Defend the Defenders | October 15, 2017
On October 7, security forces in Ho Chi Minh City kidnapped local activist Nguyen Dang Vu, taking him to a police station, where he was interrogated for over 20 hours.
Police officers questioned him about his relations with imprisoned activist Nguyen Viet Dung, who was arrested and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
On October 10, on the one year anniversary of the arrest of prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known by her pen name Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), Civil Rights Defenders issued a public statement calling on Vietnam’s government to immediately and unconditionally release her and stop persecution against other activists.
In late June, Vietnam convicted Mother Mushroom, sentencing her to ten years in prison for her activities dealing with human rights violations, environmental pollution, and protesting China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
Vietnam says it will try anti-corruption blogger Phan Kim Khanh on October 25. The activist was arrested on March 21 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88. If convicted, the 24-year-old blogger faces possible imprisonment of up to twelve years.
Imprisoned blogger Nguyen Van Oai appealed the decision of Hoang Mai town’s People’s Court. On September 18, the court found him guilty of “resisting individuals in the performance of official duties,” under Article 257 and “failing to execute judgments” under Article 304 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to five years in prison and an additional four years of probation.
Late in the night on Friday and early morning Saturday October 13, the private residence of activist Pham Thu Huong in Haiphong City was attacked with stones and dirty mess. The attack was likely carried out by government-backed thugs in retaliation for her political expression.
===== October 09 =====
HCM City-based Activist Kidnapped, Interrogated for 20 Hours
Defend the Defenders: Nguyen Dang Vu, an activist living in Ho Chi Minh City, was kidnapped by the city’s police, who interrogated him for 20 hours about his social activities.
Vu, who has a Facebook account named Nguyen Peng, went missing in the evening of October 7, after participating in a wedding party for a couple of local activists. He appeared 20 hours latter, saying he had been detained by security forces who took him to a police station on Lac Long Quan street for questioning.
Vu said during the overnight interrogation, police officers questioned him about Nguyen Viet Dung, an activist kidnapped by police in Nghe An province and later charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. They also asked about posts on his Facebook account Nguyen Peng.
Police questioned Vu about money he had received from Dung. Vu has been involved in a number of charity activities and Dung was among the donors.
Vu said last week, when he travelled to the central region for a charity mission, that he had received a call from Nghe An province police about Dung. Vu’s relatives were also approached and questioned by the police while he was away.
This was the second time Vu was kidnapped by police. The first occurred on June 8. Security forces in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak kidnapped and tortured him for two days following his visit to the locality to meet with local activists (details about the case: /2017/06/11/vietnam-activist-kidnapped-tortured-by-police-while-visiting-dak-lak/)
Despite his weak health, Vu has participated in many peaceful demonstrations on environmental and other issues, and posted a number of articles on his Nguyễn Peng Facebook account about human rights and multi-party democracy. He is very active in charity mission to help children in remote areas, invalids from the Vietnam War, and people affected by the environmental catastrophe caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant.
Along with arrests and imprisonments on trumped-up charges, Vietnam’s security forces have also applied other tactics to harass local political dissidents, human rights defenders, and social activists such as economic blockage, kidnaping, and torture in a bid to silence them. Hundreds of activists have been kidnapped, beaten, and robbed by security forces in the past few years.
===== October 10 =====
One Year After Arrest, Demand for Release of Vietnamese Human Rights Defender Me Nam
Civil Rights Defenders: On 10 October 2016, Vietnamese authorities arrested blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known by her pen name Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), on charges of spreading propaganda against the State. On 29 June, Me Nam was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Known since 2006 for her active social media advocacy against the Vietnamese government’s rampant corruption, human rights abuses, and foreign policy, her arrest and later sentence should be seen as politically motivated. Civil Rights Defenders calls on the government of Vietnam to immediately and unconditionally release Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and to end its wider persecution of bloggers and journalists under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
On the morning of 10 October 2016, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Me Nam) was arrested while on her way to visit another rights defender in prison. Her arrest and ongoing detention should be seen as nothing more than persecution against her courageous defense of human rights.
