Defend the Defenders | September 11, 2022
During the week, authorities in Danang, Dak Lak, and Hanoi arrested three activists and charged them with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code as the authoritarian regime intensifies its political crackdown.
On September 7, police in Danang detained local beef noodle seller Bui Tuan Lam, who actively participated in a number of events that aimed to promote democracy, report human rights abuse, and protect the country’s sovereignty as well as speak out in various issues, including rampant corruption and injustice across the Southeast Asian nation.
The next day, 59-year-old music lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc of the Dak Lak Pedagogical College was arrested for his Facebook postings on different issues of the country, including human rights violations, systemic corruption, and serious environmental pollution.
And on September 9, authorities in Hanoi took a local 38-year-old resident Nguyen Son Tung into police custody, one week after he declared that he would establish a political party that aims to make the nation more prosperous. His Facebook and Youtube accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers.
Blogger Le Anh Hung, who was arrested in July 2018 on the allegation of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code, was secretly sentenced to five years in prison in a trial without lawyers, and his family was not informed.
So far this year, Vietnam has arrested 14 activists and bloggers, eight of them were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” and five of them were alleged of “abusing democratic freedom.” In addition, one researcher Nguyen Son Lo was also charged with the later allegation but not taken in police custody but under house arrest.
As of September 11, Vietnam has convicted 21 activists, six of them of “conducting anti-state propaganda” with sentences from five to eight years in prison, and ten of “abusing democratic freedom” with imprisonments of between one and five years.
Vietnam is holding at least 263 prisoners of conscience, 229 of them were convicted and the remaining 34 are in pre-trial detention.
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Blogger Le Anh Hung Sentenced to Five Years in Prison in Secret Trial
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi have convicted blogger Le Anh Hung of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 258 of the Criminal Code in a secret trial on August 30, his mother told Defend the Defenders.
Ms. Niem learned the information from a police officer involved in Mr. Hung’s case investigation when she tried to make a visit to a temporary detention center under the authority of the Hanoi Police Department where her son is held after being transferred from a mental hospital.
She told Defend the Defenders that she was not informed about the trial in which his son had no legal assistance.
Mr. Hung, 49, was arrested on July 5, 2018, after submitting petitions to many state agencies accusing a number of senior officials including incumbent communist leader Nguyen Phu Trong and former Politburo member Hoang Trung Hai of serious crimes including working for China.
Hung, a blogger of Voice of America radio (VOA), was sent to a mental hospital for forced treatment from April 2019 to May this year before being transferred back to detention.
Human Rights Activist and Democracy Campaigner Bui Tuan Lam Arrested, Charged with “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda”
Defend the Defenders: On September 7, authorities of Vietnam’s central city of Danang arrested local human rights activist and democracy advocate Bui Tuan Lam (aka Peter Lam Bui) on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code.
The state-controlled media cited the Security Investigation Agency of the city’s Police Department as saying that Mr. Lam, 38, had regularly used social networks to post stories, videos, and live streams with contents “distorting the guidelines and policies of the Party and State and promoting activities against the Party and State of Vietnam.”
In addition, some of Mr. Lam’s stories had content insulting leaders and the prestige and honor of organizations and individuals said the agency.
Mr. Lam, who is an owner of a noodle food restaurant and a father of three girls of between 4 and 10 years old, will be held incommunicado for at least four months in pre-trial detention and face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years if convicted, according to the country’s law.
In mid-November last year, he was summoned to a local police station for interrogation five days after Mr. Lam had posted a video on his Facebook account in which he had imitated the actions of celebrity chef Salt Bae when serving expensive gold-coated beef to Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam in a restaurant in London during his working visit to the UK.
Lam is known as an activist championing human rights and the rights of victims of injustice as well as charity.
He has been the 6th activist to be arrested on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” so far this year. Others include well-known Facebooker Nguyen Lan Thang and human rights advocate Tran Bang from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi-based human rights fighter Truong Van Dung.
College Lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc Arrested on “Anti-state Propaganda” Allegation
Defend the Defenders: In the early morning of September 8, 2022, authorities of Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Dak Lak arrested college lecturer Mr. Dang Dang Phuoc on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code.
Mr. Phuoc, a 59-year-old music lecturer at the Dak Lak Pedagogical College, was detained when he was exercising near his private house in Buon Ma Thuot City. He was taken back to his house as the security forces conducted a house search that lasted for hours.
Mr. Phuoc used to discuss many serious issues in Vietnam, including wrongdoings in education, human rights violations, and corruption as well as injustice.
The last post on his Facebook page “Đặng Phước” with over 6,000 followers, was about the arrest of activist Bui Tuan Lam on the charge of “propagandizing against the State” one day earlier. In the post, he criticized Danang police for their inhumane and rude acts against the activist.
The state-controlled media cited the Dak Lak province’s Police Department as saying that “Since 2019, Dang Dang Phuoc has taken advantage of Facebook platform to compile and publish many stories and video clips with distorting content against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
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December 3, 2022
Vietnam Defend the Defenders’ Weekly Report for September 5-11, 2022: Authoritarian Regime Intensifies Political Crackdown, Arresting Three Activists on “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda” Allegation
by Defend the Defenders • DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | September 11, 2022
During the week, authorities in Danang, Dak Lak, and Hanoi arrested three activists and charged them with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code as the authoritarian regime intensifies its political crackdown.
