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  • LIV in NPR News Podcast: Vietnam sentences dissidents to prison for spreading anti-state propaganda

    Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM co-directors, Vi Tran and Trinh Huu Long were quoted in NPR News podcast, as four prominent Vietnamese dissidents have been given harsh prison terms for speaking out against the government. Activists say it’s part of an escalating crackdown on dissent.

    Title: Vietnam sentences dissidents to prison for spreading anti-state propaganda
    Publisher Date: December 24, 2021
    Publisher: NPR News

    Transcript:

    SULLIVAN: That’s Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. Human rights lawyer and activist Vi Tran has another explanation for the timing of last week’s verdicts.

    VI TRAN: I think it is a message, and the message is just, like, raising two middle fingers to the rest of the Western countries.

    SULLIVAN: Especially the European Union, she says. She thinks the EU has been a bit naive in its approach to Vietnam, especially in the runup to the free trade agreement the two signed not long ago. Here’s an argument she says she heard frequently while in Brussels.

    TRAN: If we, you know, help them raise the economy to a better place, human rights would come with it, right? They also say that, you know, Vietnam is needed in the geopolitical world because this is the place that we can counter China. So we should be nice to Vietnam a little bit, and they will be nicer to human rights defenders.

    SULLIVAN: In fact, activists say the government’s crackdown on dissent is just getting worse.

    TRINH HUU LONG: 2021 is and has been a very difficult year for dissidents and journalists because within one year, they prosecuted and tried and convicted three groups of activists.

    SULLIVAN: More than 20 people in total, says activist and journalist Trinh Huu Long, among them his friend and colleague, the prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang.

    (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

    UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

    SULLIVAN: Her conviction and sentencing last week was covered prominently on state-run media. Here’s her friend, the human rights lawyer and journalist Vi Tran, reading Pham Doan Trang’s defiant final statement to the court.

    (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

    TRAN: You may imprison me and bask in celebration for eliminating a long-standing thorn in your eye, but you will never be rid of your ugly, authoritarian, undemocratic, anti-democratic reputation because an animal is forever an animal. It can never become human.

    SULLIVAN: The judge sentenced Phan Doan Trang to nine years in prison, more than the prosecutors had asked for. There was an outpouring of support for her on social media, which Vietnam hasn’t been able to keep a lid on the way neighboring China has. And the recent surge of the COVID pandemic in Vietnam has dinged the ruling party’s reputation even more. Again, activist and journalist Trinh Huu Long.

    TRINH: I see major changes in political attitudes among ordinary Vietnamese people. They are now much more critical, and they are more willing to stand up for what is right. And I think this is very bad news for the government.

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    Vietnam sentences dissidents to prison for spreading anti state propaganda NPR
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  • Pham Doan Trang in IFEX Vietnam: Campaign against independent voices barrels forward

    Vietnamese authorities regularly use the Penal Code to punish human rights defenders, independent journalists and writers, and others exercising their right to freedom of expression.  International human rights experts have repeatedly called on Vietnam to amend its Penal Code in order to make it compliant with international law.

    Excerpt:

    On 14 December 2021, the Hanoi People’s Court convicted Pham Doan Trang under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code, which criminalises the ‘making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.’ The court sentenced her to nine years’ imprisonment.

    In a statement released ahead of her trial, Pham Doan Trang wrote, ‘The longer the prison sentence, the more demonstrable the authoritarian, undemocratic, and anti-democratic nature of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.’

    Authorities arrested Pham Doan Trang on 7 October 2020, less than a month after five UN Human Rights experts raised concerns about the harassment of independent writers and journalists in Vietnam, including against Pham Doan Trang. She was held incommunicado for over a year before being allowed to meet with her lawyer on 19 October 2021. Court documents indicate that she was targeted for writing about human right issues and meeting with foreign journalists.

    In September 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Pham Doan Trang’s detention was arbitrary. In October eight UN human rights experts, including members of the Working Group, noted that she was ‘only the latest victim of the authorities’ use of vaguely defined propaganda charges to persecute writers, journalists and human rights defenders, criminalising the exercise of their right to freedom of opinion and expression to share information.’

    Ahead of the original date for her trial in November, ARTICLE 19 and 27 other human rights and freedom of expression organisations released a statement calling for the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release and drop all charges against her.

    In November 2020, four UN human rights experts expressed their concern about the circumstances of the arrest, detention, and denial of access to lawyers and family members for Pham Doan Trang, Trinh Ba Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tam, Trinh Ba Tu, and Can Thi Theu.