Since 2006, Me Nam has been blogging about human rights abuses and corruption in Vietnam. In 2013, she co-founded the independent Vietnamese Bloggers Network, which is now blocked in Vietnam. She has investigated and published widely on environmental protection, public health, correctional reform and anti-torture efforts, and has been critical of Vietnam’s foreign policy toward China over disputed islands in the South China Sea. Me Nam has posted information about over 30 people who have died in police custody and has been active both online and offline in documenting and demanding redress for the 2016 Formosa environmental disaster, when the Taiwanese-Vietnamese Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation leaked toxic waste into the ocean having a devastating impact on tens of thousands of Vietnamese in four coastal provinces. Because of her tireless defense of human rights, Me Nam has been frequently targeted for harassment by the state, previously detained, interrogated, and beaten.
Following her arrest on 10 October 2016, Me Nam was held in incommunicado pre-trial detention until 20 June 2017, when she was first allowed to meet with one of her lawyers. The government also targeted her family in the month preceding her trial, the worst on 20 May 2017 when over 50 security officials surrounded the family’s house.
On 29 June 2017, following a speedy trial that failed to meet international fair trial standards, the People’s Court of Khanh Hoa province sentenced Me Nam to 10 years in prison under Article 88 of the Penal Code, for “conducting propaganda against the state.” The outrageousness of the sentence is compounded by serious grounds for concern over her deteriorating health.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Vietnam is a State Party, holds that anyone arrested or detained is entitled to a prompt trial without unreasonable delays and discourages pre-trial detention. Anyone who is arrested or detained is entitled to a lawyer of their choosing and to a court proceeding to decide without delay the lawfulness of their detention. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the ICCPR, holds that incommunicado detention denies the right to a fair trial, and raises the risks of torture. In April 2017, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Me Nam’s detention to be arbitrary and called for her release. Instead, Vietnam proceeded with its persecution of Me Nam under the Penal Code. In contravention of Vietnam’s obligations under international law, Article 88 is often used to silence and imprison peaceful government critics and human rights defenders for exercising their right to the freedom of expression and opinion.
On the one-year anniversary of her arbitrary arrest and detention, Civil Rights Defenders urges the government of Vietnam to immediately and unconditionally release Me Nam, and to immediately end its wider persecution of bloggers and journalists under Article 88 of the Penal Code. As a prisoner of conscience, Me Nam has the right to remedy, including necessary medical attention, which Vietnam should ensure without conditions. Vietnam should amend or abolish those sections of the Penal Code that do not comply with its obligations under international law. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s donors, trade partners, and especially those seeking to expand relations with Vietnam, should likewise pressure the government to release Me Nam and all others arbitrarily detained for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression.
——————–
Trial against Anti-corruption Blogger Phan Kim Khanh Set on October 25
Defend the Defenders: The People’s Court in Vietnam’s northern Thai Nguyen province will hold a trial on October 25 against blogger Phan Kim Khanh on charges of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code, according to court announcements.
At the trial, which is schedule to start at 7.30 AM, Mr. Khanh will be tried for “Propagating against, distorting and/or defaming the people’s administration” and “Making, storing and/or circulating documents and/or cultural products with contents against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
If convicted, Khanh, 24, will face imprisonment of between three and twelve years, according to the law.
The court said the trial will be open to the public.
Mr. Khanh, who was arrested on March 21 while taking an undergraduate course at Thai Nguyen University, was finally permitted to meet with his lawyer on September 20 to prepare his defense following six months of incommunicado detention.
The charges against Khanh, who is an excellent second-year student and president of the Student Association of the university’s International Studies Faculty, arise from police allegations that he uses his social media channels to propagandize anti-sate information. The police specifically mentioned the following accounts they attributed to Khanh, “Bao Tham nhung” (Corruption Newspaper” and “Tuan bao Viet Nam” (Vietnam Weekly) and three Facebook accounts namely “Bao Tham nhung,” “Tuan bao Viet Nam” and “Dan chu TV” (Democracy TV) as well as two Youtube channels namely “Viet Bao TV” and “Vietnam Online.”
