Tag: Luat Khoa

  • LIV’s Vi Tran and Pham Doan Trang in Global Voices AdVox: Vietnamese activist and journalist Pham Doan Trang arrested for ‘anti-state propaganda’

    Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM co-founder Vi Tran shares her views on colleague and friend, Pham Doan Trang’s recent arrest.  The embattled journalist and co-founder of Luat Khoa and The Vietnamese is known for her advocacies on human rights, the rule of law and democracy for Vietnam.  Her peaceful ways to inform and educate through the might of the pen earned her support from local compatriots and international humanitarian organizations.

    Title: Vietnamese activist and journalist Pham Doan Trang arrested for ‘anti-state propaganda’
    Publish Date: October 13, 2020
    Publisher: Global Voices AdVox


    Excerpt:

    Prominent Vietnamese activist and journalist Pham Doan Trang was arrested by the police on October 6 for charges related to “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code, and “making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code. She faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

    Doan Trang is part of the editorial board of The Vietnamese Magazine. She founded the online legal magazine Luat Khoa. She was also one of the founders of the Liberal Publishing House whose books on democracy have been confiscated by authorities. She also co-founded the Vietnam Legal Initiative, a United States-based NGO working to promote human rights in Vietnam.

    Doan Trang authored the following books: Politics for the Common People, A Handbook for Families of Prisoners, On Non-Violent Resistance Techniques, Politics of a Police State and Citizen Journalism.

    Doan Trang was previously arrested by the police for her role in protests against China’s incursion into Vietnam’s maritime territories and a community action protesting environment pollution. In several interviews, she narrated the attacks and harassment she endured in the hands of the police.

    Pham Doan Trang, the night she was arrested. (October 6, 2020) pic.twitter.com/4sCqNnH6fi

    — Will Nguyen (阮英惟) (@will_nguyen_) October 9, 2020

    “Just In Case I Am Imprisoned”

    Doan Trang, who faced constant threats and surveillance from the police, anticipated her arrest as early as May 2019. She instructed her friend to release a letter titled “Just In Case I Am Imprisoned” if ever she was arrested.

    Pham Doan Trang left this letter with me, to publicize upon her arrest. Please share. pic.twitter.com/lVt52Kpkea

    — Will Nguyen (阮英惟) (@will_nguyen_) October 7, 2020

    In her letter, she asked those who will campaign for her freedom to prioritize other prisoners of conscience. She also wrote about the need to campaign for democratic reforms in Vietnam:

    I don’t need freedom just for myself, that would be too easy. I want something much greater: freedom and democracy for all of Vietnam. It might see like some grand goal, but it’s totally possible, with your support.

    She added that she will not “admit guilt, confess, or beg for leniency” because she is innocent. She has a personal appeal:

    Send me my guitar and try to have the wardens accept it – For me, the guitar is like my Bible.

    Several human rights advocates and media groups have issued statements in support of Doan Trang. Tran Quynh Vi, editor-in-chief of The Vietnamese Magazine, wrote about the importance of Doan Trang’s work as a journalist and activist:

    Pham Doan Trang is a highly-respected journalist who has diligently expanded the political and legal information for the masses in Vietnam, encouraging people to practice the universal values of freedom and democracy that are stated clearly in Vietnam’s Constitution and which the government has also supported in many of the international treaties it has signed.


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  • Pham Doan Trang in Voice of America: Rights Groups Deplore Arrest of Vietnam Writer and Activist Pham Doan Trang

    Several human rights groups voiced their dismay over the arrest of Luat Khoa and The Vietnamese co-founder, Pham Doan Trang just hours after annual U.S.-Vietnam human rights talks.  Human Rights Watch calls the arrest a “scorched earth response” to political dissent in the country.


    Excerpt:

    Outspoken Vietnamese democracy activist and author Pham Doan Trang has been arrested on anti-state propaganda charges, police and state media said Wednesday, as rights groups condemned her apprehension just hours after annual U.S.-Vietnam human rights talks and warned that the blogger faced the risk of torture in custody.

