Human Rights Watch requests Vietnam to release
convicted activists
Drop Charges Against Blogger
Le Quoc Quan
Human Rights Watch
January 9, 2013
The conviction of yet more
peaceful activists is another example of a government that is increasingly
afraid of the opinions of its own people. Instead of imprisoning critics, the
Vietnamese government should be honoring them for their efforts to address the
myriad problems facing the country that the government itself has also
identified.
Brad Adams, Asia director
(New York) – The conviction
and prison sentences of 14 activists by the People’s Court of Nghe An province
on January 9, 2012, marks a sharp escalation of government attacks on
critics. The convictions of the 14 should be quashed immediately, as should
charges against the prominent blogger, Le Quoc Quan, arrested in late December.
Thirteen of those convicted were sentenced to serve prison terms ranging
individually from 3 to 13 years, to be followed by periods of up to five years
of controlled residence. One was given a three-year conditionally suspended
sentence, making him easily vulnerable to re-arrest.
The 14 were charged after attending a training course in Bangkok held by the
banned Viet Tan organization. Eleven were charged with being members of Viet
Tan, while three were charged with actively participating in the organization.
Viet Tan is an organization that in the 1980s led a resistance movement against
the Vietnamese communist government but for the past few decades has worked for
peaceful political reform, democracy, and human rights in
Vietnam. As in numerous previous cases, the government relied on
loosely-worded national security laws – in this instance article 79 of the penal
code, which vaguely prohibits activities aimed at “overthrowing the government”–
to prosecute people engaged in the exercise of their fundamental human rights.
Showing the sensitivity of the case, large numbers of police were deployed at
the court. Police temporarily detained and manhandled a number of bloggers who
attempted to attend the trial.
“The conviction of yet more peaceful activists is another example of a
government that is increasingly afraid of the opinions of its own people,” said
Brad Adams, Asia director. “Instead of imprisoning critics, the Vietnamese
government should be honoring them for their efforts to address the myriad
problems facing the country that the government itself has also identified.”
The 14 convicted are Dang Ngoc Minh, Dang Xuan Dieu, Ho Duc Hoa, Ho Van Oanh, Le
Van Son, Nguyen Dang Minh Man, Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Nguyen
Van Duyet, Nguyen Van Oai, Nguyen Xuan Oanh, Nong Hung Anh, Thai Van Dung, and
Tran Minh Nhat (for biographical information on each, see the appendix). They
were arrested between August and December 2011 and held for more than a year
before being put on trial.
A number of the defendants, including Nguyen Xuan Anh, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Ho Duc
Hoa, and Dang Xuan Dieu, had participated in volunteer activities in their local
neighborhoods in Vinh, including encouraging women not to have abortions,
supporting the poor and people with disabilities, founding the Vinh Human
Development Foundation, and working to protect the environment. Others, such as
Nong Hung Anh, Thai Van Dung, Tran Minh Nhat, Ho Van Oanh, Nguyen Van Oai, and
Nguyen Van Duyet, have participated in peaceful protests related to China or
were involved in attempting to manifest support of legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu
during the 2011 trial that sentenced him to prison for the peaceful exercise of
his fundamental rights. Nguyen Van Oai, Nguyen Van Duyet, and Ho Van Oanh
participated in activities that protect workers’ rights in Binh Duong province,
Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Three lesser known people in the group are Dang Ngoc Minh, her daughter Nguyen
Dang Minh Man, and her son Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc, from the city of Tra Vinh in
Tra Vinh province. According to the indictment, in April 2010, Dang Ngoc Minh
and Nguyen Dang Minh Man “under the direction of Viet Tan, bought black paint
and painted the letters ‘HS.TS.VN’ on the outside of a sewer and on the wall” of
an old school in Trung Ngai commune, Vung Liem district, Vinh Long province “in
order to incite people to protest” so that they could take pictures and send
them to the Viet Tan Party. “HS.TS.VN” stands for the Spratly and Paracel
islands, one of the major sources of territorial disputes between Vietnam and
China, an issue which the Vietnamese authorities deem highly sensitive.
Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Dang Xuan Dieu, Nong Hung Anh, Thai Van Dung, and Tran Minh
Nhat have blogged in favor of freedom of expression and in support of the
establishment of a multi-party and pluralist political system. Before the trial,
Dang Xuan Dieu said, “I have done nothing contrary to my conscience, so although
the authorities may punish me physically and impose a severe sentence upon me,
the government is only thereby trampling on the eternal good morals of the
Vietnamese nation, which as its affair is a matter for which it must bear
responsibility.”
Human Rights Watch said that the case of Le Van Son (also known as Paulus Le
Son), a 27-year-old blogger whose postings reported on land disputes, assaults
by local authorities on fellow activists, police abuse, and discrimination
against HIV patients, shows the misuse of the courts for political purposes.
Before he was arrested, Le Van Son tried to observe the trials of other
dissidents, such as the
prominent legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu. As Le Van Son wrote in one posting,
“After all, those who are charged with ‘anti-government crimes’ are the ones who
use precious construction material to … point out the cracks, the holes and the
deep abyss in a political regime which faces the danger of collapse.” He was
sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment followed by five years’ controlled
residence. Dang Xuan Dieu, who received the same sentence, has said of the
allegations against him, “I have done nothing contrary to my conscience, so
although the authorities may punish me physically and impose a severe sentence
upon me, the government is only thereby trampling on the eternal good morals of
the Vietnamese nation, which as its affair is a matter for which it must bear
responsibility.”
Many of the 14 are affiliated with the Redemptorist Thai Ha church in Hanoi and
Ky Dong church in Ho Chi Minh City, known for strongly backing bloggers and
other peaceful religious and rights activists. Over the last two years, both
churches have regularly held prayer vigils expressing support for those they
consider prisoners of conscience and detainees otherwise held for their
political or religious belief. Dang Xuan Dieu, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Nguyen Van
Duyet, Ho Van Oanh, Tran Minh Nhat, Thai Van Dung, Nong Hung Anh, and Le Van Son
either took media courses organized by the Redemptorist churches or contributed
writing to its website. The Redemptorists, formally known as the Congregation of
the Most Holy Redeemer, are a Catholic missionary congregation founded in Italy
in 1732 that currently operate in more than 77 countries worldwide.
Redemptorist activists have been a growing voice among Vietnamese movements for
democracy and human rights in recent years, especially in areas where they have
a considerable presence, such as Nghe An, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City. Some
Redemptorist churches and parishes have become centers of dissent. Religiously
affiliated activists have been targeted for
arrest and other forms of harassment and intimidation, including
restrictions on movement, violent assaults on individuals, and the deployment of
armed security forces around churches.
“It is not clear if those convicted were targeted for alleged affiliations with
Viet Tan, being members of the Redemptorist church, or simply for their
activism,” said Adams. “Whatever the reason, the government appears despotic to
its own people and the world when it says that someone who tries to uphold the
rights of others is a threat to the state.”
The Case of Le Quoc Quan
Human Rights Watch also called for politically motivated charges to be dropped
against prominent dissident Le Quoc Quan, who was arrested on December 27, 2012,
nine days after he wrote an article entitled, “Constitution or a contract for
electricity and water service?” The piece criticized the National Assembly for
keeping article 4 in the new draft constitution and other issues related to the
constitution. Article 4 states that the Communist Party has the leading role in
Vietnam. Le Quoc Quan’s piece opened by stating, “I know my following lines will
probably be thrown into a garbage can by the Communist Party. Worse, I may be
put in prison. Nevertheless, my belief in human beings, the importance of the
issue and the consciousness of a citizen urged me to write.” The piece was
published on December 18 by the BBC.
Le Quoc Quan’s arrest is only the latest in a long series of efforts by the
authorities to put an end to his advocacy for human rights and the rule of law,
including efforts to turn the official promise of religious freedom into
reality. He has been a prolific blogger on a wide variety of subjects, ranging
from law to Vietnam’s relations with China. He was
imprisoned for a period in 2007, repeatedly threatened with re-arrest after
release, subject to
police interrogation and detention, and beaten up by mysterious assailants.
Politically motivated charges of tax evasion have been used to imprison other
political dissidents, including
blogger Nguyen Van Hai (a.k.a Dieu Cay). Two of Le Quoc Quan’s relatives,
his brother Le Dinh Quan and his cousin Nguyen Thi Oanh, have been detained as a
result of the same allegation. His arrest followed shortly after he circulated a
commentary condemning constitutional guarantees of Communist Party leadership of
the Vietnamese political system.