Police also said Khanh had been in contact with people considered by the authorities to be anti-reactionary individuals, including former political prisoner Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), who is living in exile in the U.S., following his release in 2014 from imprisonment in Vietnam.
Khanh was also accused of participating in the management of several websites related to Vietnam Reform Party (Viet Tan), a U.S.-based pro-democracy group labeled a terrorist organization by Vietnam’s government.
Activists said the websites and Facebook accounts Khanh manages provide real news on Vietnam, particularly on the country’s systemic corruption, an issue the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam has vowed to deal with.
Khanh comes from a poor family with two elderly parents. He has been one of nearly 20 activists arrested by Vietnam’s government on allegations of conducting anti-state activities since the beginning of 2017.
He has been one of nearly 20 activists arrested by Vietnam’s government on allegations of conducting anti-state activities so far this year.
In July-September, Vietnam imprisoned three activists, namely Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Mother mushroom), Tran Thi Nga, and Nguyen Van Oai. The first two were convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 and sentenced to ten years and nine years in prison, respectively. Mr. Oai was sentenced to five years in jail and four years under house arrest on charges of “resisting individuals in the performance of official duties,” under Article 257 and “failing to execute judgments” under Article 304 of the Penal Code.
In order to keep the country under a one-party regime, the Vietnamese communist government frequently uses controversial articles such as 79, 88, and 258 of the national security provisions of the Penal Code to silence local dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists, and bloggers.
According to international human rights organizations, Vietnam is holding over 100 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi always denies such charges, claiming it only imprisons those who have violated the law.
Vietnam is among world’s biggest enemies of a free Internet, imprisoning dozens of journalists and bloggers. It was ranked 178 out 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 Press Freedom Index.
===== October 11 =====
Imprisoned Activist Nguyen Van Oai Challenges Court’s Decision
Defend the Defenders: Human rights defender Nguyen Van Oai, who was convicted by the People’s Court in Hoang Mai town, Nghe An province, filled an appeal to challenge the court’s decision.
On September 18, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison and four years of probation. His conviction is part of the communist government’s intensified crackdown on local political dissidents, rights advocates, social activists, and online bloggers.
The court found Mr. Oai guilty of “resisting individuals in the performance of official duties” under Article 257 and “failing to execute judgments” under Article 304 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the first charge and two years for the second.
In addition, the court said he has to serve four more years under house arrest, because the additional probation period of the previous sentence had not been done.
Mr. Oai, a former prisoner of conscience, was arrested on January 19 following a fishing trip near his house in Hoang Mai town.
Oai, a blogger and Catholic social activist, founder of the Association of Association of Catholic Former Prisoners of Conscience, was arrested on his way home from a fishing trip in Hoang Mai town. Local authorities accused him of failing to obey regulations set for house arrest as he was still under a four-year probation delivered by a previous sentence.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tri, his sister said that the first charge was ungrounded, as when he was detained by plainclothes agents, he resisted because he thought they were thugs.
Oai, who was imprisoned for four years between 2011 and 2015 on charges of subversion under Article 79 of the Penal Code, received support from the domestic and international community after his arrest in January 2017.
Following his arrest, the EU, the U.S. and other countries and international human rights organizations condemned Vietnam’s move, urging the communist government to release him immediately and unconditionally.
===== October 14 =====
Private Residence of Haiphong City-based Activist Attacked with Stones, Dirty Mess
The private residence of Ms. Pham Thu Huong from the northern city of Haiphong was attacked with stones and dirty mess during the night of October 13.
Huong, who has been publically critical about systemic corruption, the government’s poor management in socio-economic affairs, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), said she woke up at 2:40 AM on Saturday after hearing noises caused by stones being thrown at her roof.
Later, she detected a foul smell of waste machinery oil that she couldn’t stand.
She went to her garden and recognized the dirty mess made from waste oil and animal waste.
Huong suggested that the attack was made in reprisal for her critical writings on her Facebook account Pham Thu Huong.
Huong has been under constant harassment by local police, who often summon her to the police station for interrogation.
She has participated in a number of peaceful demonstrations in Hanoi on environmental and China-related issues. She is calling for multi-party democracy.
