment of Hoang Duc Binh, while in detention, adheres to the conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment’, adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;
Allow Hoang Duc Binh immediate and unfettered access to his family and lawyer;
Cease targeting all human rights defenders in Vietnam and guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.
===== May 16 =====
Vietnam Suspected to Use Dangerous Devices to Disperse Peaceful Demonstrations
Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s government was suspected to use Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs), dangerous devices imported from the U.S., to disperse peaceful demonstrations, social networks have reported.
The devices, which are called “sonic weapons,” were initially imported to equip patrol ships of the Vietnam Coast Guard. They were reported to have been used by police in Nghe An on May 15 in order to intimidate thousands of people who gathered in front of the Dien Chau district’s police headquarters, who were demanding the release of activist Hoang Duc Binh.
The pictures and video clips circulated on Facebook accounts showed that two devices were likely placed on police cars and produced a strange noise which was headed to protestors.
Many activists have expressed concern about the new move of the government, asking the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam to investigate the reports.
Vietnam was said to have spent $800,000 to purchase 20 LRADs from the U.S. and committed to equipping its patrol ships to deal with foreign shipment intrusion and pirates.
The LRAD is an acoustic hailing device developed by LRAD Corporation to send messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers. LRAD systems are used for long range communications in a variety of applications including as a means of non-lethal, non-kinetic crowd control.
===== May 18 =====
An Giang Arrests Hoa Hao Buddhist Follower Vuong Van Tha and His Family
Defend the Defenders: On May 18, authorities in An Giang province detained Hoa Hao Buddhist follower Vuong Van Tha and his family after months of harassment and intimidation, social networks reported.
Police reportedly arrested him and his family and took them away in separate cars. His relatives have not been informed about their situation.
It is unclear what charges he will face.
Before the arrests, authorities in An Phu district deployed a large number of police and militia to block the areas near his house.
According to local social networks, Tha and his family had been under constant harassment by thugs and local residents for weeks.
The attackers, who are believed to have received support from the local authorities, have thrown stones and bricks at his private residence, where his old mother as well as children and grandchildren live.
Dozens of thugs have been stationed near his house and have disturbed his family for whole days, netizens said.
State media reported that some of his neighbors attacked his house by throwing eggs at it.
Mr. Tha was said to have set up a branch of the Hoa Hao sect, which is independent from the state. He has conducted numerous live streams on Facebook to allegedly defame Ho Chi Minh, the Communist leader and founder of modern Vietnam, as well as to call for the overthrow of the Communist government.
In 2013, he was arrested and 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. Later, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Vietnam’s authorities have harassed and intimidated independent religious groups as well as intensified their crackdown against local dissidents amid rising social unrest.
===== May 20 =====
Vietnam Tightens Control ahead of Human Rights Dialogue with U.S., Harassing Local Activists
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in many Vietnamese provinces and cities have tightened control, harassing local dissidents, human rights defenders and social activists few days ahead of an Annual Human Rights Dialogue with the U.S. scheduled to take place in Hanoi on May 23.
Many activists in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City complained that the local governments have been deploying large numbers of plainclothes agents to station near their private residences, effectively placing them under de facto house arrest in order to prevent them from meeting with the U.S. delegation attending the event.
Independent journalist and environmental activist Pham Doan Trang said Hanoi’s authorities have sent numerous plainclothes agents and thugs to her private house, who are preventing her from going out and beating other activists who came to support her.
The government’s close surveillance is predicted to continue until the dialogue ends.
On May 19, police in Hanoi detained former political prisoner Vi Duc Hoi when he came to the capital city to meet with local activists. Arriving in Hanoi in the morning, he was immediately detained by police who took him to the Thanh Xuan district police headquarters and later police from his province came to pick him up to his home of Huu Lung district on the same day.
Mr. Hoi, former party school rector in Huu Lung district, was imprisoned for five years and placed under house arrest for two years on charges of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. His probation period ended on April 12 this year, thus the police actions against him were totally illegal.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s authorities blocked a training workshop scheduled in Hanoi on May 20-21 on journalism and human rights with 20 participants including human rights defenders and independent bloggers. The Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi People’s Committee warned the event organizers that if they went ahead with the event, there would be “serious consequences” for the participants. On Saturday, police barred many activists from going out of their house in a bid to prevent them from taking part in the workshop, and sent a large group of police officers to station outside the workshop’s venue in Ba Dinh district. As a result of the severe restrictions and serious risks faced by the participants, the organizers were forced to cancel the event.