    Pham Doan Trang was arrested at an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday night and charged under article 117 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, accused of “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” To An Xo, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security, said. Trang, described by state media as a blogger who used to work for various publications in Vietnam, was transferred to Hanoi.

    If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison, Amnesty International said, warning that she faced serious danger in official custody.

    “Pham Dan Trang faces an imminent risk of torture and other-ill treatment at the hands of the Vietnamese authorities. She must be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, in a statement.

    “The arrest of Pham Doan Trang is reprehensible. She is a leading figure in the struggle for human rights in Viet Nam. She has inspired countless young activists to speak up for a more just, inclusive, and free Vietnam,” said Hah.

    ‘Scorched earth response’

    Human Rights Watch noted that her arrest occurred “just a few hours after the annual human rights dialogue between the United States and Vietnam” and that she was immediately charged.

    “Vietnam’s scorched earth response to political dissent is on display for all to see with the arrest of prominent blogger and author Pham Doan Trang,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

    “Every day she spends behind bars is a grave injustice that violates Vietnam’s international human rights commitments and brings dishonor to the government,” he said in a statement.

    “Governments around the world and the UN must prioritize her case, speak out loudly and consistently on her behalf, and demand her immediate and unconditional release,” added Robertson.

    Rachael Chen, spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, said the mission was concerned about the reported arrest and “monitoring the situation closely.”

    “We urge the Vietnamese government to ensure its actions and laws are consistent with Vietnam’s international obligations and commitments,” she said in an e-mailed comment.

    “Authors, bloggers, and journalists often do their work at great risk, and it is the duty of governments and citizens worldwide to speak out for their protection,” said Chen.

    Spate of arrests

    Following Trang’s arrest, her friends posted a message they said was written by her in advance, that read: “Nobody wants to go to jail, but if prison is the place for those who fight for freedom, and if it is the place to carry out set goals, then we should go to prison.”

    Human Rights Watch noted that last month Trang had published the third edition of a report of a violent clash at Dong Tam commune outside Hanoi in January. The publication of the first edition of that report one week after the incident led to the arrest in June three out of five authors of the report, Can Thi Theu and her sons Trinh Ba Phuong and Trinh Ba Tu. They were also charged with for anti-state propaganda.

    Amid a spate of arrests and abuse of independent journalists this year in Vietnam, Trang told RFA in May that toleration of dissent was deteriorating and likely to get worse in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party congress in January.

    “Freedom has always been restricted, but nowadays it seems to be narrower, and there’s more and more violence,” she said at the time. “From now until the party congress, the scope of freedom can be tightened more and more, and the suppression will increase.”

    Trang, who released a well-regarded book titled Politics for Everyone, was awarded the Reporters Without Borders 2019 Press Freedom Prize. She founded the online legal magazine Luat Khoa and edits another web-based rights journal called thevietnamese.


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  • Pham Doan Trang in CPJ: Journalist Pham Doan Trang arrested on anti-state charges in Vietnam

    The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Pham Doan Trang and drop anti-state charges against her.


    Excerpt:

    Trang, a prominent journalist who contributes regularly to several independent news sites, was arrested just before midnight yesterday in Ho Chi Minh City, according to news reports.

    She was charged with “propaganda against the State” under Article 117 of the penal code, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Public Security’s website today. Convictions under Article 117 carry maximum jail terms of 20 years. Vietnam has detained and threatened several journalists under the charge in recent months, as CPJ has documented.

    “Authorities should immediately release journalist Pham Doan Trang, drop the charges against her, and cease their decade-long campaign of harassing her,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Vietnam must stop treating independent journalists like criminals.”

    CPJ could not independently verify where Trang was being detained and under what conditions.

    Reuters reported that Trang was arrested just hours after an annual U.S.-Vietnam human rights dialogue meeting was concluded.

    Trang, who reports widely on human rights-related issues including cases of police abuse, founded the local Luat Khoa legal magazine and edits and writes for the independent English-language The Vietnamese news site, according to news reports.


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  • Pham Doan Trang in PEN America:  Freedom to Write Index 2020

    Pham Doan Trang in PEN America: Freedom to Write Index 2020

    11 writers from Vietnam are placed in the Writers at Risk Database.  One of them is Luật Khoa’s co-founder and The Vietnamese co-editor Pham Doan Trang.  Apart from her involvement with the online magazines, promoting human rights and the rule of law, she is also known as an author and independent publisher of several books on human rights and democracy.  


