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Tag: Voice Of America

  • Pham Doan Trang in Voice Of America: Pro-democracy Leaders, Jailed Journalist Among US ‘Women of Courage’ Honorees

    US First Lady Jill Biden leads the recognition for the 12 recipient of the 2022 International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award.  Award-winning Vietnamese journalist and human rights defender Pham Doan Trang is one of the honorees.  She did not make an appearance on the online awards ceremony.  Currently, she is now serving a 9-year sentence for ‘Propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.’

    Excerpt:

    The United States honored 12 women from Colombia, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries, with the State Department saying they have demonstrated leadership and a willingness to sacrifice for others at an “International Women of Courage Award” ceremony Monday in Washington.

    This year’s honorees include Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an environmental lawyer from Bangladesh; Simone Sibilio do Nascimento, one of Brazil’s most prominent prosecutors; Ei Thinzar Maung, Myanmar’s pro-democracy opposition National Unity Government Deputy Minister for Women, Youths, and Children Affairs; Josefina Klinger Zúñiga, a human rights and environmental defender from Colombia; Taif Sami Mohammed, Iraq’s deputy finance minister known for fighting corruption; Facia Boyenoh Harris, who advocates for women’s rights and speaks out against gender-based violence in Liberia; Libya’s first woman foreign minister, Najla Mangoush; Moldova’s parliament member Doina Gherman, who promotes women’s inclusion; transgender activist Bhumika Shrestha who is from Nepal; Carmen Gheorghe, who promotes women’s rights in Romania; Roegchanda Pascoe, a crime prevention activist from South Africa; and jailed Vietnamese journalist Phạm Đoan Trang.

    Jailed Vietnamese journalist absent in virtual ceremony

    Phạm Đoan Trang did not attend Monday’s virtual award ceremony, since she is currently in prison.

    Pham Doan Trang is seen as a leading advocate for human rights, rule of law, and the inclusion of all voices in political spaces in Vietnam. She was sentenced to nine years in prison on Dec. 14, 2021, for “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam,” according to Amnesty International.

    “We condemn her unjust imprisonment. We call for her immediate release,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during Monday’s ceremony.

    Pham Chinh Truc is Pham Doan Trang’s brother. He attended the trial in December with their 81-year-old mother. Pham Chinh Truc told VOA Vietnamese he raised objections at the hearing and called the verdict “completely absurd and unacceptable.”

    “Trang was convicted under Article 88 ‘Propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,’” he said in the VOA interview. “As far as I know, this article has been criticized by many individuals, social organizations, and even the United Nations, who have asked the Vietnamese government to revoke this law because it is too vague. Its boundaries are not clear, but it has been used to arrest many people who have views that are contrary to the views held by the party and state.”

    Phạm Đoan Trang was a journalist with government media before leaving to write independently on democracy and free elections, according to advocacy group The 88 Project.

    The United States values its comprehensive partnership with Vietnam but believes firmly that “in order for this country to thrive, it needs to embrace the openness, transparency, inclusion, and respect for the rights of all of its citizens that Phạm Đoan Trang has relentlessly sought through her writing and advocacy,” said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper in a pre-taped message.

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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 Voice of America: Vietnam Violated Journalist’s Rights, UN Watchdog Says

    The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called the arrest and detention of famed journalist Pham Doan Trang as arbitrary, and has encroached her basic rights.

    Excerpt:

    Pressure is mounting on Vietnam to release an imprisoned journalist known for her coverage of human rights issues.

    An opinion issued by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that journalist Pham Doan Trang was denied her rights following her October 2020 arrest and subsequent detention in Ho Chi Minh City.

    A copy of the working group’s opinion, sent to the journalist’s lawyer on October 25, said, “The appropriate remedy would be to release [Trang] immediately and accord her an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.”

    Trang, who co-founded the independent magazine Luat Khoa and The Vietnamese news website, reported on issues including police harassment.

    Before her arrest on charges of anti-state propaganda, Trang said on social media that police were harassing her because of her reporting.

