One
More Vietnamese Facebooker Arrested and Charged with “Conducting Anti-state
Propaganda” As Ruling Communist Party Prepares Its 13th National Congress
Defend
the Defenders | August 23, 2020 Vietnam’s
communist regime continues its crackdown on the local dissent prior to the 13th
National Congress of the ruling party, arresting freelance journalist Tran Thi
Tuyet Dieu and on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article
117 of the Criminal Code. According
to the state-controlled media, the police in the central province of Phu Yen
carried out the arrest on August 21. They also conducted a search of the house
of Ms. Dieu’s parents in Tay Hoa district where she lives with them. She will be
held incommunicado for at least four months during the investigation period, the
common practice Vietnam’s security forces have been applying in most of
political cases. Ms. Dieu
graduated journalism from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities
(Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City). Later, she worked for Phu Yen
newspaper, the official voice of the province’s Communist Party of Vietnam
(CPV)’s Committee. However, she left the newspaper and focused on criticizing
the communist regime’s socio-economic issues such as systemic corruption,
widespread environmental pollution, human rights violations, and weak response
to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China
Sea). Phu Yen
province’s police have accused her of using Facebook accounts “Tuyết Diệu Babel”
and “Trần Thị Tuyết Diệu Journalist” as well as Youtube channel named Tuyết Diệu
Trần to disseminate hundreds of articles and videoclips to defame communist
leaders, including late President Ho Chi Minh, and distort the party’s policies. In recent
years, she has been harassed many times by the police forces. Once she was
kidnapped by police in the central province of Nghe An who tortured her. Ms. Dieu
has been the 12th Facebooker being arrested and charged with “conducting
anti-state propaganda” so far this year. She is facing imprisonment of between
seven and 12 years or even up to 20 years if she is convicted. Her
arrest was made one week after the US, the EU and the UK urged Hanoi to ensure
its actions are consistent with the human rights provisions of Vietnam’s
Constitution and its international obligations and commitments and allow all
individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely, without fear of
retaliation. The call was made after Vietnam convicted eight
members of the unregistered group Constitution of “disruption of security” for
their participation in peaceful demonstrations and sentenced them to more than
40 years in prison. Vietnam
is holding at least 275 prisoners of conscience, according to Defend the
Defenders’ statistics. As
many as 50 of them were arrested this year, and 55 of them are held in pre-trial
detention. Since the
beginning of this year, Vietnam has convicted 15 activists and sentenced them to
66 years and three months and 26 years of probation.
Vietnam Human Rights Network |