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October 16, 2017
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly Report October 9-15: Security Forces Kidnap HCM City-based Activist, Interrogating Him for 20 Hours
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | October 15, 2017
On October 7, security forces in Ho Chi Minh City kidnapped local activist Nguyen Dang Vu, taking him to a police station, where he was interrogated for over 20 hours.
Police officers questioned him about his relations with imprisoned activist Nguyen Viet Dung, who was arrested and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
On October 10, on the one year anniversary of the arrest of prominent human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known by her pen name Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), Civil Rights Defenders issued a public statement calling on Vietnam’s government to immediately and unconditionally release her and stop persecution against other activists.
In late June, Vietnam convicted Mother Mushroom, sentencing her to ten years in prison for her activities dealing with human rights violations, environmental pollution, and protesting China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
Vietnam says it will try anti-corruption blogger Phan Kim Khanh on October 25. The activist was arrested on March 21 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88. If convicted, the 24-year-old blogger faces possible imprisonment of up to twelve years.
Imprisoned blogger Nguyen Van Oai appealed the decision of Hoang Mai town’s People’s Court. On September 18, the court found him guilty of “resisting individuals in the performance of official duties,” under Article 257 and “failing to execute judgments” under Article 304 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to five years in prison and an additional four years of probation.
Late in the night on Friday and early morning Saturday October 13, the private residence of activist Pham Thu Huong in Haiphong City was attacked with stones and dirty mess. The attack was likely carried out by government-backed thugs in retaliation for her political expression.
===== October 09 =====
HCM City-based Activist Kidnapped, Interrogated for 20 Hours
Defend the Defenders: Nguyen Dang Vu, an activist living in Ho Chi Minh City, was kidnapped by the city’s police, who interrogated him for 20 hours about his social activities.
Vu, who has a Facebook account named Nguyen Peng, went missing in the evening of October 7, after participating in a wedding party for a couple of local activists. He appeared 20 hours latter, saying he had been detained by security forces who took him to a police station on Lac Long Quan street for questioning.
Vu said during the overnight interrogation, police officers questioned him about Nguyen Viet Dung, an activist kidnapped by police in Nghe An province and later charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. They also asked about posts on his Facebook account Nguyen Peng.
Police questioned Vu about money he had received from Dung. Vu has been involved in a number of charity activities and Dung was among the donors.
Vu said last week, when he travelled to the central region for a charity mission, that he had received a call from Nghe An province police about Dung. Vu’s relatives were also approached and questioned by the police while he was away.
This was the second time Vu was kidnapped by police. The first occurred on June 8. Security forces in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak kidnapped and tortured him for two days following his visit to the locality to meet with local activists (details about the case: /2017/06/11/vietnam-activist-kidnapped-tortured-by-police-while-visiting-dak-lak/)
Despite his weak health, Vu has participated in many peaceful demonstrations on environmental and other issues, and posted a number of articles on his Nguyễn Peng Facebook account about human rights and multi-party democracy. He is very active in charity mission to help children in remote areas, invalids from the Vietnam War, and people affected by the environmental catastrophe caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant.
Along with arrests and imprisonments on trumped-up charges, Vietnam’s security forces have also applied other tactics to harass local political dissidents, human rights defenders, and social activists such as economic blockage, kidnaping, and torture in a bid to silence them. Hundreds of activists have been kidnapped, beaten, and robbed by security forces in the past few years.
===== October 10 =====
One Year After Arrest, Demand for Release of Vietnamese Human Rights Defender Me Nam
Civil Rights Defenders: On 10 October 2016, Vietnamese authorities arrested blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known by her pen name Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), on charges of spreading propaganda against the State. On 29 June, Me Nam was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Known since 2006 for her active social media advocacy against the Vietnamese government’s rampant corruption, human rights abuses, and foreign policy, her arrest and later sentence should be seen as politically motivated. Civil Rights Defenders calls on the government of Vietnam to immediately and unconditionally release Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and to end its wider persecution of bloggers and journalists under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
On the morning of 10 October 2016, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Me Nam) was arrested while on her way to visit another rights defender in prison. Her arrest and ongoing detention should be seen as nothing more than persecution against her courageous defense of human rights.
