The media has been buzzing lately with news about Vietnam– the protests of the large-scale fish deaths, President Obama’s visit (and the question of lifting the arms ban), and the much-welcomed release of Father Nguyen Van Ly from his fourth, and hopefully final, prison sentence. We also want to make sure that news circulates about […]
The U.S. State Department’s latest report on human rights in Vietnam notes the lack of female and minority participation in national decision-making, despite the introduction of quotas. According to the report, less than one quarter of the National Assembly is made up of women, and only two out of 28 cabinet positions are held by females. […]
In Hanoi this month, police detained ~30 people in a protest over land grabs. The entire protest drew about 100 participants and 200-300 police. Radio Free Asia notes that, “Land grabs in which government officials use their authority to confiscate and sell land to developers are a common cause of social unrest across Southeast Asia, […]
It seems like Vietnam’s New Year’s resolution for 2016 is the same as it was in 2015: find new ways to intimidate, harass, and otherwise abuse the human rights of activists. Recent events in the country demonstrate the increasingly non-traditional and interconnected ways by which the government cracks down on dissent. During a protest in […]
The 88 Project is pleased to learn that blogger and former police officer Ta Phong Tan has been released early from her 10-year prison sentence in Vietnam. Tan, though, has been exiled from Vietnam and sent to the United States. Tan was arrested in 2011, tried in 2012, and charged under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal […]
Dear Official: September 2nd is National Day, the day of Vietnam’s independence, and the day during which, at least in recent years, Vietnam has granted amnesty to select prisoners. I was pleased to learn last week that Vietnam will release upwards of 18,000 prisoners this year. However, I was greatly displeased to learn that not […]
On July 1, Le Thanh Tung, 46, was freed early from a four year sentence that he was serving under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. Tung is a journalist and former soldier and has been associated with Bloc 8406. Radio Free Asia reports that he has been detained 13 times since becoming an activist. […]
This week, Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary makes a high-profile trip to the United States. At a meeting between Secretary Nguyen Phi Trong and President Obama earlier this week, President Obama mentioned how he’d also like to visit Vietnam. As ties between the two countries apparently continue to soften, the US must keep human rights […]
We have a big thank you to send out to 15 members of Congress for their recent letter to Vietnam’s President and Prime Minister. The May 28th letter calls on Vietnam to release 28 political prisoners, highlighting in particular Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, a blogger and entrepreneur currently serving a 16-year sentence under Article 88. […]
Occupation: Blogger and activist Arrest Date: February 11, 2014 Trial Date: August 26, 2014 Sentence: Three years Bui Thi Minh Hang, mother, popular blogger, and champion of land and religious rights, is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in Vietnam. For years, Hang has been involved in activism regarding freedom of religion, land rights, and […]