Journalist under house arrest following weeks of harassment, detentions and interrogations over Internet writings

 

Date: 22 November 2006
Source: Writers in Prison Committee, International PEN
Person(s): Tran Khai Thanh
Target(s): journalist(s) , writer(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): detained , harassed , questioned
Urgency: Flash

 

(WiPC/IFEX) - WiPC is seriously concerned for the safety of the woman writer and journalist Tran Khai Thanh, who has been subject to serious harassment and sustained interrogations about her Internet writings since 2 September 2006. Her case appears to be part of a pattern of organised and widespread police harassment of dissident writers and human rights activists in Vietnam since August, apparently in the lead-up to the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit held in Hanoi from 12 to 19 November

WiPC is alarmed about the apparent crackdown on dissident writers and human rights activists in Vietnam in recent weeks, and reminds the Vietnamese government of its commitment to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory.

According to WiPC's information, writer and journalist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy (who also goes by the pen names Nguyen Thai Hoang and Nguyen Thi Hien) was briefly detained on 2 September for her Internet writings, followed by three weeks of daily interrogation sessions. She was again briefly detained on 11 October and interrogated about the essays "The Grotto", "Self-Narration" and "Dialogue", written after her detention in September. She was also reportedly brought to an open "People's Court", in which members of the public are forced to participate in the abuse and humiliation of those accused. She is now believed to have been placed under effective house arrest and has been banned from published her writings on-line.

Other dissident writers to have been recently subjected to police harassment, brief detention and house arrest include the following:

- Hoang Tien, Nguyen Khac Toan, and Nguyen Van Dai, editor, deputy editor and journalist respectively of the independent magazine "Tu do Dan Chu" ("Freedom and Democracy");
- Pham Hong Son, released from prison on 30 August 2006 and former main case of PEN;
- Novelist Nguyen Xuan Nghia;
- Pro-democracy activists and Internet writers Truong Quoc Huy, Vu Hoang Hai, Nguyen Ngoc Quang and Pham Ba Hai, arrested in August and September 2006 for their support of the Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam, a pro-democracy movement formed on 8 April 2006 known as "8406 Bloc".
- Essayist Do Nam Hai, reportedly arrested on 15 October 2006 and charged with "espionage" and "anti-Socialist propaganda" for drafting the Manifesto of the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam;
- Writer, lawyer and Mennonite pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, reportedly harassed and threatened;
- Lawyer and cyberdissident Le Thi Cong Nhan, repeatedly harassed and interrogated since September 2006;
- Lawyer and cyberdissident Bui Thi Kim Thanh, reportedly forcibly detained at a psychiatric hospital in Ho Chi Minh City since 4 November 2006.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to authorities:
- expressing serious concern for the safety of writer and journalist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, who has been subject to serious harassment for her Internet writings since September 2006
- expressing alarm about an apparent crackdown on dissident writers, pro-democracy and human rights activists in Vietnam in recent weeks
- reminding the Vietnamese government of its commitment to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory

APPEALS TO:

His Excellency Tran Duc Luong
President, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Pham Quang Nghi
Minister of Culture and Information
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Please note that there are no fax numbers available for the Vietnamese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for Vietnam in your country to forward your appeals. It would also be advantageous to ask your country's diplomatic representatives in Vietnam to intervene in the case.

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

MORE INFORMATION:

For further information, contact Cathy McCann, tel: +44 20 7253 3226, fax: +44 20 7253 5711, e-mail: cmccann@wipcpen.org, or the WiPC, International PEN, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, U.K., tel: +44 207 405 0338, fax: +44 207 405 0339, e-mail: wipc@internationalpen.org.uk, Internet: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk

 

 

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