Since 2006, Me Nam has been blogging about human rights abuses and corruption in Vietnam. In 2013, she co-founded the independent Vietnamese Bloggers Network, which is now blocked in Vietnam. She has investigated and published widely on environmental protection, public health, correctional reform and anti-torture efforts, and has been critical of Vietnam’s foreign policy toward China over disputed islands in the South China Sea. Me Nam has posted information about over 30 people who have died in police custody and has been active both online and offline in documenting and demanding redress for the 2016 Formosa environmental disaster, when the Taiwanese-Vietnamese Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation leaked toxic waste into the ocean having a devastating impact on tens of thousands of Vietnamese in four coastal provinces. Because of her tireless defense of human rights, Me Nam has been frequently targeted for harassment by the state, previously detained, interrogated, and beaten.
Following her arrest on 10 October 2016, Me Nam was held in incommunicado pre-trial detention until 20 June 2017, when she was first allowed to meet with one of her lawyers. The government also targeted her family in the month preceding her trial, the worst on 20 May 2017 when over 50 security officials surrounded the family’s house.
On 29 June 2017, following a speedy trial that failed to meet international fair trial standards, the People’s Court of Khanh Hoa province sentenced Me Nam to 10 years in prison under Article 88 of the Penal Code, for “conducting propaganda against the state.” The outrageousness of the sentence is compounded by serious grounds for concern over her deteriorating health.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Vietnam is a State Party, holds that anyone arrested or detained is entitled to a prompt trial without unreasonable delays and discourages pre-trial detention. Anyone who is arrested or detained is entitled to a lawyer of their choosing and to a court proceeding to decide without delay the lawfulness of their detention. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the ICCPR, holds that incommunicado detention denies the right to a fair trial, and raises the risks of torture. In April 2017, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Me Nam’s detention to be arbitrary and called for her release. Instead, Vietnam proceeded with its persecution of Me Nam under the Penal Code. In contravention of Vietnam’s obligations under international law, Article 88 is often used to silence and imprison peaceful government critics and human rights defenders for exercising their right to the freedom of expression and opinion.
On the one-year anniversary of her arbitrary arrest and detention, Civil Rights Defenders urges the government of Vietnam to immediately and unconditionally release Me Nam, and to immediately end its wider persecution of bloggers and journalists under Article 88 of the Penal Code. As a prisoner of conscience, Me Nam has the right to remedy, including necessary medical attention, which Vietnam should ensure without conditions. Vietnam should amend or abolish those sections of the Penal Code that do not comply with its obligations under international law. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s donors, trade partners, and especially those seeking to expand relations with Vietnam, should likewise pressure the government to release Me Nam and all others arbitrarily detained for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression.
——————–
Trial against Anti-corruption Blogger Phan Kim Khanh Set on October 25
Defend the Defenders: The People’s Court in Vietnam’s northern Thai Nguyen province will hold a trial on October 25 against blogger Phan Kim Khanh on charges of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code, according to court announcements.
At the trial, which is schedule to start at 7.30 AM, Mr. Khanh will be tried for “Propagating against, distorting and/or defaming the people’s administration” and “Making, storing and/or circulating documents and/or cultural products with contents against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
If convicted, Khanh, 24, will face imprisonment of between three and twelve years, according to the law.
The court said the trial will be open to the public.
Mr. Khanh, who was arrested on March 21 while taking an undergraduate course at Thai Nguyen University, was finally permitted to meet with his lawyer on September 20 to prepare his defense following six months of incommunicado detention.
The charges against Khanh, who is an excellent second-year student and president of the Student Association of the university’s International Studies Faculty, arise from police allegations that he uses his social media channels to propagandize anti-sate information. The police specifically mentioned the following accounts they attributed to Khanh, “Bao Tham nhung” (Corruption Newspaper” and “Tuan bao Viet Nam” (Vietnam Weekly) and three Facebook accounts namely “Bao Tham nhung,” “Tuan bao Viet Nam” and “Dan chu TV” (Democracy TV) as well as two Youtube channels namely “Viet Bao TV” and “Vietnam Online.”