    Trang’s lawyer, Kurtulus Bastimar, told VOA Vietnamese the U.N. found that authorities arrested Trang without a warrant, and that she was not informed of the charges against her or given an opportunity to challenge her detention. Both are considered violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

    Bastimar said the ruling was significant.

    “The U.N. working group in this decision has decided that Pham Doan Trang has been placed outside of the protection of the law,” he said. “This is really important.”

    Also significant, Bastimar said, is that the U.N. body did not recognize Vietnam’s judicial authority as competent.

    “So, they are not independent in the eyes of the U.N. Working Group,” he said.

    Bastimar said he also believes the U.N. opinion could assist Vietnamese lawyers, who can use its findings on human rights violations and violations of international law in cases they are defending.

    A joint statement Tuesday from 28 civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists and various Vietnamese groups, said Trang had been denied access to her lawyers and family for over a year.

    “It is clear that Pham Doan Trang is being persecuted for her long-standing work as an independent journalist, book publisher, and human rights defender, known for writing about topics ranging from environmental rights to police violence, as well as for her advocacy for press freedom,” the statement said.

    Vietnam has a poor record for media freedom, ranking 175 out of 180 countries, where 1 is freest, on the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

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  • Pham Doan Trang in Voice of America: Vietnam Seeks to Further Limit Press

    Hanoi is set to implement a new decree on December 1 which seeks to to tighten control over the news media even more.  Under the decree, anyone sharing information that authorities deem harmful but not serious enough for a criminal penalty could face steeper fines and a longer, 12-month suspension.

    With this,  independent journalists, such as Pham Doan Trang, who was jailed earlier this month, are at greater risk of arrest.

    Excerpt:

    Vietnam’s journalists and social media users face a new obstacle to independent reporting through a government decree that imposes harsh penalties for sharing information deemed harmful to the country.

    Observers and rights activists see the decree, due to go into effect Dec. 1, as part of Hanoi’s increasing efforts to tighten control over the news media.

    Since January, Vietnam has arrested about 20 journalists, publishers and social media users over critical content; demanded that Facebook agree to censor “anti-state” posts; issued a one-month publishing ban on the news website Phu Nu Online over its investigations into environmental damage; and, last week, arrested prominent blogger and democracy activist Pham Doan Trang.

    Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang was awarded a 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact, Sept. 12, 2019, in Berlin. “I hope this award will encourage the Vietnamese people to engage more in press freedom," she told VOA Vietnamese.
    Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang was awarded a 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact, Sept. 12, 2019, in Berlin. “I hope this award will encourage the Vietnamese people to engage more in press freedom,” she told VOA Vietnamese.

    Under the latest decree, signed Oct. 7 by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, anyone sharing information that authorities deem harmful but not serious enough for a criminal penalty could face steeper fines and a longer, 12-month suspension.

    The law previously allowed for fines of up to 100 million Vietnamese dong (US $4,300) and suspensions of up to six months. The most severe order was a three-month ban the Ministry of Information and Communications imposed on news outlet Tuoi Tre Online in July 2018. The ministry accused the outlet of disseminating false news over its reporting on the president’s comments on a protest law.

    Provincial people’s committees and local authorities, along with the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Press Authority, will have power to issue the penalties.

    Appeals are allowed, but administrative fines in Vietnam have to be paid within 10 days.

    “The Vietnamese press is not the same as overseas. The country is governed by one-party rule. It does not accept pluralism or multiparty. It does not accept criticism,” Vo said. “They explicitly and unequivocally declare that the press is a propaganda tool of the party and state.”

    Vietnam has a poor record for free media, ranking 175 out of 180 countries, where 1 is the most free, on an annual index compiled by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

    Journalists at state-run and state-approved outlets have to register and meet certain requirements, such as having a press card and press activity permit.

    But independent journalists, such as Pham Doan Trang, who was jailed earlier this month, are at greater risk of arrest.