    Excerpt:

    In Vietnam, the number of detained writers jumped from 8 in 2019 to 11 in 2020. During 2020, Vietnamese authorities ramped up their targeting of individuals associated with professional literary and writing organizations. This included multiple arrests of writers associated with the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), a civil society organization that advocates for press freedom consisting of writers, bloggers, and journalists. The IJAVN’s founding member and chairman Pham Chi Dung was detained in November 2019 and spent the entirety of 2020 behind bars,150 while several other core members of the IJAVN were detained or imprisoned during 2020, including three leading members of the association—Le Huu Minh Tuan, Pham Chi Thanh, and Nguyen Tuong Thuy—who were arrested and detained in May 2020. Pham Chi Thanh remains in pretrial detention as of this writing, while the other three have received prison sentences of over a decade each.151

    In October 2020, authorities detained and arrested internationally recognized author and blogger Pham Doan Trang, hours after the conclusion of the 2020 U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue.152 A prolific author and leading member of independent Vietnamese-language publications, Trang is also the cofounder of the Liberal Publishing House, Vietnam’s only independent publishing house, from which she was forced to disassociate herself in July, after the Ministry of Public Security labeled her works “anti-state propaganda.”153 As a prominent figure who has written extensively on voting rights, her arrest appears to be part of a broader crackdown on free expression ahead of the 13th National Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP).154

    “No one wants to sit in prison. But if prison is inevitable for freedom fighters, if prison can serve a pre-determined purpose, then we should happily accept it.”

    Pham Doan Trang, “Just In Case I Am Imprisoned”

    All five of these Vietnamese writers and public intellectuals were charged under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, which criminalizes “making, storing, disseminating documents and materials for an anti-State purpose.”

    💡
    More information on Writers at Risk Database

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  • Pham Doan Trang in Wired: One Free Press Coalition Spotlights Journalists Under Attack

    Luat Khoa and The Vietnamese editor Pham Doan Trang is part of One Free Press Coalition’s 10 “Most Urgent” press freedom cases this March 2020.  The coalition of press and media companies hopes to use their collective voices to give awareness, strike conversations and “stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.”


    Excerpt:

    IN MAY 2019, WIRED joined the One Free Press Coalition, a united group of preeminent editors and publishers using their global reach and social platforms to spotlight journalists under attack worldwide. Today, the coalition is issuing its eighth monthly “10 Most Urgent” list of journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases demand justice.

    Here’s March 2020’s list, ranked in order of urgency:

    8. Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam)
    Journalist in hiding to evade arrest continues reporting.
    Phan Doan Trang has been in hiding since August 2018, after Ho Chi Minh City police brutally beat her and confiscated her national ID card, on top of silencing measures including interrogation, monitoring and shutting off her internet and electricity. A colleague reports that Trang, cofounder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa news publications, has not fully recuperated from the assault and her health has deteriorated. While moving between safe houses, she has continued critical reporting on the environment, freedom of religion and online civil society.

    The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of over 30 prominent international members including: Al Jazeera Media Network; AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; BuzzFeed; CNN Money Switzerland; Corriere Della Sera; De Standaard; Deutsche Welle; Estadão; EURACTIV; The Financial Times; Forbes; Fortune; HuffPost; India Today; Insider Inc.; Le Temps; Middle East Broadcasting Networks; NHK; Office of Cuba Broadcasting; Quartz; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty; Republik; Reuters; The Straits Times; Süddeutsche Zeitung; TIME; TV Azteca; Voice of America; The Washington Post; WIRED; Yahoo News.

    One Free Press Coalition partners with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) to identify the most urgent cases for the list, which is updated and published on the first business day of every month.


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  • Pham Doan Trang in Forbes: One Free Press Coalition Marks One Year Anniversary Advocating For Journalists Whose Freedoms Are Being Threatened

    One Free Press Coalition is a united group of 38 distinguished media brands using their global reach and platforms to spotlight journalists under attack worldwide.  Pham Doan Trang, co-founder of Luat Khoa and The Vietnamese, is listed as one of the “most urgent” press freedom cases that need to be addressed immediately.


