Blogger, human rights defender and environmental activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh
By Defend the Defenders, June 29, 2017
Many international non-government organizations (NGOs), including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, the London-based Amnesty International and the Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders have issued statements calling on Vietnam’s communist government to release human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh who is well-known blogger under penname Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), one day ahead of her trial set on June 29.
In their joint statement, Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders said Vietnam should immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Quynh, saying she is charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code just because of carrying out peaceful activities to promote and defend human rights.
The two institutions said that her trial carried out by the People’s Court of the central province of Khanh Hoa comes as Vietnam’s human rights situation appears to be deteriorating, with increasing numbers of arrests, restrictions on freedom of movement, and intimidation and violence against human rights defenders and political activists, as well as suppression of freedom of expression rights generally.
Citing that Quynh was held incommunicado from her arrest on October 10 last year until June 20 this year, Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders said that Quynh’s right to a fair trial has been violated by her lengthy period of incommunicado detention, and the denial of prompt and confidential access to a lawyer in order to adequately prepare her defence. In addition, she has been charged with offences that violate the right to freedom of expression and are not consistent with international human rights law and standards.
She was allowed to meet with her lawyers on June 20, just nine days before the trial, they noted, adding nine days are not sufficient for preparing defense in such a serious case.
Quynh should be released immediately and unconditionally, they said, adding she should be provided the right to a remedy for her arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention.
Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders also urged Vietnam to amend the national security section of the Penal Code to bring it into line with international human rights law and standards as well as to refrain from criminalizing and prosecuting people for peacefully expressing the right to freedom of expression and to respect and protect the right to a fair trial.
On the eve of Quynh’s trial, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also issued a press release urging Vietnam’s judges to dismiss this unjust charge and free her unconditionally, and calls on the government to stop using Article 88 of the Penal Code to silence its critics.
In its statement, Human Rights Watch urged Vietnam to release Quynh and drop all charges against her.
“It’s outrageous to put Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh on trial simply for using her right to free expression to call for government reform and accountability,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The scandal here is not what Mother Mushroom said, but Hanoi’s stubborn refusal to repeal draconian, rights-abusing laws that punish peaceful dissent and tarnish Vietnam’s international reputation,” he said.
International donors and trade partners should publicly condemn her arrest and urge the Vietnamese government to immediately and unconditionally release her, said Brad Adam, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
RSF said Quynh is one of Vietnam’s leading free speech advocates. On social networks, she raised the delicate issue of police violence and criticized the way the authorities handled a toxic spill from the Taiwanese-owned Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation plant in Ha Tinh province in April 2016.
“Article 88 of The Penal Code should not be used as a pretext for silencing criticism of the regime, and the ruling Communist Party should stop treating freedom of expression as crime that must be systematically punished,” RSF said.
Reporters Without Borders also condemns the harassment of Quynh’s mother, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, who has been constantly followed by the local authorities since Quynh’s arrest.
RSF said Vietnam’s Communist Party tolerates no criticism and controls all the media but, in recent years, dissidents have increasingly used online social networks to provide the population with freely reported information. These independent reporters and critics are subjected to frequent intimidation attempts and reprisals. Their families are also often targeted.
Vietnam is ranked 175th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2017 World Press Freedom Index, RSF noted.
On October 14, 2016, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Vietnam’s Government “to abide by its obligations under human rights law, to drop these charges against Ms. Quynh and to release her immediately”. He noted that Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code is “overly broad and ill-defined” and “effectively makes it a crime for any Vietnamese citizen to express an opinion, to discuss or to question the Government and its policies.”
Meanwhile, local activists reported on social networks, saying Vietnam’s police forces have tightened security in the central city of Nha Trang where the trial is held. Police are blocking all roads leading to the province’s People’s Court building, not allowing Quynh’s friends and activists to approach near the courtroom to support her.
It is unclear whether Mrs. Lan, mother of Quynh, is able to attend the trial inside the courtroom. Last week, the court said she cannot attend the trial as it is special one and not relevant to her.
Police have arrested seven activists who tried to come to observe the trial.
Many activists in Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang have said that local authorities are deploying large numbers of plainclothes agents to near their private residences to prevent them from going to Nha Trang to support Quynh who received a Hellman Hammett grant from Human Rights Watch in 2010 as a writer defending free expression, the 2015 Civil Rights Defender of the Year award of Civil Rights Defenders in 2015 and the International Women of Courage award from the U.S. State Department this year.
According to Vietnam’s current law and the indictment against Quynh, she is facing between three and 12 years in jail if is convicted.
