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Tag: Pham Doan Trang

  • Pham Doan Trang in Human Rights Watch: Vietnam: Dozens of Rights Activists Detained, Tried

    According to HRW, the Vietnamese government handed down long sentences to dissidents and activists after unfair trials on fabricated charges.

    Excerpt:

    The Vietnamese government, in 2021, systematically punished activists who challenged the repressive status quo, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2022. In a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 13th Communist Party Congress in January, and national elections in May, the authorities imprisoned at least 63 people for expressing opinions or joining groups deemed hostile to the government, with many receiving very long prison sentences after unfair trials.

    “The Vietnamese government hid behind the Covid-19 pandemic to carry out a severe crackdown on peaceful activism that largely went unnoticed outside of Vietnam,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government seems to want to wipe out the growing dissident movement with devastating prison sentences before the world starts paying attention again.”

    The Vietnamese government severely restricts basic civil and political rights, including freedom of expression, speech, information, association, peaceful assembly, and freedom of religion and belief. The country has no free and independent media. The government does not allow the formation of political parties or independent human rights organizations, and intrusively manages all religious institutions.

    People who publicly criticize the government or Communist Party leaders on social media routinely face harassment, intimidation, intrusive surveillance, restrictions on freedom of movement, physical assault, and arrest. After being detained for exercising their rights, people face abusive interrogation, long detention periods without access to legal counsel or their families, and trial by politically controlled courts meting out increasingly lengthy prison sentences.

    In January, three members of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam – Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Huu Minh Tuan – were convicted and sentenced to between 11 and 15 years in prison. A court sentenced a land rights activist, Can Thi Theu, and her son Trinh Ba Tu, contributors to the Liberal Publishing House, to eight years in prison each in May; and writer Pham Chi Thanh to five and a half years in prison in July. In October, a court in Can Tho convicted and sentenced five members of the Clean Newspaper – Truong Chau Huu Danh, Doan Kien Giang, Le The Thang, Nguyen Phuoc Trung Bao, and Nguyen Thanh Nha – to between two years and four and a half years in prison. In December, courts sentenced prominent blogger Pham Doan Trang to nine years, land rights activists Trinh Ba Phuong to 10 years and Nguyen Thi Tam to six years, democracy campaigner Do Nam Trung to 10 years, and independent political candidate Le Trong Hung to five years in prison. All were charged with propaganda against the state under article 117 (or article 88), or with abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state under article 331, of the penal code.

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  • Pham Doan Trang in Voice of America: With West Distracted by Pandemic, Vietnam Ramps Up Repression

    International human rights groups said that coinciding with the elections and the West getting distracted by the pandemic, Hanoi has exploited the circumstances and intensified its suppression of oppositions by handing out long long prison sentences to more than a dozen reporters.  

    Title: With West Distracted by Pandemic, Vietnam Ramps Up Repression
    Publish Date: January 11, 2022
    Publisher: Voice of America

    Excerpt:

    Conditions for media in Vietnam have rarely been so bad, media analysts say, with the country jailing over a dozen reporters in the past 12 months, and courts handing out unusually long sentences.

    The rise in arrests came as Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party held its 13th Party Congress and voted for the next five-year National Assembly term in 2021.

    International rights groups believe Hanoi intensified efforts to suppress dissent or opposition voices during the elections and at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has distracted the West from scrutinizing Vietnam’s actions.

    “Vietnam has accelerated its rights abuses across the board, going after community activists, human rights defenders, and political dissidents in a systematic manner that points to a Hanoi plan to wipe out any opposition to its rule,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Human Rights Watch Asia division.

    Data from media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows an increase in the number of journalists behind bars, with 43 detained.

    “The current situation of press freedom in Vietnam has rarely been so bad,” said Daniel Bastard, head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “Vietnam is the world’s third-largest prison for journalists, right after autocratic regimes like Xi [Jinping]’s China, and junta-ruled Myanmar.”

    The decline in media rights last year, started with the trial of members of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam, including founder and president Pham Chi Dung in January, and ending with the sentencing of prominent journalists and activists in December.

    Those cases included the award-winning Pham Doan Trang and Le Trong Hung, a journalist who announced plans to run as an independent candidate in the National Assembly election.

    The trend of arrests spilled over into the new year, with a Hanoi court on Tuesday sentencing Mai Phan Loi, a former journalist and founder of a nonprofit, to 48 months in jail for tax evasion.

    Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam founder Dung received one of the longest prison sentences handed down to a journalist worldwide, with a 15-year term on charges of propaganda against the state, according to RSF.

    Trang, who is internationally recognized for her fight for democracy and human rights in Vietnam, also received a lengthy sentence. A court ordered her detained for nine years — longer than the penalty prosecutors requested.

    Activists and the international community view the convictions as a warning to dissidents.

    “Human rights in Vietnam have deteriorated in 2021, as the Communist Party used bogus articles of the 2015 Penal Code, including ‘propaganda against the state’ and ‘abuse of democratic freedoms,’ to suppress dissenters and freedom of expression,” said Vu Quoc Ngu, director of Vietnam’s Defend the Defenders.