    Excerpt:

    The One Free Press Coalition, a united group of 38 pre-eminent media brands using their global reach and platforms to spotlight journalists under attack worldwide, today observed its one-year anniversary of the organization’s inception. To date, the Coalition has played an important role in successfully advocating for 50 individuals, supporting in the release of 10 journalists featured on their monthly “10 Most Urgent” lists, most recently Sophia Xueqin Huang, who was released from prison in January after being jailed while covering the extended unrest in Hong Kong.

    By bringing attention to this, the One Free Press Coalition has sparked critical conversations globally, with more than 19,000 mentions of the initiative on social media, totaling 1.17 billion total potential impressions globally.

    “In the one year since we established the One Free Press Coalition, we have used the collective voices of our partners and members to shine a bright light on journalists worldwide whose press freedoms and personal liberties are under assault,” said Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer, Forbes and Founding Member of the One Free Press. “We’re proud to have played a role in bringing attention to the plights of 56 journalists – whose cases we highlighted in our monthly ‘10 Most Urgent’ list – as we continue to fight for and secure justice. A free press is a vital and indispensable institution to the proper functioning of society everywhere.”

    Published this morning at www.onefreepresscoalition.com and by all Coalition members, including new pledge Agencia EFE, the 13th 10 Most Urgent list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency:

    8. Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam)

    Journalist in hiding to evade arrest continues reporting.

    Phan Doan Trang has been in hiding since August 2018, after Ho Chi Minh City police brutally beat her and confiscated her national ID card, on top of silencing measures including interrogation, monitoring and shutting off her internet and electricity. A colleague reports that Trang, cofounder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa news publications, has not fully recuperated from the assault and her health has deteriorated. While moving between safe houses, she has continued critical reporting on the environment, freedom of religion and online civil society.

  • Pham Doan Trang in Time: These Are the 10 ‘Most Urgent’ Threats to Press Freedom in March 2020

    Time Magazine has joined in the call to prioritize the “10 Most Urgent” press freedom cases.  Pham Doan Trang, co-founder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa is one of the 10 international journalists under attack.


    Excerpt:

    This month, Chen is on One Free Press Coalition’s list which highlights the 10 “most urgent” cases of threats to press freedom across the world.

    Read about all 10 journalists under attack on the March list here:

    8. Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam): Journalist in hiding to evade arrest continues reporting.

    Phan Doan Trang has been in hiding since August 2018, after Ho Chi Minh City police brutally beat her and confiscated her national ID card, on top of silencing measures including interrogation, monitoring and shutting off her internet and electricity. A colleague reports that Trang, cofounder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa news publications, has not fully recuperated from the assault and her health has deteriorated. While moving between safe houses, she has continued critical reporting on the environment, freedom of religion and online civil society.


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  • Pham Doan Trang in Fortune: 10 journalists who deserve justice immediately

    Pham Doan Trang, co-founder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa magazines, is listed as one of the 10 international journalists, whose press freedom case is classified as “Most Urgent” by the One Free Press Coalition.


    Excerpt:

    The last thing journalists seek when they go behind the scenes of a story is to end up behind bars. But for many reporters, harsh interrogation, wrongful arrest, and brutal assault are all possible realities of doing one’s job.

    Even today, as the world is in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, journalists who have reported on the situation have been punished for doing so. Chen Qiushi, a video journalist who revealed that hospitals in China were struggling to deal with the virus, has not been seen since Feb. 6. Meanwhile, three other journalists, who wrote an opinion piece regarding the crisis, have been expelled by the Chinese government.

    When it comes to fighting a virus that has threatened public health, caused profits to plummet, and hit global markets hard, cracking down on free press does nothing to address the crisis at hand and only puts more people’s lives at risk. That’s only one of the reasons why Fortune remains committed to fighting for fellow journalists—and why publishing this monthly list of the “10 Most Urgent” press freedom cases is a moral imperative.

