European Union:
Press Vietnam to Respect Human Rights
Dialogue Planned for
January 12 in Hanoi
Human Rights Watch
(New York,
January 11, 2012) – The European Union should press Vietnam to release all
political prisoners and to carry out concrete improvements in freedom of
expression, assembly, association, and religion during a dialogue in Hanoi on
January 12, 2012, Human Rights Watch said today
in a
memo to the EU.
During 2011, at least 33 peaceful bloggers and rights activists were
convicted of crimes for expressing their political and religious beliefs. The
authorities arrested at least 27 other rights activists pending investigation
and/or trial. In addition, two bloggers –
Nguyen Van Hai (a.k.a. Dieu Cay)
and
Phan Thanh Hai (a.k.a. Anhbasg) –
have been held without trial since 2010. A land rights activist,
Bui Thi Minh Hang, was sent to an
education camp for two years of administrative detention without trial for
participating in peaceful protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City that took place
between June and August.
In the 13-page memo, Human Rights Watch said the EU should press the
Vietnamese government for progress in four key areas: respecting freedom of
speech and association and releasing dissidents detained for exercising those
rights; respecting the right to practice religion freely; addressing abuse by
police and officials in detention centers and ending impunity for such abuse;
and halting forced labor in drug rehabilitation centers, re-education centers,
and centers for sex workers and homeless people.
“Vietnam’s diplomats like to tout the country’s respect for rule of law to
foreign partners,” said
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia
director at Human Rights Watch. “But a justice system that imprisons people who
protest peacefully contradicts the government’s empty assurances. EU officials
should use the dialogue to demand the same respect for international legal
commitments to human rights that they expect for the provisions of international
trade and aid agreements.”
Following the conclusion of a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in
2010, the EU and Vietnam agreed to conduct an annual human rights dialogue that
will alternate between Brussels and Hanoi. The first round of the dialogue will
take place on January 12, 2012, in Hanoi.
The EU should call for the immediate release of all political prisoners
facing serious health problems so that they can receive proper medical
treatment, Human Rights Watch said. In July and September, 2011, at least two
political prisoners – Nguyen Van Trai and Truong Van Suong – died in jail.
The EU should raise grave concerns about the health of a number of current
prisoners. For example, the poet and anti-corruption campaigner Nguyen Huu Cau,
65, has served a total of 34 years in prison since 1975 – from 1975-1980 in a
re-education camp and from 1982 until the present for exposing corruption of
local authorities. He has lost most of his vision and is almost completely deaf.
Hoa Hao activist Mai Thi Dung, 42, serving an 11-year prison term for
advocating Hoa Hao Buddhism, is gravely ill, with both feet paralyzed, and is
suffering from heart disease and gallstones, said Hoa Hao Buddhist activists who
visited her in 2010.
“Both Nguyen Huu Cau and Mai Thi Dung should be immediately released so they can
receive proper medical treatment,” Robertson said. “The EU should ask the
Vietnam authorities what they have to fear from severely ill prisoners and why
they can’t afford to make the humanitarian gesture of medical parole.”
Some other political prisoners facing difficult health conditions include
the
Catholic activist Nguyen Van Ly,
the
Hoa Hao Buddhist campaigner Nguyen Van Lia,
and the
labor advocate Do Thi Minh Hanh.
All three are serving long prison terms for peacefully exercising their rights.
In addition to asking for the immediate release of political prisoners and
detainees, the EU should urge Vietnam to honor its commitment to freedom of
speech, association, and religion, Human Rights Watch said. The country should
also end brutality by prison officials and
forced labor practices in drug
rehabilitation centers and centers for sex workers.
“Recent research by Human Rights Watch found cashews and other goods being
produced by forced labor in drug detention centers and then exported,” Robertson
said. “The EU should advocate a different, more humane and evidence-based model
for rehabilitation and ensure that no goods tainted by forced labor are imported
into the Community.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Vietnam, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/asia/vietnam
For more information, please contact:
In Bangkok, Phil Robertson (English, Thai): +66-85-060-8406; or
robertp@hrw.org
In Brussels, Claire Ivers
(English): +32-47-863-253 (mobile); or
iversc@hrw.org
In Washington, DC, John Sifton (English): +1-646-479-2499 (mobile); or
siftonj@hrw.org