On September 7, police in Danang detained local beef noodle seller Bui Tuan Lam, who actively participated in a number of events that aimed to promote democracy, report human rights abuse, and protect the country’s sovereignty as well as speak out in various issues, including rampant corruption and injustice across the Southeast Asian nation.
The next day, 59-year-old music lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc of the Dak Lak Pedagogical College was arrested for his Facebook postings on different issues of the country, including human rights violations, systemic corruption, and serious environmental pollution.
And on September 9, authorities in Hanoi took a local 38-year-old resident Nguyen Son Tung into police custody, one week after he declared that he would establish a political party that aims to make the nation more prosperous. His Facebook and Youtube accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers.
Blogger Le Anh Hung, who was arrested in July 2018 on the allegation of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code, was secretly sentenced to five years in prison in a trial without lawyers, and his family was not informed.
So far this year, Vietnam has arrested 14 activists and bloggers, eight of them were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” and five of them were alleged of “abusing democratic freedom.” In addition, one researcher Nguyen Son Lo was also charged with the later allegation but not taken in police custody but under house arrest.
As of September 11, Vietnam has convicted 21 activists, six of them of “conducting anti-state propaganda” with sentences from five to eight years in prison, and ten of “abusing democratic freedom” with imprisonments of between one and five years.
Vietnam is holding at least 263 prisoners of conscience, 229 of them were convicted and the remaining 34 are in pre-trial detention.
==================
Blogger Le Anh Hung Sentenced to Five Years in Prison in Secret Trial
Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi have convicted blogger Le Anh Hung of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 258 of the Criminal Code in a secret trial on August 30, his mother told Defend the Defenders.
Ms. Niem learned the information from a police officer involved in Mr. Hung’s case investigation when she tried to make a visit to a temporary detention center under the authority of the Hanoi Police Department where her son is held after being transferred from a mental hospital.
She told Defend the Defenders that she was not informed about the trial in which his son had no legal assistance.
Mr. Hung, 49, was arrested on July 5, 2018, after submitting petitions to many state agencies accusing a number of senior officials including incumbent communist leader Nguyen Phu Trong and former Politburo member Hoang Trung Hai of serious crimes including working for China.
Hung, a blogger of Voice of America radio (VOA), was sent to a mental hospital for forced treatment from April 2019 to May this year before being transferred back to detention.
Human Rights Activist and Democracy Campaigner Bui Tuan Lam Arrested, Charged with “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda”
Defend the Defenders: On September 7, authorities of Vietnam’s central city of Danang arrested local human rights activist and democracy advocate Bui Tuan Lam (aka Peter Lam Bui) on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code.
The state-controlled media cited the Security Investigation Agency of the city’s Police Department as saying that Mr. Lam, 38, had regularly used social networks to post stories, videos, and live streams with contents “distorting the guidelines and policies of the Party and State and promoting activities against the Party and State of Vietnam.”
In addition, some of Mr. Lam’s stories had content insulting leaders and the prestige and honor of organizations and individuals said the agency.
Mr. Lam, who is an owner of a noodle food restaurant and a father of three girls of between 4 and 10 years old, will be held incommunicado for at least four months in pre-trial detention and face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years if convicted, according to the country’s law.
In mid-November last year, he was summoned to a local police station for interrogation five days after Mr. Lam had posted a video on his Facebook account in which he had imitated the actions of celebrity chef Salt Bae when serving expensive gold-coated beef to Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam in a restaurant in London during his working visit to the UK.
Lam is known as an activist championing human rights and the rights of victims of injustice as well as charity.
He has been the 6th activist to be arrested on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” so far this year. Others include well-known Facebooker Nguyen Lan Thang and human rights advocate Tran Bang from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi-based human rights fighter Truong Van Dung.
College Lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc Arrested on “Anti-state Propaganda” Allegation
Defend the Defenders: In the early morning of September 8, 2022, authorities of Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Dak Lak arrested college lecturer Mr. Dang Dang Phuoc on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code.
Mr. Phuoc, a 59-year-old music lecturer at the Dak Lak Pedagogical College, was detained when he was exercising near his private house in Buon Ma Thuot City. He was taken back to his house as the security forces conducted a house search that lasted for hours.
Mr. Phuoc used to discuss many serious issues in Vietnam, including wrongdoings in education, human rights violations, and corruption as well as injustice.
The last post on his Facebook page “Đặng Phước” with over 6,000 followers, was about the arrest of activist Bui Tuan Lam on the charge of “propagandizing against the State” one day earlier. In the post, he criticized Danang police for their inhumane and rude acts against the activist.
The state-controlled media cited the Dak Lak province’s Police Department as saying that “Since 2019, Dang Dang Phuoc has taken advantage of Facebook platform to compile and publish many stories and video clips with distorting content against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
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