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 […]
Imprisoned blogger and former police officer, Ta Phong Tan, who is serving ten years for her peaceful activism, began a hunger strike on May 13th. We’ve recently learned that Tan ended the strike on June 4th and is reportedly no longer in a critical health condition. However, Tan remains in solitary confinement and continues to […]
This past month, we celebrated World Press Freedom Day, as well as Vietnam Human Rights Day. Additionally, the US held a dialogue with Vietnam about human rights, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Vietnam. Yet, despite all of this international attention on Vietnam, attacks on activists persisted, demonstrating that the US should not send […]
The 88 Project recently learned that Ta Phong Tan, blogger and former police officer currently serving 10 years in prison under Article 88, has been on hunger strike since May 13th, 2015. Tan is protesting the cruel treatment of prisoners. Her sister visited her in prison on June 3, 2015 and reported that Tan is […]
As April gives way to May, we celebrated World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd) and prepare to celebrate Vietnam Human Rights Day (May 11th). We also remember the one-year anniversary of the death of Dinh Dang Dinh, an environmental activist and blogger who died of stomach cancer on April 3, 2014, only a month after […]
Article 19– International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in […]