Vietnam Free Expression Newsletter No. 31/2019 – Week of July 29-August 4

Prisoners of Conscience

A court in Bac Ninh province sentenced Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) protester Ha Van Nam to 30 months in prison this week for “causing public disorder.” Authorities allege he incited others to protest and block a highway. Since 2018, Ha Van Nam, with his friends in the Facebook group “Friends on the Long Road,” has protested against the toll stations, which are allegedly placed in incorrect areas or have earned money past their allotted contract times. Six others— Nguyen Quynh Phong, Le Van Khiem, Nguyen Tuan Quan, Vu Van Ha, Ngo Quang Hung, and Tran Quang Hai– were convicted in the same trial, receiving sentences of between 18 and 36 months in prison. Supporters were barred from entering the courtroom. Before the trial, Joanne Mariner, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Adviser, gave a statement expressing concern about the trial and demanding Ha Van Nam’s immediate and unconditional release. She said, “Ha Van Nam was peacefully reporting allegations of injustice, human rights violations and corruption in Vietnam. This vindictive prosecution simply proves his point.”

From top left: Dao Quang Thuc, Nguyen Van Tuc, Truong Minh Duc, and Tran Phi Dung
The political prisoners in Prison No.6, Nghe An province, have stopped their hunger strikes after having been allowed to call home. Their families confirmed the information after visiting the prison on July 29. Dao Quang Thuc, Nguyen Van Tuc, Truong Minh Duc, and Tran Phi Dung had been protesting prison conditions, stemming from the prison authorities’ refusal to provide fans during a recent heat wave. Prisoners in other prisons also had joined them in solidarity. They ended the strike on July 21, after being on strike since June 10; the prison finally provided them with fans. However, they are prepared to resume striking if they are denied their legal right to call home in future months.
And indeed, troubling incidents persist at Prison No. 6 even after the end of the hunger strike. On August 2, 2019, Mrs Kim Thanh, wife of political prisoner Truong Minh Duc, met her husband in prison. The meeting was shortened to half an hour, instead of an hour as normal. The procedures for visiting were abnormally long and under tight control. They were allowed to talk to each other only through phones behind glass. The meeting was suddenly interrupted after 10 minutes. Mrs Thanh said that during the meeting, she told Duc about her incident on July 12 after trying to visit him, and suddenly a prison officer stopped the phone call. Mr Duc was angry and beat the phone against the table. Immediately, he was warned that he would be disciplined for damaging public assets.

Nguyen Dang Minh Man and her mother on her release day. Source: Facebook Nguyen Khanh
Nguyen Dang Minh Man was released from prison on August 2, 2019 after completing her eight-year sentence. The Catholic activist and photojournalist was arrested in 2011 for recording peaceful protests. Behind bars, she endured difficult conditions, went on hunger strike, and was allegedly also placed in solitary confinement. She will now have to serve five years of house arrest. Upon her release, Minh Man remarked that she was tired but thanked her supporters. Her mother, Mrs. Dang Ngoc Minh, told the BBCthat she didn’t receive any information from the authorities about time and location of her daughter’s release.

Lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng said that Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen, a US citizen who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June, has submitted his petition for appeal, asking for a reduction in his sentence. Nguyen was convicted of subversion for allegedly planning to incite protests and attack government offices. The 88 Project is aware of and investigating the claims of violence involved in these cases. However, in the absence of a free press environment, the defendants should be given the benefit of the doubt, and any accusation by the authorities against them should not be taken for granted. Nguyen’s family has maintained that he is not involved in any activism and was in Vietnam solely to visit family.

Kim Nga, political prisoner Ngo Van Dung’s wife, finally met with him after 11 months of separation. Dung told his wife that he did nothing wrong and he had filed a petition. However, the police didn’t allow Dung to tell Nga what type of petition that he had filed. Dung was arrested on September 4, 2018 and is charged with “disrupting security” under Article 118 of the 2015 Criminal Code. On September 27, 2018, a fan page supporting the state’s propaganda formally admitted that Ho Chi Minh city’s police arrested nine members of the civil society group Hien Phap, with the intention to investigate them for criminal prosecution. This included Ngo Van Dung. Beginning on September 1, police secretly began to detain the members and withheld information about their detentions from their families. The group had planned to promote peaceful demonstrations in early September and aims to educate citizens about their constitutional rights.

This week, we remember the arrest and trial anniversaries of the following political prisoners:

From top left: Nguyen Bac Truyen, Pham Van Troi, Truong Minh Duc, Nguyen Trung Ton, and Nguyen Trung Truc

The One Free Press Coalition of media organizations released their updated list of The 10 Most Urgent Press Freedom Cases Around the World. On the list, they named Vietnamese blogger and former political prisoner Truong Duy Nhat. Nhat was kidnapped, allegedly with the help of Thai forces, while trying to claim asylum in Bangkok in January; he was missing for several weeks and later located in prison in Hanoi, where he remains. He is now charged with abuse of authority from a position several years ago after authorities failed to make a case against him for an alleged fraudulent land purchase; he denies all charges.

NEWS & ANALYSIS