Defend the Defenders, September 03, 2017
===== August 30 =====
Jailed Political Dissident Le Thanh Tung Transferred to Another Prison, His Family not Informed
Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s authorities have transferred jailed political dissident Le Thanh Tung from the Ba Sao prison in the northern province of Ha Nam to another detention facility without informing his family.
Mrs. Tran Thi An, the wife of Mr. Tung, said she does not know where her husband is kept so she can visit him and provide some supplements.
Mr. Tung, who completed his four-year term in mid-2015, was arrested in 2015 together with former prisoner of conscience Tran Anh Kim and the duo was charged with subversion as they planned 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.
In December last year, he People’s Court of the northern province of Thai Binh found their guilty and sentenced Mr. Kim to 13 years in prison and 12 years in jail for Mr. Tung. In addition, the two will be placed under house arrest for five and four years respectively, after completing their terms.
In late May this year, the Higher People’s Court in the capital city of Hanoi rejected their appeals and upheld the sentences.
After the trial, Kim and Tung were held in the Ba Sao under the management of the Ministry of Public Security.
One month ago, Mrs. Thom, the wife of Kim, went to the prison to visit him and she was informed that the duo was transferred to Prison No. 5 in the central province of Thanh Hoa. Two weeks later, Thom received a letter from his husband to confirm the transfer.
However, Mrs. An has yet to receive any news from her husband. She plans to go to the ministry’s agency responsible for prisons’ management to ask about her husband situation.
Vietnam’s transfer of political prisoners without informing their families is a common practice. In addition, prisoners of conscience are often held in facilities which are far from their native localities so their families find difficulties in visiting them.
===== September 01 =====
Vietnam Continues Persecution against Brotherhood for Democracy, Arresting Its 7th Member
Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s communist government continues its persecution against Brotherhood for Democracy, arresting its 7th member Nguyen Van Tuc, who is also a former prisoner of conscience.
Mr. Tuc was detained on September 1 and charged with “conducting activities aiming to overthrow the people’s administration” under Article 79 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
His family informed that authorities in Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province, invited him and other farmers to the headquarters of the district People’s Committee in the Friday’s morning to work on land issue. However, the meeting was cancelled unexpectedly and when Mr. Tuc left the building of the district People’s Committee, he was detained by plainclothes agents.
At the same, authorities in Thai Binh deployed over 100 policemen to his private house in Dong La commune to search the house. They took some items at the presence of his wife Bui Thi Re.
Later, the Police department in the province announced on its website that Mr. Tuc was arrested and charged with subversion.
He will be held incommunicado during the investigation period which can last from four months to two years, a common practice in political cases in Vietnam.
Mr. Tuc, born in 1964, was arrested in September 2008 for spreading leaflets protesting China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty and calling for multi-party democracy. He was charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code. Later, he was sentenced to four years in prison and three years under house arrest.
After being released in 2012, he continued his activities to promote human rights and work for multi-party democracy. He joined Brotherhood for Democracy, an online group co-established by imprisoned human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai.
Mr. Tuc is the 7th member of Brotherhood for Democracy arrested during the ongoing persecution of Vietnam’s communist government against local political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and bloggers several months ahead of APEC Summit slated in the central city of Danang in November.
On July 30, the Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Public Security arrested Nguyen Trung Ton, president of Brotherhood for Democracy, Pham Van Troi, former president of the organization, Truong Minh Duc, and Nguyen Bac Truyen, co-founder of the organization but left it several years ago.
Few days later, police in the central province of Quang Binh also arrested Nguyen Trung Truc, spokesman of the organization.
The newly-arrested, together with imprisoned Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha, are charged with subversion under Article 79. In addition, Dai and Ha are charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88, the first charge when the duo was arrested in late 2015.
Vietnam’s ruling communist party is striving to keep the country under a one-party regime and requests the police forces to make all efforts to prevent the establishment of opposition party. It considers Brotherhood for Democracy as its potential political threat.
In June-July, Vietnam sentenced human rights defenders Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh to ten years in prison and Tran Thuy Nga to nine years in jail and four years under house arrest on allegation of anti-state propaganda under Article 88.
A number of other activists, including Le Dinh Luong, Luu Van Vinh, and Tran Hoang Phuc, were arrested and charged with allegations under Article 88 and 79 in 2016-2017.
According to Amnesty International, Vietnam is holding around 90 prisoners of conscience.
——————–
Netizen Report: Vietnam Targets ‘Illegal Cyber Information’ — and Political Speech
Global Voice: Global Voices Advocacy’s Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in internet rights around the world.
Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang called for tougher controls on the internet, charging that “hostile” entities online had “undermined the prestige of the leaders of the party and the state, [bringing about] a negative impact on cadres, party members and people.”
Quang, who is a former minister of public security, also vowed to increase online surveillance in the name of protecting national security.
His comments come on the heels of a public consultation on Vietnam’s new draft Law on Cybersecurity, which was written by — and gives broad powers to — the Ministry of Public Security. The draft includes special provisions around “illegal cyber information” that “incites any mass gatherings that disturb security and order, and anti-government activities in cyberspace.” The law also sets new standards for “critical systems,” stipulating that operators of such systems must store system data on Vietnamese soil, but it does not offer a clear definition of “critical systems”.
Assuming it goes into effect, the Law on Cybersecurity will increase the government’s ability to control independent voices online, which are already heavily scrutinized and regularly silenced under Vietnam’s Penal Code.
In late July, multiple bloggers and human rights defenders were arrested and charged with “conducting activities aimed at attempting to overthrow the state” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, which carries a minimum sentence of 12 years in prison and a maximum sentence of capital punishment. Among those arrested were the founding members of the Brotherhood for Democracy, a network of activists involved in community building and mobilising across Vietnam.
Prominent Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger Nguyen Van Dai was also charged under Article 79, on top of a previous charge under Penal Code Article 88 for allegedly “conducting propaganda against the state.”
A recipient of Human Rights Watch’s Hellman-Hammett Award in 2007, Dai has been detained for more than 600 days without trial. The new charges will allow police to extend their investigation period for an additional 20 months.
Continue reading about information in other countries: https://globalvoices.org/2017/08/31/netizen-report-vietnam-targets-illegal-cyber-information-and-political-speech/
=================
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September 5, 2017
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly August 27-September 03, 2017: Vietnam Arrests 7th Member of Brotherhood for Democracy, Persecution against Local Activists Continues
by Nhan Quyen • DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders, September 03, 2017
On September 01, authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Thai Binh arrested former prisoner Nguyen Van Tuc and charged him with subversion under Article 79 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
Mr. Tuc, 53, will be held incommunicado during the investigation period which will last between four months and 20 months. If convicted, he may face life imprisonment or capital punishment.
Mr. Tuc is the 7th member of Brotherhood for Democracy arrested and charged with subversion amid increasing crackdown on the online organization, and other activists. So far this year, Vietnam has arrested 11 activists and charged them with different allegations of the controversial national security provisions in the Penal Code. A number of other activists were arrested in 2015-2016 but still under investigation period.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has transferred political prisoners Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung from a prison in the northern province of Ha Nam to another prison without informing their families. Mr. Kim was said to be taken to the Prison No. 5 in the central province of Thanh Hoa while it is unclear where Mr. Tung is held and the family is still seeking for his reallocation.
===== August 30 =====
Jailed Political Dissident Le Thanh Tung Transferred to Another Prison, His Family not Informed
Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s authorities have transferred jailed political dissident Le Thanh Tung from the Ba Sao prison in the northern province of Ha Nam to another detention facility without informing his family.
Mrs. Tran Thi An, the wife of Mr. Tung, said she does not know where her husband is kept so she can visit him and provide some supplements.
Mr. Tung, who completed his four-year term in mid-2015, was arrested in 2015 together with former prisoner of conscience Tran Anh Kim and the duo was charged with subversion as they planned 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.
In December last year, he People’s Court of the northern province of Thai Binh found their guilty and sentenced Mr. Kim to 13 years in prison and 12 years in jail for Mr. Tung. In addition, the two will be placed under house arrest for five and four years respectively, after completing their terms.
In late May this year, the Higher People’s Court in the capital city of Hanoi rejected their appeals and upheld the sentences.
After the trial, Kim and Tung were held in the Ba Sao under the management of the Ministry of Public Security.
One month ago, Mrs. Thom, the wife of Kim, went to the prison to visit him and she was informed that the duo was transferred to Prison No. 5 in the central province of Thanh Hoa. Two weeks later, Thom received a letter from his husband to confirm the transfer.
However, Mrs. An has yet to receive any news from her husband. She plans to go to the ministry’s agency responsible for prisons’ management to ask about her husband situation.
Vietnam’s transfer of political prisoners without informing their families is a common practice. In addition, prisoners of conscience are often held in facilities which are far from their native localities so their families find difficulties in visiting them.