    The One Free Press Coalition (OFPC) compiles the list (below), in partnership with the Center for Press Justice (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). This month marks one year of these organizations’ efforts to circulate their list. While some journalists have received justice since appearing on these lists, other cases remain unresolved, and new cases continue to arise. (You can read last month’s list here.)

    8. Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam)

    Journalist in hiding to evade arrest continues reporting.
    Phan Doan Trang has been in hiding since August 2018, after Ho Chi Minh City police brutally beat her and confiscated her national ID card, on top of silencing measures including interrogation, monitoring and shutting off her internet and electricity. A colleague reports that Trang, cofounder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa news publications, has not fully recuperated from the assault and her health has deteriorated. While moving between safe houses, she has continued critical reporting on the environment, freedom of religion and online civil society.


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  • Pham Doan Trang in RFI Tiếng Việt: Báo cáo vụ Đồng Tâm : “Những khuất tất của chính quyền Việt Nam”

    Luật Khoa magazine editor Pham Doan Trang is also one of the authors of the Dong Tam Attack Report, a 28-page document forwarded to international human rights organizations and delivered to the office of a US Congressman.  In this interview, Ms. Pham shares their basis for coming up with the document and what they hope to achieve.


    Full transcription in Vietnamese:

    Phạm Đoan Trang : “Vụ việc này đầy khuất tất từ phía chính quyền. Điểm đáng nói đầu tiên là về cái chết của ba sĩ quan công an. Công an nói có ba chiễn sĩ hy sinh, bị quân khủng bố phóng hỏa, giết. Trên mạng có những bức ảnh cho thấy thi thể của ba người này chỉ còn là than. Bản báo cáo về vụ Đồng Tâm chỉ ra rằng, bình thường cơ thể con người, để thành tro cháy gần hết như vậy cần mất khoảng ba hay bốn tiếng. Không có lý gì lực lượng công an để đồng đội của họ cháy trong ba tiếng đồng hồ mà không dập lửa. Cũng như là bom xăng, một chai xăng mà đơn vị đo là 0,65 lít thì không thể gây ra một vụ cháy kinh hoàng như vậy. Tường nhà thì không ám khói, không có dấu vết của một vụ hỏa hoạn. Điểm đáng ngờ thứ hai liên quan đến cái chết của cụ Kình. Cụ bị giết thế nào ? Ai giết ? Tại sao lại bị mổ tử thi ? Biên bản khám nghiệm tử thi ấy đâu ?

    Điểm thứ ba là cáo buộc của chính quyền nói cụ Kình và gia đình, dân Đồng Tâm là khủng bố, tàng trữ vũ khí. Vậy chính quyền đã biết chuyện những người dân Đồng Tâm tàng trữ vũ khí -nếu có, từ thời điểm nào ? Nếu biết từ trước tại sao không xử lý đúng quy trình tố tụng ? Thí dụ như thông báo trước, thậm chí có thể đến vây hãm, yêu cầu đầu hàng. Nhưng ít nhất phải chờ đến khi bên trong có động thái, thí dụ như bắt con tin, hay đe dọa sát hại con tin trong nhà thì mới có thể tấn công. Nếu như họ vẫn ở trong nhà và cố thủ thì vẫn phải đợi. Bạo lực chỉ là biện pháp cuối cùng. Ngoài ra còn có vấn đề những người khác bị bắt, bị ép cung, tra tấn. Dấu hiệu rõ ràng là nếu chỉ đánh nhau bình thường, mặt không thể có những vết bỏng. Không thể có những vết cháy trên mặt. Đó là dấu vết của sự tra tấn rất rõ”.

    Mục đích báo cáo về vụ Đồng Tâm là gì ?

    Phạm Đoan Trang : “Chúng tôi nhận thấy rằng, từ trước đến giờ, trong tất cả những sự kiện tương tự hoàn toàn nhà nước độc quyền phát ngôn. Trong vụ Đồng Tâm, câu chuyện đến một mức quá xa, nghĩa là nhà nước không chỉ phát ngôn mà còn đàn áp thẳng cánh những người cung cấp thông tin. Trong một tuần lễ, tôi biết có ít nhất ba người bị công an bắt vì đã đưa tin trái chiều về Đồng Tâm. Đưa tin và quan điểm về Đồng Tâm. Thậm chí chỉ chia sẻ bài trên Facebook. Bài có nội dung trái với những gì truyền thông nhà nước đã đưa. Cho nên chúng tôi quyết định, trong một thời gian cực ngắn, chỉ 2 ngày, để làm báo cáo đó.

