Hanoi
Detaining at Least 176 Political Prisoners, Detainees
Human Rights
Watch | December 6, 2021
(Sydney) –
The Australian government should call on Vietnam to meet clear human rights
benchmarks at the 17th Australia-Vietnam human rights dialogue, Human Rights
Watch said today. The dialogue is scheduled to be held virtually on December 8,
2021.
“Australia
should use its influence to press Vietnam to take concrete action to reverse its
abysmal human rights record,” said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human
Rights Watch. “Many people in Vietnam have been persecuted simply because they
tried to exercise basic civil and political rights that Australians often take
for granted.”
In a
December submission, Human Rights Watch urged the Australian government to use
the dialogue to press Vietnam to end its systematic suppression of fundamental
civil and political rights, including freedom of expression, association,
peaceful assembly, and religion and belief. Australia should also demand that
Vietnam immediately release all political prisoners and detainees, and revise
its problematic penal and criminal procedure codes to bring them into line with
international human rights standards.
An
Australian citizen, Chau Van Kham, has remained in a Vietnamese prison since
January 2019 on terrorism charges for his involvement in Viet Tan, a peaceful
political organization focused on democracy and human rights in Vietnam.
Securing his release, and enabling him to return to Australia to be reunited
with his family, should be a top priority for Australia in the dialogue.
As of
December, Human Rights Watch had documented that at least 146 people are behind
bars in Vietnam for exercising their basic rights, including the prominent
bloggers and activists Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy,
Pham Chi Thanh, Can Thi Theu, Le Dinh Luong, Truong Minh Duc, Nguyen Trung Ton,
Pham Van Troi, Hoang Duc Binh, Tran Anh Kim, Pham Van Diep, Tran Duc Thach,
Nguyen Trung Truc, and Ho Duc Hoa. The police have arrested at least 30 other
people on politically motivated charges, including the influential blogger Pham
Doan Trang, and the land rights activists Trinh Ba Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam.
Australia’s
bilateral relationship with Vietnam has continued to grow in recent years. In
2021 Australia was one of the top 10 trade partners with Vietnam. In November,
the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne visited Hanoi, but she did
not raise human rights concerns publicly during her visit.
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