    Vietnamese authorities regularly use the Penal Code to punish human rights defenders, independent journalists and writers, and others exercising their right to freedom of expression.

    International human rights experts have repeatedly called on Vietnam to amend its Penal Code in order to make it compliant with international law. In 2019, the UN Human Rights Committee called on Vietnam to revise vague and broadly formulated legislation and to end violations of the right to freedom of expression offline and online ‘as a matter of urgency.’ In early 2021, four UN Special Rapporteurs stated that Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code is ‘overly broad and appears to be aimed at silencing those who seek to exercise their human right to freely express their views and share information with others.’

    Vietnam should immediately and unconditionally end its relentless persecution of independent voices and release all those currently detained for the exercise of their right to freedom of expression. Moreover, the Penal Code itself must be amended in line with international human rights law.

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    Vietnam Campaign against independent voices barrels forward IFEX
    Vietnam_ Campaign against independent voices barrels forward – IFEX.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in United Nations Press briefing notes on Viet Nam

    The UN calls on the Vietnamese Government to repeal all legal provisions that violate fundamental freedoms and to immediately release all these individuals (human and land rights defenders) as well as the many others arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression.

    Title: United Nations Press briefing notes on Viet Nam
    Publish Date: December 17, 2021
    Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

    Full Statement:

    Press briefing notes on Viet Nam

    Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Ravina Shamdasani

    Location: Geneva

    Date: 17 December 2021

    We are deeply troubled by the harsh sentencing of human rights and land rights defenders convicted of spreading anti-State propaganda in Viet Nam.

    In the span of three days this week, four prominent human rights defenders – Trinh Ba Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tam, Do Nam Trung and independent author Pham Doan Trang were sentenced to up to 10 years in jail and 5 years on probation under articles 88 and 117 of Viet Nam’s Criminal Code, all following prolonged pre-trial detention. Trinh was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five on probation; Nguyen to six in prison and three on probation; Do to 10 years in jail and four on probation; and Pham to nine years’ imprisonment.

    Journalist Le Trong Hung, who had announced his intention to run for political office as an independent, is facing trial on 31 December on similar charges. He has been held since March 2021, without access to a lawyer and without being allowed to meet his family.

    The charges against these five people, who were reporting on human rights and land rights and who were arrested in 2020 and 2021, appear to be part of a campaign to silence and intimidate those who raise their voices in defence of human rights. All the cases follow similar worrying patterns that raise serious issues concerning the presumption of innocence, the legality of their detention, and the fairness of their trial. There is prolonged incommunicado pre-trial detention, prosecution under the vaguely worded offence of “spreading anti-State propaganda”, denial of access to legal counsel and closed trials that do not respect international fair trial standards.

    We urge the authorities in Viet Nam to immediately release all these individuals as well as the many others arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression.

    We also call on the Government to repeal all legal provisions that violate fundamental freedoms. The articles of the criminal code under which these charges were brought are vague and overly broad and thereby inconsistent with international human rights norms.

    Cases of this kind contribute to a climate of self-censorship in the country and have a chilling effect on media freedom. They also prevent people from exercising their fundamental rights and engaging in public debate on issues of importance.

    ENDS

  • Pham Doan Trang in Expatica: UN asks Vietnam to free jailed dissidents

    On Tuesday, one of Vietnam’s most prominent dissident journalists Pham Doan Trang was sentenced to nine years behind bars on anti-state charges. The United Nations urges the Vietnamese authorities to release all the human and land rights defenders.

    Excerpt:

    The United Nations rights agency on Friday expressed deep concern over the jailing of four rights and land activists in Vietnam and demanded their immediate release.

    The communist regime often moves swiftly to stifle dissent, jailing activists, journalists and any critic with large audiences on Facebook.

    “We are deeply troubled by the harsh sentencing of human rights and land rights defenders convicted of spreading anti-state propaganda in Vietnam,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said.

    “In the span of three days this week, four prominent human rights defenders… were sentenced to up to 10 years in jail and five years on probation,” she said.

    “All the cases follow similar worrying patterns that raise serious issues concerning the presumption of innocence, the legality of their detention, and the fairness of their trial,” she said.

    “We urge the authorities in Vietnam to immediately release all these individuals as well as the many others arbitrarily detained”.