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Nha Trang Authorities Harassing Family of Detained Human Rights Activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh
Defend the Defenders: In the evening of May 20, authorities in Vietnam’s central city of Nha Trang deployed around 50 police officers and plainclothes agents to block the private residence of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, mother of detained human rights defender and prominent blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh.
The police forces stationed all the routes leading to the house, effectively placing Ms. Lan’s family de facto under house arrest.
Mrs. Lan who raises two children of Ms. Quynh, said she did not understand why they cannot go out.
The move is likely related to the upcoming Vietnam-U.S. Annual Human Rights Dialogue which is scheduled in Hanoi on May 23. The arbitration arrest of Ms. Quynh may be discussed at the event so the local authorities try not to allow the family to meet with the U.S. delegation attending the event.
The U.S. has repeatedly urged Vietnam’s government to immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Quynh who was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
In late March of this year, Quynh was awarded with the 2017 U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award and the prize was held over to her representative by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon.
===== May 21 =====
Human Rights Activist Tran Thi Nga Denied the Right to Meet with her Two Kids
By Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s authorities have refused to allow detained human rights activist Tran Thi Nga to meet with her family, including her two kids, Phu, 7 and Tai, 4, according to her husband Phan Van Phong.
Mrs. Nga was arrested on January 21, one week prior to the Lunar New Year or Tet Festival, and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. She is facing imprisonment up to 20 years under the Vietnamese current law.
According to her lawyer Ha Huy Son, police in the northern province of Ha Nam had completed their investigation into the case and handed over the investigation results to the province’s People’s Procuracy. Her trial is expected to be held soon.
She has not been permitted to meet with her kids and family since being arrested. Earlier this month, she was allowed to meet with her lawyer for the first time.
Ha Nam police told Mr. Phong, another human rights activist in Hanoi, that Nga could not meet her kids as “she remains stubborn” during the investigation period which ended on May 5. She rejected all accusations of the police and affirmed her innocence, the police said.
Prior to her arrest, she had been persecuted and intimidated by Vietnam’s security forces, who kept her under close surveillance. She was brutally beaten by plainclothes agents in Hanoi in 2014 and her children were attacked with dirty substances last year.
Many foreign countries such as the U.S. and the EU, international human rights organizations such as the Southeast Asia Regional Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a partnership of FIDH and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)) and Human Rights Watch, have called for her immediate and unconditional release. Thirty domestic civil society organizations and 816 activists also signed a petition addressed to Vietnam’s government to urge it to release the mother of four children, including a seven-year-old and a four-year-old.
Ms. Nga is among the six Southeast Asian women human rights activists who have been honored by Amnesty International on March 7, one day ahead of International Women’s Day (May 8).
Her arrest is part of Vietnam’s ongoing political crackdown against local dissidents. According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam holds around 130 political prisoners, while Amnesty International said the Southeast Asian nation detains around 90 prisoners of conscience.
Hanoi has consistently rejected holding any prisoners of conscience, saying it only detains persons who have violated the law.
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Appeal Court for Political Activists Tran Anh Kim, Le Thanh Tung Set on May 26
Defend the Defenders: Political activists Tran Anh Kim from Thai Binh and Le Thanh Tung from Hanoi will have their appeal heard on May 26, more than five months after the first trial held by the People’s Court of the northern province of Thai Binh.
Mr. Kim was arrested in September 2016 while Mr. Tung was detained few months later. On December 16, the court found Kim and Tung guilty of the charges and handed down sentences of respectively 13 years and 12 years in prison to them. In addition, the two will be placed under house arrest for five and four years respectively after completing their terms.
According to the indictment, Mr. Kim, 67, had the intention to establish an organization called “People Forces for Democracy Promotion” with the participation of army officers to overthrow the current regime and replace it with a democratic government. The two activists planned to publicize their organization on September 21, 2016 but Vietnam’s security forces arrested Mr. Kim a few hours before the organization’s debut.