    The organization documents rights violations in Vietnam and provides cybersecurity and journalism training.

    Western neglect

    Ngu, a 2019 Franco-German Human Rights and the Rule of Law awardee, believes the pandemic is partly to blame for the increased repression.

    “When the world is focusing on controlling the pandemic, Western countries are less interested in Vietnam’s human rights situation and so the Vietnamese Communist government has free hands to suppress it,” said Ngu, who was once detained for participating in an anti-China protest in Hanoi in 2011.

    Robertson, of Human Rights Watch, shared a similar view, telling VOA, “Vietnam has quite clearly taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the distraction of the international community that resulted, to try and finish off its opponents.”

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  • Pham Doan Trang in Voice of America: Vietnamese Critics, Others Slam Journalist’s 9-Year Sentence

    Locals and the international community were outraged with the 9 year prison term received by well-known Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang.

    Title: Vietnamese Critics, Others Slam Journalist’s 9-Year Sentence
    Publish Date: January 6, 2022
    Publisher: Voice of America

    Excerpt:

    HANOI, VIETNAM —

    The Dec. 14 sentencing of Vietnamese journalist Pham Thi Doan Trang, commonly known as Pham Doan Trang, to nine years in prison for “spreading anti-state propaganda” has angered members of the public here as well as observers outside the country.

    Trang regularly published information alleging human rights violations and police brutality. She was arrested in October 2020. She has been one of the most vocal critics of Vietnam’s human rights record in recent years.

    The arrest came just hours after the 24th annual U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in Hanoi.

    “The sentence is too heavy,” said Minh Pham, a media specialist in Ho Chi Minh City who argued that Trang did not deserve such a long sentence.

    “This sort of trial made me more cautious about speaking and expressing my views in the press and on social media in the future. I feel insecure. It is better to avoid talking about political issues, because regardless of the degree of difference in opinion, it will be labeled as an ‘anti-national’ act,” he told VOA.

    Similarly, Oanh Vu, who works in the food and beverage industry, said Vietnam still has a long way to go when it comes to freedom of expression.

    She told VOA, “Trang’s case has become a sad story as we are heading to the end of this year. But anyway, it is optimistic to see some people are still supporting her and other political prisoners as well. They called for donations to give them [the prisoners] Tet gifts, and provide assistance for their families in their absence. It is also a very practical way to support and help.”

    A freelance journalist, who asked not to be named, told VOA he thought Trang’s heavy sentence could be a message to others, since the government may not be able to arrest all the dissidents just because of what they write on social media.

    “I think they may use Trang to warn others … with the hope that other journalists or dissidents will see what happened to Trang and decide to step back,” he said.

    Zachary Abuza, a professor of Southeast Asia studies at the National War College in Washington, also sees a larger purpose in the handling of Trang’s case.

    FILE - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) awarded Vietnamese journalist and blogger Pham Doan Trang a 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact, Sept. 12, 2019, in Berlin.
    FILE – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) awarded Vietnamese journalist and blogger Pham Doan Trang a 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact, Sept. 12, 2019, in Berlin.

    “The government can’t go and arrest every dissenter or person who makes an anti-government post on Facebook,” he told VOA. “The government is really trying to be very strategic in going after the most influential individuals. They try to figure out who is influencing others and hope that that serves as a deterrent.”

    The Trang case spurred several foreign governments to express concern about the human rights situation in Vietnam, although the country has maintained a good relationship with the United States and the European Union. Currently, Vietnam is trying to persuade EU members to ratify an investment protection agreement, in addition to an EU free trade agreement that has been ratified.

    However, a Dec. 16 statement by the EU spokesperson called for Trang’s release.

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  • Pham Doan Trang in the Varsity: The West cannot ignore human rights abuses in Vietnam

    Following the conviction of prominent journalist and human rights defender, Pham Doan Trang, an anonymous student argues that the West cannot turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in Vietnam.

    Title: The West cannot ignore human rights abuses in Vietnam
    Publish Date: January 4, 2022
    Publisher: Varsity

    Excerpt:

    The latest round of crackdowns on dissent carried out by the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) has seen scores of independent journalists and activists imprisoned, including perhaps its most famous critic, Pham Doan Trang. Trang was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Hanoi’s People Court, one more than even prosecutors had recommended, under the infamous 88th Article of the 1999 Criminal Code, criminalising “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”. A prolific writer on issues of women empowerment and environmental justice, she also founded Luật Khoa, an online magazine providing legal advice to individuals detained arbitrarily by the Hanoian regime. Her trial demonstrates, again, the disregard for the rule of law by the Hanoian regime, yet her arrest in October last year also coincided with the day that Vietnamese and American officials met to discuss issues of democracy and human rights. The irony should not be lost. Despite the West’s ramped up rhetoric in defense of free speech, exemplified by American President Joe Biden’s pledges on World Press Freedom Day, I argue little is being done to support those whose voices are smothered by the Vietnamese government.

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    The West cannot ignore human rights abuses in Vietnam Varsity
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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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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.”

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    Tai sao ang so Pham oan Trang
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    Why is the Party afraid of Pham Doan Trang
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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
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