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June 29, 2017
International NGOs Call on Vietnam to Free Mother Mushroom ahead of Trial
by Nhan Quyen • Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Me Nam)
Blogger, human rights defender and environmental activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh
By Defend the Defenders, June 29, 2017
Many international non-government organizations (NGOs), including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, the London-based Amnesty International and the Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders have issued statements calling on Vietnam’s communist government to release human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh who is well-known blogger under penname Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), one day ahead of her trial set on June 29.
In their joint statement, Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders said Vietnam should immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Quynh, saying she is charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code just because of carrying out peaceful activities to promote and defend human rights.
The two institutions said that her trial carried out by the People’s Court of the central province of Khanh Hoa comes as Vietnam’s human rights situation appears to be deteriorating, with increasing numbers of arrests, restrictions on freedom of movement, and intimidation and violence against human rights defenders and political activists, as well as suppression of freedom of expression rights generally.
Citing that Quynh was held incommunicado from her arrest on October 10 last year until June 20 this year, Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders said that Quynh’s right to a fair trial has been violated by her lengthy period of incommunicado detention, and the denial of prompt and confidential access to a lawyer in order to adequately prepare her defence. In addition, she has been charged with offences that violate the right to freedom of expression and are not consistent with international human rights law and standards.
She was allowed to meet with her lawyers on June 20, just nine days before the trial, they noted, adding nine days are not sufficient for preparing defense in such a serious case.
Quynh should be released immediately and unconditionally, they said, adding she should be provided the right to a remedy for her arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention.
Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders also urged Vietnam to amend the national security section of the Penal Code to bring it into line with international human rights law and standards as well as to refrain from criminalizing and prosecuting people for peacefully expressing the right to freedom of expression and to respect and protect the right to a fair trial.
On the eve of Quynh’s trial, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also issued a press release urging Vietnam’s judges to dismiss this unjust charge and free her unconditionally, and calls on the government to stop using Article 88 of the Penal Code to silence its critics.
In its statement, Human Rights Watch urged Vietnam to release Quynh and drop all charges against her.
“It’s outrageous to put Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh on trial simply for using her right to free expression to call for government reform and accountability,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The scandal here is not what Mother Mushroom said, but Hanoi’s stubborn refusal to repeal draconian, rights-abusing laws that punish peaceful dissent and tarnish Vietnam’s international reputation,” he said.
International donors and trade partners should publicly condemn her arrest and urge the Vietnamese government to immediately and unconditionally release her, said Brad Adam, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
RSF said Quynh is one of Vietnam’s leading free speech advocates. On social networks, she raised the delicate issue of police violence and criticized the way the authorities handled a toxic spill from the Taiwanese-owned Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation plant in Ha Tinh province in April 2016.
“Article 88 of The Penal Code should not be used as a pretext for silencing criticism of the regime, and the ruling Communist Party should stop treating freedom of expression as crime that must be systematically punished,” RSF said.
Reporters Without Borders also condemns the harassment of Quynh’s mother, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, who has been constantly followed by the local authorities since Quynh’s arrest.
RSF said Vietnam’s Communist Party tolerates no criticism and controls all the media but, in recent years, dissidents have increasingly used online social networks to provide the population with freely reported information. These independent reporters and critics are subjected to frequent intimidation attempts and reprisals. Their families are also often targeted.
Vietnam is ranked 175th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2017 World Press Freedom Index, RSF noted.
On October 14, 2016, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Vietnam’s Government “to abide by its obligations under human rights law, to drop these charges against Ms. Quynh and to release her immediately”. He noted that Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code is “overly broad and ill-defined” and “effectively makes it a crime for any Vietnamese citizen to express an opinion, to discuss or to question the Government and its policies.”
Meanwhile, local activists reported on social networks, saying Vietnam’s police forces have tightened security in the central city of Nha Trang where the trial is held. Police are blocking all roads leading to the province’s People’s Court building, not allowing Quynh’s friends and activists to approach near the courtroom to support her.
It is unclear whether Mrs. Lan, mother of Quynh, is able to attend the trial inside the courtroom. Last week, the court said she cannot attend the trial as it is special one and not relevant to her.
Police have arrested seven activists who tried to come to observe the trial.
Many activists in Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang have said that local authorities are deploying large numbers of plainclothes agents to near their private residences to prevent them from going to Nha Trang to support Quynh who received a Hellman Hammett grant from Human Rights Watch in 2010 as a writer defending free expression, the 2015 Civil Rights Defender of the Year award of Civil Rights Defenders in 2015 and the International Women of Courage award from the U.S. State Department this year.
According to Vietnam’s current law and the indictment against Quynh, she is facing between three and 12 years in jail if is convicted.