Mr. Kim, a former lieutenant of the Vietnam People’s Army and deputy head of the military political department of Thai Binh city before the 1990s, is a former political prisoner. During 1995-2005, he participated in a number of groups which promoted multi-party democracy, including the 8406 Bloc. He assisted farmers whose land was illegally seized by local authorities in seeking justice and participated in anti-corruption campaigns.
Mr. Kim was honored with the Hellman/Hammett Prize awarded by the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch in 2009.
He was arrested in July 2009 and charged for attempts to “overthrow the people’s government” under Article 79 of the Penal Code. He was later sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail and released in July 2015.
Mr. Tung is also a former prisoner of conscience, who completed his four-year term in mid 2015. Mr. Tung is a member of pro-democracy Bloc 8406. After being freed, Mr. Tung committed to continue to fight for multi-party democracy in Vietnam.
Tung was re-arrested in mid-December 2015 when he went to work in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.
Human rights lawyer Vo An Don, who is among the group of lawyers defending the accused, said his clients are innocent as their activities were simply unrealized ideas.
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HCM City Authorities Harassing Activist Victim of Torture, Protecting Perpetrators
Defend the Defenders: Ho Chi Minh City authorities have harassed environmental activist Le My Hanh, who was brutally beaten by government loyalists three weeks ago, and strived to protect one of the perpetrators, Phan Hung, the activist told Defend the Defenders.
The city’s authorities have created difficulty for her lawyers in accessing case files. They have yet to prosecute Hung and his band so the attackers in the assault against Hanh and her friends remain free, she said.
Asked to progress the case, police in the city said they are still investigating the case.
In order to cooperate with the city’s police in the case, Ms. Hanh has to stay in the city. However, local authorities have created problems for her, ordering land owners not to allow her and her friend to stay in a room ten days after moving in.
Police have also requested her older brother not to permit her to stay with his family, Hanh said, adding police summoned him to a local police station to work on allowing “unknown individual” to stay in his private residence.
Hanh questioned the attitude of HCM City’s police, saying they are trying to protect torture perpetrators but harassing their victims.
She calls on international and domestic community to support her in seeking justice.
Back to May 2, in Ho Chi Minh City, a group of ten government loyalists brutally attacked Le My Hanh, a female environmental activist from Hanoi for her activities, which aim to promote multi-party democracy, human rights and environmental protection.
Ms. Hanh said that the attackers, including women, broke in as she stayed at her friend’s private residence in Vietnam’s biggest economic hub. They sprayed tear gas at the two women and beat them.
After causing severe injuries to Ms. Hanh and her friend, the group left. Later, they posted a video clip of the attack on their Facebook accounts.
Hanh reported that she received online warnings from government loyalists who threatened to assault her when she was due to arrive in the city.
Several days later, police detained Phan Hung, who posted the video clip on his Facebook account, but released him on the next day.
This was the second attack of government loyalists against Ms. Hanh within a month. On April 5, she and blogger Trinh Dinh Hoa were brutally beaten by Hanoi-based government loyalists in Ho Tay (West Lake) as they were broadcasting a live stream on Facebook about the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant in the central coastal region in April 2016.
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Composer Tran Vu Anh Binh Released Four Months Ahead of Term End
Defend the Defenders: Composer and pro-democracy activist Tran Vu Anh Binh was released on May 21, four months before his six-year sentence was due to be completed.
Mr. Binh and his colleague Vo Minh Tri (also known as composer Viet Khang) were arrested on September 21, 2011. In October 2012, the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced him to six years and Mr. Tri to four years in prison for participation in an anti-state organization namely “Patriotic Youths.”
The court convicted him of producing “anti-state songs” composed by Mr. Tri and posting many other articles on the organization’s website. He was also accused of disseminating anti-state leaflets and hanging the flag of the Vietnam Republic which fell in 1975.
Immediately after the trial, the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam condemned the sentences, saying they are signs of limiting the freedom of expression in the Southeast Asian nation.
Mr. Tri was released in December 2015, while Mr. Binh will have to spend two more years under house arrest.