Prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai (middle) at a protest in Hanoi
Defend the Defenders, June 8, 2018
Vietnam’s authorities have released prominent attorney Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha but forced them to go to exile in Germany, Defend the Defenders has learned.
Mr. Dai, 49, and Ms. Ha, 36, were said to be taken from B14 detention facility in Hanoi to the Noi Bai International Airport where they were boarded to an international flight to head to Germany on the mid night of June 7. Mrs. Vu Minh Khanh, the wife of Mr. Dai, was also on the same flight, a source said.
Mr. Dai, one of founders of the Brotherhood for Democracy, and Ms. Ha were arrested on December 16, 2015 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code. More than seven months later, on July 30, 2017, their charges were changed into “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 of the samecode after Vietnam arrested four more key members of the online pro-democracy group.
On April 5, the People’s Court of Hanoi convicted the six activists, sentencing them to a total 66 years in prison and 17 years under house arrest afterward. Mr. Dai was given the heaviest sentence of 15 years in prison and five years under house arrest while Ms. Ha was sentenced to nine years in prison and three years of probation. On June 4, the Higher People’s Court in Hanoi upheld their sentences which are final, according to the current Vietnamese law although Dai and Ha did not appeal their sentences.
Being forced to live in exile in Germany, Mr. Dai and Ms. Ha are likely not allowed to come back to the communist-ruled Vietnam. Both have old mothers living in Hung Yen province and Hue City, respectively.
Their release is ensured thanks to great efforts of the German government. Vietnam’s communist government seems to take this step as part of its compensation for the kidnap of former senior official Trinh Xuan Thanh in Berlin in July last year.
In the past few years, in order to exchange economic and diplomatic interests with the US and the EU, Vietnam has forced a number of jailed pro-democracy activists to live in exile, including France-trained legal expert Cu Huy Ha Vu, prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai (known as Dieu Day), independent journalist Ta Phong Tan, and Dang Xuan Dieu.
On the same time, Vietnam has intensified its crackdown on local dissent, arresting more than 50 political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and bloggers since early 2016 and charged them with controversial articles in the national security provisions in the Penal Code. Most of them have been convicted and sentenced to prison between three and 16 years.
Vietnam’s highest legislative body National Assembly is discussing a bill on cyber security which aims to silence government’s critics. The bill’s vote is scheduled by the rubber-stamp parliament on June 12, and if it is approved, any Vietnamese speaking true but harmful for the communist government on social media may face imprisonment.
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June 8, 2018
Prominent Human Rights Attorney Nguyen Van Dai and His Assistant Le Thu Ha Released, Forced to Exile in Germany
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], Le Thu Ha, Nguyen Van Dai
Prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai (middle) at a protest in Hanoi
Defend the Defenders, June 8, 2018
Vietnam’s authorities have released prominent attorney Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha but forced them to go to exile in Germany, Defend the Defenders has learned.
Mr. Dai, 49, and Ms. Ha, 36, were said to be taken from B14 detention facility in Hanoi to the Noi Bai International Airport where they were boarded to an international flight to head to Germany on the mid night of June 7. Mrs. Vu Minh Khanh, the wife of Mr. Dai, was also on the same flight, a source said.
Mr. Dai, one of founders of the Brotherhood for Democracy, and Ms. Ha were arrested on December 16, 2015 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code. More than seven months later, on July 30, 2017, their charges were changed into “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 of the samecode after Vietnam arrested four more key members of the online pro-democracy group.
On April 5, the People’s Court of Hanoi convicted the six activists, sentencing them to a total 66 years in prison and 17 years under house arrest afterward. Mr. Dai was given the heaviest sentence of 15 years in prison and five years under house arrest while Ms. Ha was sentenced to nine years in prison and three years of probation. On June 4, the Higher People’s Court in Hanoi upheld their sentences which are final, according to the current Vietnamese law although Dai and Ha did not appeal their sentences.
Being forced to live in exile in Germany, Mr. Dai and Ms. Ha are likely not allowed to come back to the communist-ruled Vietnam. Both have old mothers living in Hung Yen province and Hue City, respectively.
Their release is ensured thanks to great efforts of the German government. Vietnam’s communist government seems to take this step as part of its compensation for the kidnap of former senior official Trinh Xuan Thanh in Berlin in July last year.
In the past few years, in order to exchange economic and diplomatic interests with the US and the EU, Vietnam has forced a number of jailed pro-democracy activists to live in exile, including France-trained legal expert Cu Huy Ha Vu, prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai (known as Dieu Day), independent journalist Ta Phong Tan, and Dang Xuan Dieu.
On the same time, Vietnam has intensified its crackdown on local dissent, arresting more than 50 political dissidents, human rights defenders, social activists and bloggers since early 2016 and charged them with controversial articles in the national security provisions in the Penal Code. Most of them have been convicted and sentenced to prison between three and 16 years.
Vietnam’s highest legislative body National Assembly is discussing a bill on cyber security which aims to silence government’s critics. The bill’s vote is scheduled by the rubber-stamp parliament on June 12, and if it is approved, any Vietnamese speaking true but harmful for the communist government on social media may face imprisonment.