    The journalist’s Oct. 6 arrest “is another leap forward into an outright crackdown by the Communist Party of Vietnam,” Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk, told VOA Vietnamese.

    “RSF is appalled by the arrest of Pham Doan Trang, who was honored with our Press Freedom Award for Impact exactly one year ago. Her only crime was to provide her fellow citizens with trustful information and enable them to fully exercise their rights,” Bastard said.

    Pham, an outspoken democracy activist and author, was arrested on anti-state propaganda charges, police and state media said.

    Rights groups condemned the arrest, which took place hours after annual U.S.-Vietnam human rights talks, and they warned that the blogger risked torture in custody.

    Pham, who was arrested at an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City, is accused of “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” To An Xo, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security, said.

    The blogger writes about legal issues, citizen rights and politics, and in September he released a joint investigative report into a government attack on a village that was the center of a land dispute.

    The U.S. State Department expressed concern over Pham’s arrest.

    “Her detention could impact freedom of expression in Vietnam. We urge the Vietnamese government to ensure its actions and laws are consistent with Vietnam’s international obligations and commitments,” the State Department said in a statement sent to VOA via email.

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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 Voice of America: Vietnamese Blogger Wins Press Freedom Award

    Luật Khoa co-founder and blogger Pham Doan Trang receives the 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact from Reporters Without Borders (RSF.) A known critic of the Vietnam Communist Party, she has faced harassment, assault and detention but continues to lead the fight for truth, justice and human rights in Vietnam.

    Excerpt:

    An international press freedom monitor has awarded Vietnamese journalist and blogger Pham Doan Trang a 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact.

    “Pham Doan Trang is a true heroine given the situation of press freedom in Vietnam, where journalists and bloggers who do not toe the line of the current direction of the Communist Party face extremely severe repercussions,” said Daniel Bastard, who heads the Asia-Pacific Desk of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

    Founder of Luât Khoa

    Trang’s prize is awarded to journalists whose work has led to concrete improvements in journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism, or to an increase in awareness of these matters, according to an RSF statement.

    Trang founded Luât Khoa, an online magazine that specializes in providing information about legal issues, and she edits another, The Vietnamese, which helps citizens defend their rights and resist the Communist Party’s rule, RSF said.

    Colleague accepted award

    Because Vietnamese authorities wanted to set conditions on Trang for her to leave the country to accept the award, which she said she would not consent to, her friend and colleague, Trinh Huu Long, editor-in-chief for Luât Khoa magazine, accepted the award on Trang’s behalf.

    “I hope this award will encourage the Vietnamese people to engage more in press freedom and to push Hanoi to improve the citizens’ basic rights,” Trang told VOA Vietnamese.

    “I really wish it [will] encourage other journalists, including freelance journalists, to become more committed to pursuing truth, justice and human rights in Vietnam,” said Trang, who was born in 1978.

    “I hope this award can help gain more international recognition of the hidden wave under the so-called political stability in the country. Below that surface is a layer of waves of repression and silence,” she added.

    Grateful for RSF

    RSF said that the Vietnamese government tries to stifle Trang’s voice through police intimidation, because she exposes its inconsistencies and its failure to guarantee civil and political rights.

    Despite the major crackdown that began in 2016, Trang plays a crucial role in helping her fellow citizens gain access to independent information and enabling them to use the rule of law, as guaranteed by the Vietnamese constitution, against the arbitrary practices of the authorities, Bastard said.

    “I believe that RSF’s goals for giving the award are to let journalists around the world, especially journalists who are victims of persecution, harassment, abuse and persecution, [know they] are not alone in their fights,” Trang said. “RSF has really helped people like me to feel I’m not alone.”

    Her books, such as Politics for the Common People, A Handbook for Families of Prisoners and Politics of a Police State, were all published outside Vietnam. They “received much more readership than I expected,” Trang said.

    Trang has been beaten by the police because of her work and was detained arbitrarily twice for several days in 2018, according to an RSF statement.

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