    On Tuesday, one of Vietnam’s most prominent dissident journalists Pham Doan Trang was sentenced to nine years behind bars on anti-state charges.

    The UNHCR spokeswoman called on Vietnam “to repeal all legal provisions that violate fundamental freedoms”, saying the charges brought against the four were “vague and overly broad and thereby inconsistent with international human rights norms”.

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    UN asks Vietnam to free jailed dissidents Expat Guide to Switzerland Expatica
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  • Pham Doan Trang in VOA Tiếng Việt: Tại sao Đảng sợ Phạm Đoan Trang

    Why is the Party afraid of Pham Doan Trang? VOA Tiếng Việt breaks down the reasons why Vietnam’s prominent human rights defender is a threat to the state, and was handed a nine-year prison sentence.

    Title: Tại sao Đảng sợ Phạm Đoan Trang
    Publish Date: December 16, 2021
    Publisher: VOA Tiếng Việt

    Excerpt:

    Note: original texts in Vietnamese

    Ms. Pham Doan Trang, 43, was sentenced to 9 years in prison for “Propaganda against the State” under the Communist Party’s Criminal Law. Lawyer Dang Dinh Manh said, when the court paused, Ms. Doan Trang turned to look at the mother sitting about 5 meters behind. Mrs. Bui Thi Thien Can, more than 80 years old, held hands and raised a thumb: “You are Number One!”

    Pham Doan Trang founded the magazine ” Law Khoa ” to help Vietnamese people understand the law to protect their rights. She worked as a journalist from 2000 to 2013, collaborated with nearly ten domestic press agencies, such as VnExpress, Vietnamnet, Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper, VTC Television, etc.

    Why is it that after the prosecutor recommended a sentence of 7 to 8 years in prison, the judge increased it to 9 years?

    Because the Communist Party is afraid. That was the comment of a newspaper in Berlin, Germany, immediately when it announced the verdict.

    Mr. Duong Hong An in Germany introduced the TAZ daily newspaper reporting the trial, under the headline ” Pressefreiheit in Vietnam “. The newspaper wrote the title: “Nine years in prison for female journalists” ( Neun Jahre Haft für Journalistin ). TAZ explained, “The dictatorship gave the sentence too harshly, probably because they were afraid…” Thanks to this newsletter, readers learned that “Vietnam ranks 175th out of 180 countries, in the ranking of “self-sustaining” by the press” of Reporters Without Borders.”

    Why is the Party afraid of Pham Doan Trang? TAZ wrote that they were “afraid of the villagers” that they would continue to fight harder. A month before her arrest last year, Ms. Trang and Will Nguyen (in the US) published a file about the village of Dong Tam, a suburb of Hanoi, where villagers protested against the communist regime’s confiscation of their land and then being harassed. ruthless pressure. TAZ noted that “Two people from Dong Tam commune were sentenced to death, the others were sentenced to many years in prison.”

    TAZ newspaper also published news that the Vietnamese people in the country did not know, because no newspaper or radio station mentioned it: On the Monday before the trial, the international organization Human Rights Watch asked the Communists to Vietnam released Pham Doan Trang immediately. HRW accused the communists of violating the International Covenant on Freedoms that they signed in 1982. TAZ newspaper also recalled, in 2017 the human rights organization “People in Need” in the Czech Republic (Czech) had awarded her with the Homo-Homini Preis (Homo-Homini Preis) award, and in 2019 Reporters Without Borders awarded her the “Press Freedom” award. PEN Center in Germany honored Pham Doan Trang as an honorary member; asked the communist state to release her.

    Professor Nguyen Quang A shows another reason why the Party is afraid of Pham Doan Trang: Because the very crime of “anti-state” they accuse her of is absurd. He wrote, “…in principle no one can oppose a state…but everyone has the right to oppose a government…when it does wrong…”

    Journalist Tuan Khanh also saw the Party’s weakness. Because of the lack of reason, “obscenity.” The Party is afraid of Pham Doan Trang because she “advocates to fight with reason and words.” And the Party does not think of reasons! Secretly, the Party has to use violent actions, language, and degrading. Tuan Khanh recounted that in 2017, after Doan Trang published the book Politics of the People abroad and was arrested, she was taken to a cell. After she asked again and again why she was imprisoned, no one could answer one question. Instead of saying “I just followed the order above,” a young police officer pointed his finger at her face, shouting, “Fuck your face…!” That is the familiar logic and words of the Party.