    Chúng tôi muốn là có một nguồn thông tin tham khảo dành cho cộng đồng quốc tế cũng như là cho người trong nước. Chúng tôi mong muốn vấn đề sẽ được quốc tế hóa, được cộng đồng quốc tế, các chính phủ, những nước dân chủ và các tổ chức quốc tế về nhân quyền như Human Rights Watch hay Amnesty International, lên tiếng, gây sức ép buộc chính quyền Việt Nam cho phép điều tra độc lập, hoặc thừa nhận tội lỗi của mình. Hay ít nhất là giảm án, bảo vệ những người đã bị bắt. Hiện giờ những người chưa bị bắt, những nhân chứng còn sống sót bị đe dọa khủng bố rất kinh hoàng”.


    Full Transcription in English:

    Pham Doan Trang:“This case is full of uncertainty from the government side. The first point worth mentioning is about the deaths of three police officers. The police said that three soldiers died, were set on fire and killed by terrorists. Online there are The photos show that the bodies of these three people are reduced to coal.The report on the Dong Tam incident indicates that, normally, the human body, to burn most of the ash, takes about three or four hours. There is no reason for the police force to let their comrades burn for three hours without putting out the fire.Like a petrol bomb, a bottle of gasoline that measures 0.65 liters cannot cause a fire. The house was so horrifying, the walls of the house were not covered with smoke, there was no trace of a fire. The second point of suspicion concerns the death of Mr. Kinh. How was he killed? Who killed? Why was he operated on? Where’s the autopsy report?

    The third point is the government’s accusation that Kinh and his family and people in Dong Tam are terrorists and possess weapons. So the government knew about the Dong Tam people’s possession of weapons – if so, when? If you knew in advance, why didn’t you handle the proceedings properly? For example, advance notice, maybe even siege, requesting surrender. But at least you have to wait until there is an action inside, such as taking hostages, or threatening to kill hostages in the house, before you can attack. If they were still at home and entrenched, they would still have to wait. Violence is only a last resort. There is also the issue of others being arrested, forced to surrender, tortured. The obvious sign is that if it’s just a normal fight, the face can’t have burns. There can be no burn marks on the face. It’s a very clear mark of torture.”

    What is the purpose of reporting on the Dong Tam case?

    Pham Doan Trang : “We have found that, in all similar events, the state has completely monopolized the speech. In the Dong Tam case, the story goes too far, that is, the state. In a week, I know at least three people were arrested by the police for reporting conflicting information about Dong Tam. Tam. Even just shared the article on Facebook. It had content that was contrary to what the state media had reported, so we decided, in a very short time, just 2 days, to do that report.

    We want to be a reference source for the international community as well as for local people. We hope the issue will be internationalized, voiced by the international community, governments, democratic countries and international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International. Vietnamese authorities allow independent investigation, or admit guilt. Or at least reduce the sentence, protect those who have been arrested. Now for those who have not been arrested, the surviving witnesses are facing terror threats.”


  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in Journal of Democracy: Thirtieth Anniversary of Polish Democracy

    Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM co-director Trinh Huu Long accepted Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Prize for Impact in behalf of Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang, who has been served with travel restrictions.


    Excerpt:

    Reporters Without Borders Prize

    On September 12, Reporters Without Borders awarded its Press Freedom Prize for Impact to Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang. Trang is the editor of the online human-rights magazine The Vietnamese, and founder of the online magazine Luat Khoa. Trang has been repeatedly beaten and imprisoned for her activism. Trinh Huu Long, Trang’s coeditor at Luat Khoa, accepted the award on her behalf when travel restrictions prevented Trang from attending the ceremony in Berlin. Speaking via video, Trang said, “We will fight until journalism is no longer seen as a crime anywhere in the world.”


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