Police also said Khanh had been in contact with people considered by the authorities to be anti-reactionary individuals, including former political prisoner Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), who is living in exile in the U.S., following his release in 2014 from imprisonment in Vietnam.
Khanh was also accused of participating in the management of several websites related to Vietnam Reform Party (Viet Tan), a U.S.-based pro-democracy group labeled a terrorist organization by Vietnam’s government.
Activists said the websites and Facebook accounts Khanh manages provide real news on Vietnam, particularly on the country’s systemic corruption, an issue the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam has vowed to deal with.
Khanh comes from a poor family with two elderly parents. He has been one of nearly 20 activists arrested by Vietnam’s government on allegations of conducting anti-state activities since the beginning of 2017.
He has been one of nearly 20 activists arrested by Vietnam’s government on allegations of conducting anti-state activities so far this year.
In July-September, Vietnam imprisoned three activists, namely Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Mother mushroom), Tran Thi Nga, and Nguyen Van Oai. The first two were convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 and sentenced to ten years and nine years in prison, respectively. Mr. Oai was sentenced to five years in jail and four years under house arrest on charges of “resisting individuals in the performance of official duties,” under Article 257 and “failing to execute judgments” under Article 304 of the Penal Code.
In order to keep the country under a one-party regime, the Vietnamese communist government frequently uses controversial articles such as 79, 88, and 258 of the national security provisions of the Penal Code to silence local dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists, and bloggers.
According to international human rights organizations, Vietnam is holding over 100 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi always denies such charges, claiming it only imprisons those who have violated the law.
Vietnam is among world’s biggest enemies of a free Internet, imprisoning dozens of journalists and bloggers. It was ranked 178 out 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 Press Freedom Index.
===== October 11 =====
Imprisoned Activist Nguyen Van Oai Challenges Court’s Decision
Defend the Defenders: Human rights defender Nguyen Van Oai, who was convicted by the People’s Court in Hoang Mai town, Nghe An province, filled an appeal to challenge the court’s decision.
On September 18, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison and four years of probation. His conviction is part of the communist government’s intensified crackdown on local political dissidents, rights advocates, social activists, and online bloggers.
The court found Mr. Oai guilty of “resisting individuals in the performance of official duties” under Article 257 and “failing to execute judgments” under Article 304 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the first charge and two years for the second.
In addition, the court said he has to serve four more years under house arrest, because the additional probation period of the previous sentence had not been done.
Mr. Oai, a former prisoner of conscience, was arrested on January 19 following a fishing trip near his house in Hoang Mai town.
Oai, a blogger and Catholic social activist, founder of the Association of Association of Catholic Former Prisoners of Conscience, was arrested on his way home from a fishing trip in Hoang Mai town. Local authorities accused him of failing to obey regulations set for house arrest as he was still under a four-year probation delivered by a previous sentence.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tri, his sister said that the first charge was ungrounded, as when he was detained by plainclothes agents, he resisted because he thought they were thugs.
Oai, who was imprisoned for four years between 2011 and 2015 on charges of subversion under Article 79 of the Penal Code, received support from the domestic and international community after his arrest in January 2017.
Following his arrest, the EU, the U.S. and other countries and international human rights organizations condemned Vietnam’s move, urging the communist government to release him immediately and unconditionally.
===== October 14 =====
Private Residence of Haiphong City-based Activist Attacked with Stones, Dirty Mess
The private residence of Ms. Pham Thu Huong from the northern city of Haiphong was attacked with stones and dirty mess during the night of October 13.
Huong, who has been publically critical about systemic corruption, the government’s poor management in socio-economic affairs, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), said she woke up at 2:40 AM on Saturday after hearing noises caused by stones being thrown at her roof.
Later, she detected a foul smell of waste machinery oil that she couldn’t stand.
She went to her garden and recognized the dirty mess made from waste oil and animal waste.
Huong suggested that the attack was made in reprisal for her critical writings on her Facebook account Pham Thu Huong.
Huong has been under constant harassment by local police, who often summon her to the police station for interrogation.
She has participated in a number of peaceful demonstrations in Hanoi on environmental and China-related issues. She is calling for multi-party democracy.