    The 9-year prison sentence is the language “D.M.” of the uneducated when they lose reason. Nguyen Quang A sees the same 9-year sentence: “…only the weak resort to such brutal repressive measures…” But he also sees the result as “just making more people more determined!” Moreover, “many people see the illegal actions of the government, and that are really harmful to the government.”

    Download the article in Vietnamese:

    Tai sao ang so Pham oan Trang
    Tại sao Đảng sợ Phạm Đoan Trang.pdf
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    Download the article in English:

    Why is the Party afraid of Pham Doan Trang
    Why is the Party afraid of Pham Doan Trang_.pdf
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  • European Union Statement on Pham Doan Trang’s nine-year sentence Vietnam: Statement by the Spokesperson on verdicts against human rights defenders

    Arising from a Hanoi court’s decision sentencing Pham Doan Trang to nine-years in prison, the European Union urges the Vietnamese authorities to release all human rights defenders and guarantee their rights to fair trials.

    Statements by the Spokesperson:

    The European Union calls for the release of Vietnamese journalist and blogger Ms Pham Doan Trang, who has been sentenced to nine years of prison at the Hanoi’s People Court on 14 December on the vague charge of alleged “anti-state propaganda”. The actions taken against Ms Pham Doan Trang on the basis of her extensive and peaceful journalistic work defending civil and political rights are in violation of Vietnam’s international human rights obligations, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party since 1982.

    Three other human rights advocates have been sentenced on similar grounds. On 15 December, Mr Trinh Ba Phuong and Ms Nguyen Thi Tam were sentenced to ten and six years’ imprisonment respectively, for investigating, documenting, and bringing public attention to alleged human rights violations. On 16 December, human rights defender Mr Do Nam Trung was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

    The European Union is strongly committed to the protection of human rights defenders in Vietnam and across the world. The numerous arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters and journalists are a direct contradiction to international human rights law. The European Union calls on the Vietnamese authorities to release all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained and to guarantee the right to a fair trial for all individuals. The European Union will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Vietnam, and work with the authorities towards the improvement of the human rights situation in the country.

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    Vietnam Statement by the Spokesperson on verdicts against human rights defenders European External Action Service
    Vietnam_ Statement by the Spokesperson on verdicts against human rights defenders – European External Action Service.pdf
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  • LIV and Pham Doan Trang in Blasting News: Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang jailed for nine years for defaming government

    Blasting News discloses the calls for Pham Doan Trang’s release from various groups including the U.S. State Department.  Doan Trang is an acclaimed journalist, human rights advocate and co-founder of Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM.

    Title: Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang jailed for nine years for defaming government
    Publish Date: December 16, 2021
    Publisher: Blasting News

    Excerpt:

    Journalist Pham Doan Trang has been sentenced to nine years in prison for defaming the Vietnamese government. The Washington Post noted that the sentence was longer than the 7-8 years which prosecutors had requested. Condemning the December 14 court ruling, U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price said Trang had done “nothing more than peacefully express her opinions.”

    Criticizing the government

    The Hill said Trang had written numerous articles criticizing the government of Vietnam. She had also been responsible for forming the environmental organization Green Trees, the Washington Post said. She received the 2019 Press Freedom Prize from Reporters Without Borders and the 2017 Homo Homini Award from the human rights organization People in Need, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). The U.S.-funded broadcaster also noted that Trang had drawn the ire of the Vietnamese government by authoring a book on political activism.

    Prison sentence is ‘outrageous’

    Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Committee to Protect Journalists responded to the journalist’s prison sentence with posts on Twitter.

    Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said the court’s action had been “outrageous.” He posted a link to a Reuters report where he was quoted as saying the incarceration of Trang was “a searing indictment of everything that is wrong with authoritarian Vietnam today.”

    Ming Yu Hah of Amnesty International said the journalist’s actions “should be celebrated and protected, not punished and criminalized.” Ming added that Trang’s ordeal “is cruelly emblematic of the Vietnamese authorities’ repression of peaceful human rights activism across the country.” Ming, too, called the journalist’s prison sentence “outrageous.”

    “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.”https://t.co/94m0yLXOpx December 14, 2021

    In one of its posts on Twitter, the Committee to Protect Journalists said: “Authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Pham Doan Trang and stop imprisoning independent news reporters for their work.”

    A tweet from Pen International included a comment from the chair of the organization’s Writers in Prison Committee, Ma Thida: “This is a reprehensible outcome in a reprehensible case.”

