PEN in Germany has just recognized dissident blogger Pham Doan Trang as an honorary member of this organization.
- Title: Blogger Phạm Đoan Trang được là thành viên danh dự của PEN, Đức
- Publish Date: May 19, 2021
- Publisher: BBC News Tiếng Việt
Excerpt:
Mr. Ralf Nestmeyer, Vice Chairman and Representative of PEN’s ‘Captive Writers’ Committee in Germany, confirmed the above information to BBC News Vietnamese on May 19.
“We make journalist Pham Doan Trang an honorary member because she is a strong supporter of freedom of expression in Vietnam and has been arrested for it. We demand the immediate release of honorary member Pham Doan Trang and assure her of our unending solidarity,” Mr Ralf Nestmeyer told the BBC.
What does the PEN statement say?
PEN’s website on May 18 posted a statement in German that reads:
“Vietnam: Pham Doan Trang becomes an honorary member of PEN Germany.
The German PEN Center named independent journalist Pham Doan Trang an honorary member and demanded her immediate release.
She is one of the most famous critics of the Vietnamese government and was arrested on October 6, 2020 at her apartment in Ho Chi Minh City. She faces 20 years in prison on charges of conducting propaganda against the state.”
Ralf Nestmeyer, Vice Chairman and Representative of PEN’s ‘Captive Writers’ Committee said in a statement:
“Vietnam is one of the countries in the world that specifically restricts freedom of speech. The Communist Party terrorizes media workers in such a serious way that Trang has no contact with her family and friends. her attorney.”
PEN’s statement reiterates Pham Doan Trang’s activities to contribute to the education of the people and to support democracy, such as founding the online magazine Luat Khoa and being the editor of TheVietnamese, two channels for disseminating legal knowledge.
“Because of her job, Trang has been repeatedly targeted by Vietnamese authorities. In August 2018, she was detained by the police and hospitalized. Now, she is in danger of being reversed again. in prison. In 2014, she received the Feuchtwanger Fellowship of Villa Aurora in Los Angeles. In 2019, she received the Press Freedom Award from Reporters Without Borders,” the statement read.
‘Special meaning’
From Australia, Ms. Hoa Nguyen told the BBC:
“The beautiful act of Van pen Duc organization has a special meaning. Accepting Pham Doan Trang as their member while she was imprisoned by the Vietnamese communist government is a statement to defend and support her. It also speaks to the attitude of this organization, and tells the Vietnamese authorities what foreign organizations and the international community think about Pham Doan Trang’s case.”
According to Ms. Hoa Nguyen, on May 19, more than 7 months after being arrested, Pham Doan Trang still had not been able to meet her relatives and had not been in contact with a lawyer.
A month ago, Ms. Bui Thi Thien Can, Pham Doan Trang’s mother, made an application to the Director of the Hanoi People’s Procuracy and the Head of the Hanoi City Investigation Agency, asking to meet her daughter.
“But Ms. Can’s application has so far received no response,” Ms. Hoa Nguyen told the BBC.
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