“The government has targeted Le Quoc Quan because of the power of his ideas and
the fact that many people in Vietnam agree with him,” said Adams. “It is time
for Vietnam’s donors to tell the government that it can no longer conduct
business as usual while it keeps locking up people whose only crime is wanting
the right to speak their minds and set the country on the path of democracy.”
Short Bios of the 14
Convicted
Dang Ngoc Minh,
55, is a housewife from Tra Vinh city, Tra Vinh province. She was arrested on
August 2, 2011, charged under clause 2 of article 79, and sentenced to three
years’ imprisonment plus two years’ controlled residence. Dang Ngoc Minh is the
mother of Nguyen Dang Minh Man and Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc, both also convicted.
Dang Xuan Dieu,
33, is a Catholic activist and a businessman from Vinh, Nghe An province. He was
arrested on August 2, 2011, in Ho Chi Minh City, charged under clause 1 of
article 79, and sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment plus five years’ controlled
residence.
Ho Duc Hoa,
38, is a businessman from Vinh, Nghe An province. He was arrested on August 2,
2011, in Ho Chi Minh City, charged under clause 1 of article 79, and sentenced
to 13 years’ imprisonment plus five years’ controlled residence.
Ho Van Oanh,
27, is a Catholic student from Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province. He was
arrested on August 16, 2011, in Ho Chi Minh City, charged under clause 2 of
article 79, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment plus two years’
controlled residence.
Le Van Son,
who blogs as Paulus Le Son, age 27, is a Catholic activist and a blogger. He was
arrested on August 3, 2011, in Hanoi, charged under clause 1 of article 79, and
sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment plus five years’ controlled residence.
Nguyen Dang Minh Man,
27, is a Catholic activist from Tra Vinh city, Tra Vinh province. She was
arrested on August 2, 2011, charged under clause 1 of article 79, and sentenced
to eight years’ imprisonment plus five years’ controlled residence. She is the
daughter of Dang Ngoc Minh and sister of Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc, both also
convicted.
Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc,
32, is a worker from Tra Vinh city, Tra Vinh province. He was arrested on August
2, 2011, charged under clause 2 of article 79, and convicted to three years’
imprisonment, which was conditionally suspended. Nguyen Dang Vinh Phuc is the
son of Dang Ngoc Minh and brother of Nguyen Dang Minh Man, both also convicted.
Nguyen Dinh Cuong,
31, is a Catholic activist and a businessman from Vinh, Nghe An province. He was
arrested on December 24, 2011, in Nghe An province, charged under clause 2 of
article 79, and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment plus three years’
controlled residence.
Nguyen Van Duyet,
32, is a Catholic activist from Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province. He was
arrested on August 7, 2011, charged under clause 2 of article 79, and sentenced
to six years’ imprisonment plus four years’ controlled residence.
Nguyen Van Oai,
31, is a Catholic activist from Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province. He was
arrested on August 2, 2011, in Ho Chi Minh City, charged under clause 2 of
article 79, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment plus two years’
controlled residence.
Nguyen Xuan Anh,
30, is a Catholic activist from Vinh, Nghe An province. He was arrested on
August 7, 2011, in Nghe An province, charged under clause 2 of article 79, and
sentenced to three years’ imprisonment plus two years’ controlled residence.
Nong Hung Anh,
29, is a Protestant activist and a student from Lang Son city, Lang Son
province. He was arrested on August 5, 2011, in Hanoi, charged under clause 2 of
article 79, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment plus three years’
controlled residence.
Thai Van Dung,
24, is a Catholic activist from Dien Chau district, Nghe An province. He was
arrested on August 19, 2011, in Hanoi, charged under clause 2 of article 79, and
sentenced to five years’ imprisonment plus three years’ controlled residence.
Tran Minh Nhat,
24, is a Catholic activist and a student from Lam Ha district, Lam Dong
province. He was arrested on August 27, 2011, in Ho Chi Minh City, charged under
clause 2 of article 79, and sentenced to four years in prison plus three years’
controlled residence.