Amnesty International expresses their dismay over Pham Doan Trang’s nine year prison sentence and the continued repression of peaceful human rights activism by the Vietnamese authorities across the country.
- Title: Viet Nam: Crackdown on dissent continues with ‘egregious’ nine-year sentence for Pham Doan Trang
- Publish Date: December 14, 2021
- Publisher: Amnesty International
Excerpt:
Responding to the sentencing of human rights defender and journalist Pham Doan Trang to nine years in prison, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah said:
“It is outrageous that the Vietnamese authorities are convicting Pham Doan Trang, a courageous journalist and human rights defender, who has for years fought for a just, inclusive, and rights-respecting Viet Nam. Her work should be celebrated and protected, not punished and criminalized.
“Pham Doan Trang is a leading voice for human rights in the country. She has stood up for arbitrarily detained activists, written about man-made environmental disasters and most recently challenged the official narrative of the deadly Dong Tam village raid. She has knowingly done so with grave risks to herself.
“The treatment of Pham Doan Trang – encompassing harassment, surveillance, threats, torture and bogus prosecutions – is cruelly emblematic of the Vietnamese authorities’ repression of peaceful human rights activism across the country.
“It is especially egregious that the court is using Pham Doan Trang’s human rights reports and her interviews with international media as evidence of her supposed crimes. These proceedings make a mockery of justice and constitute a clear assault on all human rights defenders in Viet Nam.
“Though behind bars, Pham Doan Trang still inspires countless Vietnamese activists with her widely circulated writings, courage in the face of reprisals, and dogged attempts to get to the truth in a country where authorities tightly control access to information.
“Amnesty International calls for the immediate release not only of Pham Doan Trang but of all unjustly detained human rights defenders in Viet Nam, including land rights defenders Trinh Ba Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tam, and activist Do Nam Trung, all of whom are expected to go on trial this week in Viet Nam.”
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