    Nine-year sentence for prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang reaffirms #Vietnam’s ‘abysmal’ #pressfreedom recordhttps://t.co/1A801tXD8c December 15, 2021

    In 2014, Trang helped start a project that would eventually become Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, according to the organization’s website.

    The NGO established its headquarters in California in 2017, the website says. “Legal Initiatives for Vietnam’s mission is to build a democratic society in Vietnam through independent journalism, research, and education,” it says.

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    Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang jailed for nine years for defaming government
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  • France Diplomacy: Vietnam – France deplores the sentencing of Pham Doan Trang

    France reacts on the conviction of human rights defender and journalist Pham Doan Trang and calls for her release.

    Excerpt:

    France deplores the conviction and sentencing to nine year’s imprisonment of Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang, one of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders and one of three recipients of the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Award in 2019.

    France calls for Ms. Pham Doan Trang’s release and reaffirms its commitment to the freedom of speech and opinion. These rights and liberties are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party.

    France calls on Vietnam to abide by the international commitments that it has undertaken freely.

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    Vietnam France deplores the sentencing of Pham Doan Trang Dec 15 Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
    Vietnam – France deplores the sentencing of Pham Doan Trang (Dec. 15) – Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in The Diplomat: Vietnam’s Annus Horribilis for Human Rights

    Today’s conviction and imprisonment of human rights defender Pham Doan Trang is part of a concerted crackdown on dissent.

    Excerpt:

    2021 in Vietnam is ending in much the same way as it began, with the imprisonment of high-profile critics of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP). This time it was the turn of the democracy advocate and woman human rights defender Pham Doan Trang, who was sentenced to nine years imprisonment at a court in Hanoi yesterday after being charged with “conducting propaganda against the state.”

    Observers will be disappointed, but few will be surprised. Today’s news follows the publication of the latest annual report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which listed Vietnam as having the fourth highest number of imprisoned journalists in 2021. Hopes for Trang were raised slightly in October, however, when her initial trial date of November 4 was delayed following a report by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD). The statement expressed concern at Trang’s arrest, deemed her arrest to be politically motivated, and called for her immediate release. Officially, the trial was delayed after two members of the prosecution were forced to self-isolate, but observers were hopeful that the UNWGAD statement had pressured the authorities to reconsider a conviction.

    Peaceful critics of the regime like Pham Doan Trang will continue to face persecution so long as the Vietnamese authorities continue to be empowered by overly broad laws like Articles 117 and 331, which criminalizes the spreading of “hostile” information and “abus(ing) democratic freedoms.” These vague prohibitions enable the government to crack down on any criticism to which it takes exception. In spite of its poor record on freedom of expression, Vietnam is likely to be elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council next year. If it is serious about its commitment to human rights, it must either discard or amend these laws so they cannot be applied to peaceful criticism of the government. This is an optimistic view, however, and there is little reason to expect Vietnam to change course any time soon. Expect Vietnam to continue locking up its critics in 2022.

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    Vietnams Annus Horribilis for Human Rights The Diplomat
    Vietnam’s Annus Horribilis for Human Rights – The Diplomat.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in Committee to Protect Journalists: Nine-year sentence for prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang reaffirms Vietnam’s ‘abysmal’ press freedom record

    Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Vietnam government for the immediate release of journalist Pham Doan Trang, and stop imprisoning independent news reporters for their work.

    Excerpt:

    In a one-day trial yesterday, Hanoi’s People’s Court sentenced Trang to nine years in prison under Article 117 of the penal code, a provision that bars “making, storing, distributing or spreading” news or information against the state, international news reports said. She did not plead guilty and will consider an appeal, Reuters reported, citing one of her lawyers.

    Trang, who has been detained since October 2020, reports widely on human rights-related issues, including cases of police abuse; she founded the local legal magazine Luat Khoa and edits and writes for the independent English-language news site The Vietnamese, according to news reports and CPJ research.

    “Pham Doan Trang’s harsh sentencing on bogus anti-state charges reaffirms Vietnam’s abysmal record as one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Trang should be released immediately and unconditionally, and be allowed to resume her work as a journalist without fear of reprisal.”

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    Nine year sentence for prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang reaffirms Vietnams abysmal press freedom record Committee to Protect Journalists
    Nine-year sentence for prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang reaffirms Vietnam’s ‘abysmal’ press freedom record – Committee to Protect Journalists.pdf
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