===== September 01 =====
Vietnam Continues Persecution against Brotherhood for Democracy, Arresting Its 7th Member
Defend the Defenders: Vietnam’s communist government continues its persecution against Brotherhood for Democracy, arresting its 7th member Nguyen Van Tuc, who is also a former prisoner of conscience.
Mr. Tuc was detained on September 1 and charged with “conducting activities aiming to overthrow the people’s administration” under Article 79 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
His family informed that authorities in Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province, invited him and other farmers to the headquarters of the district People’s Committee in the Friday’s morning to work on land issue. However, the meeting was cancelled unexpectedly and when Mr. Tuc left the building of the district People’s Committee, he was detained by plainclothes agents.
At the same, authorities in Thai Binh deployed over 100 policemen to his private house in Dong La commune to search the house. They took some items at the presence of his wife Bui Thi Re.
Later, the Police department in the province announced on its website that Mr. Tuc was arrested and charged with subversion.
He will be held incommunicado during the investigation period which can last from four months to two years, a common practice in political cases in Vietnam.
Mr. Tuc, born in 1964, was arrested in September 2008 for spreading leaflets protesting China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty and calling for multi-party democracy. He was charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code. Later, he was sentenced to four years in prison and three years under house arrest.
After being released in 2012, he continued his activities to promote human rights and work for multi-party democracy. He joined Brotherhood for Democracy, an online group co-established by imprisoned human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai.
Mr. Tuc is the 7th member of Brotherhood for Democracy arrested during the ongoing persecution of Vietnam’s communist government against local political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and bloggers several months ahead of APEC Summit slated in the central city of Danang in November.
On July 30, the Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Public Security arrested Nguyen Trung Ton, president of Brotherhood for Democracy, Pham Van Troi, former president of the organization, Truong Minh Duc, and Nguyen Bac Truyen, co-founder of the organization but left it several years ago.
Few days later, police in the central province of Quang Binh also arrested Nguyen Trung Truc, spokesman of the organization.
The newly-arrested, together with imprisoned Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha, are charged with subversion under Article 79. In addition, Dai and Ha are charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88, the first charge when the duo was arrested in late 2015.
Vietnam’s ruling communist party is striving to keep the country under a one-party regime and requests the police forces to make all efforts to prevent the establishment of opposition party. It considers Brotherhood for Democracy as its potential political threat.
In June-July, Vietnam sentenced human rights defenders Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh to ten years in prison and Tran Thuy Nga to nine years in jail and four years under house arrest on allegation of anti-state propaganda under Article 88.
A number of other activists, including Le Dinh Luong, Luu Van Vinh, and Tran Hoang Phuc, were arrested and charged with allegations under Article 88 and 79 in 2016-2017.
According to Amnesty International, Vietnam is holding around 90 prisoners of conscience.
——————–
Netizen Report: Vietnam Targets ‘Illegal Cyber Information’ — and Political Speech
Global Voice: Global Voices Advocacy’s Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in internet rights around the world.
Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang called for tougher controls on the internet, charging that “hostile” entities online had “undermined the prestige of the leaders of the party and the state, [bringing about] a negative impact on cadres, party members and people.”
Quang, who is a former minister of public security, also vowed to increase online surveillance in the name of protecting national security.
His comments come on the heels of a public consultation on Vietnam’s new draft Law on Cybersecurity, which was written by — and gives broad powers to — the Ministry of Public Security. The draft includes special provisions around “illegal cyber information” that “incites any mass gatherings that disturb security and order, and anti-government activities in cyberspace.” The law also sets new standards for “critical systems,” stipulating that operators of such systems must store system data on Vietnamese soil, but it does not offer a clear definition of “critical systems”.
Assuming it goes into effect, the Law on Cybersecurity will increase the government’s ability to control independent voices online, which are already heavily scrutinized and regularly silenced under Vietnam’s Penal Code.
In late July, multiple bloggers and human rights defenders were arrested and charged with “conducting activities aimed at attempting to overthrow the state” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, which carries a minimum sentence of 12 years in prison and a maximum sentence of capital punishment. Among those arrested were the founding members of the Brotherhood for Democracy, a network of activists involved in community building and mobilising across Vietnam.
Prominent Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger Nguyen Van Dai was also charged under Article 79, on top of a previous charge under Penal Code Article 88 for allegedly “conducting propaganda against the state.”
A recipient of Human Rights Watch’s Hellman-Hammett Award in 2007, Dai has been detained for more than 600 days without trial. The new charges will allow police to extend their investigation period for an additional 20 months.
Continue reading about information in other countries: https://globalvoices.org/2017/08/31/netizen-report-vietnam-targets-illegal-cyber-information-and-political-speech/
=================