Vietnam Free Expression Newsletter No. 39/2019 – Week of September 23-29
Featured photo: Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong (left) and Vu Thi Dung at their first instance trial on May 10, 2019. Source: Tuoi Tre Newspaper
Greetings from The 88 Project! We are bringing you news, analysis, and actions regarding human rights and civil society in Vietnam during the week of September 23-29. Two female Facebookers, Vu Thi Dung and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong, had their appeals of their sentences denied this week. And Facebooker Nguyen Quoc Duc Vuong, from Lam Dong province, was arrested. Another, Trong Nhan Tran, was also “invited” to work with public security this week. In addition, BOT toll booth protester Tran Dinh Sang was sentenced to two years in prison. Behind bars, video blogger Nguyen Van Dien is on hunger strike for the second time this year. Plus, new information has surfaced regarding threats against freelancer Nguyen Van Hoa while he was in solitary confinement for four months this summer. This week, we have analysis on the indictment against blogger Truong Duy Nhat for alleged “abuse of position and power,” a charge that we believe is politically-motivated. Dissident writer Pham Doan Trang is going on a social media hiatus to receive medical treatment for injuries related to her activism. In the news, read about social media in Vietnam and community support for detained Australian citizen Chau Van Kham. In case you missed it, watch our full interview with land rights activist and former political prisoner Can Thi Theu. And please take action for detained single mother Doan Thi Hong, who is suffering from health issues and is detained in violation of domestic criminal law.
HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL SOCIETY







- Doan Khanh Vinh Quang, Facebooker sentenced to two years and three months in prison on September 24, 2018

- 15 Binh Thuan protesters who participated in June 2018 national demonstrations, tried on September 26, 2018, and sentenced to between 2-4.5 years in prison
- Nguyen Viet Dung, founder of the Republican Party of Vietnam, arrested September 27, 2017, and sentenced to six years in prison
- Bui Manh Dong, Facebooker tried on September 27, 2017, and sentenced to two years and six months in prison

NEWS & ANALYSIS
Persecution in Vietnam: a Christian human rights lawyer’s story, Christian Today, September 26, 2019: “CT: You spent four years in prison. What were the conditions like? Did your Christian faith help you through this time? Nguyen [Van Dai]: The first time I was in prison there was lots of suffering, especially in the first ten months. We had no clean water for drinking and had to use a sock to filter it at least five times so it was drinkable. They also gave us vegetables which were very dirty – they would put them on the floor and there were slugs and leeches on them. We would get a very small bit of meat on one day each week.”
Supporters rally for Australian retiree detained in Vietnam, Lin Evlin, SBS News, September 28, 2019: “Mr Chau [Van Kham]’s son Dennis Chau, who is based in London, recently delivered a 33-page letter advocating his father’s case to Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s office in Sydney. ‘I thought it’d be a last-ditch effort for the government to take notice … We don’t want him to be forgotten,’ he said. ‘I was told by her office that she would get back to me but I haven’t heard anything yet.’ Mr Chau wife, Trang Chau said the family is also bitterly disappointed by the lack of vocal support by the Prime Minister for his case.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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