Defend the Defenders, December 28, 2016: Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh, a young activist from Saigon, was kidnapped, interrogated and beaten two times by plainclothes police on December 26, the victim has told Defend the Defenders. Thanh, who is organizing a training course on activism for young individuals from the southern region, said on Monday’s afternoon […]
Blogger Trinh Kim Tien, HCM City, December 22, 2016: Before blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh was arrested for the crime of being a peaceful civil rights activist, she had often raised her voice to support Vietnamese prisoners of conscience and victims of injustice. Among them is Nguyen Huu Quoc Duy, whose appeal trial is going […]
Prominent blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, aka Mẹ Nấm (“Mother Mushroom”) was arrested in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam on Oct. 10, 2016 under Article 88 for “propaganda against the State.” As a co-founder and coordinator of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers and the 2015 Civil Rights Defender of the Year by Civil Rights Defenders, Mẹ Nấm […]
Because Vietnamese press has never been free. A brief review of international reports last month is enough to convey the situation of the press’ (lack of) freedom year-round: Human Rights Watch, April 4: “Vietnam: 7 Convicted in One Week. Long Prison Terms for Bloggers, Activists” – among them were three prominent bloggers/citizen journalists. U.S. State […]
LA TIMES, April 17, 2016 – Her food’s waiting — sizzling onion steak and fragrant catfish — but the woman on a mission does not pause between back-to-back interviews. She’s done nine since leaving Vietnam and landing in Los Angeles last week, rushing to Orange County’s Little Saigon, fiercely staying on message, softly sharing a […]
On March 22, less than 24 hours before the trial of prominent bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, families and friends of the two bloggers officially launched the book “Anh Ba Sam” in Ha Noi with foreign diplomats from Western embassies in attendance. “Anh Ba Sam” is the […]
AP – March 23, 2016: Former police officer faces seven years in prison after being accused of writing stories that ‘distorted the policies’ of the Communist Party The trial of a prominent Vietnamese blogger accused of anti-government posts has started amid protests in Hanoi. Nguyen Huu Vinh, a former police officer and son of a late […]
Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức’s family, on the Facebook page dedicated to their family member, political prisoner Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức, reported that Thức and four other political prisoners – Nguyễn Hoàng Quốc Hùng, Trần Vũ Anh Bình, Đinh Nguyên Kha, and Liêu Ly have been on a hunger strike since March 11, 2016. According to […]
PEN INTERNATIONAL, 8 March 2016 – PEN International condemns the ongoing harassment faced by blogger Tran Minh Nhat and his family ever since his release in August 2015. Initially arrested in August 2011, Tran was sentenced to four years in prison and three years in probationary detention for “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s […]
The League of Independent Vietnamese Writers (LIVW) announced its very first Vietnamese Literary Awards on March 3, 2016 – International Writers’ Day. Members, supporters and sponsors of the LIVW gathered at poet Y Nhi’s house in the suburb of Ho Chi Minh city to announce and deliver the awards, as the owner of the anticipated […]