Amnesty International 26 July 2013 Imprisoned Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Van Hai, known as Dieu Cay or “the peasant’s pipe”, has been on hunger strike since around 20 June in protest at the harsh treatment of himself and other political prisoners. He is serving a 12-year sentence for his writings and his health has deteriorated badly. He is a prisoner of conscience. Read full report here.
UK Home Office June 2013 This document provides UK Border Agency caseworkers with guidance on the nature and handling of the most common types of claims received from nationals/residents of Vietnam, including whether claims are or are not likely to justify the granting of asylum, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave. Caseworkers must refer to the relevant Asylum Instructions for further details of the policy on these areas. Read full report here.
Reporters Without Borders 27 May 2013 Public security ministry officials yesterday arrested Truong Duy Nhat, one of Vietnam’s most influential bloggers, at his home in the central city of Da Nang and escorted him by plane to Hanoi. “Nhat’s arrest is particularly disturbing as it shows that the government is bent on persecuting and jailing all dissidents, despite the many calls for the release of five bloggers when their appeals were heard last week,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We call for Nhat’s immediate and unconditional release and an end to this unjustified persecution.” Nhat was arrested on a charge of “abusing Read the full article…
Human Rights Watch 24 May 2013 The Vietnam government systematically suppresses freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and persecutes those who question government policies, expose official corruption, or call for democratic alternatives to one-party rule. Police harass and intimidate activists and their family members. Authorities arbitrarily arrest activists, hold them incommunicado for long periods without access to legal counsel or family visits, subject them to torture, and prosecute them in politically pliant courts that mete out long prison sentences for violating vaguely worded national security laws. In 2012, police used excessive force in response to public protests over evictions, Read the full article…
Amnesty International 23 May 2013 Repression of government critics and activists worsened, with severe restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly. At least 25 peaceful dissidents, including bloggers and songwriters, were sentenced to long prison terms in 14 trials that failed to meet international standards. Members of ethnic and religious groups faced human rights violations. At least 86 people were sentenced to death, with more than 500 on death row. Read full report here.
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 30 April 2013 The government of Vietnam continues to expand control over all religious activities, severely restrict independent religious practice, and repress individuals and religious groups it views as challenging its authority. Religious activity continues to grow in Vietnam and the government has made some important changes in the past decade in response to international attention, including from its designation as a “country of particular concern” (CPC). Nevertheless, authorities continue to imprison or detain individuals for reasons related to their religious activity or religious freedom advocacy; independent religious activity remains repressed; the government Read the full article…
US Department of State 19 April 2013 The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by a single party, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and President Truong Tan Sang. The most recent National Assembly elections, held in May 2011, were neither free nor fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. The most significant human rights problems in the country continued to be severe government restrictions on citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government; increased measures to limit citizens’ civil liberties; and corruption Read the full article…
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office April 2013 SECTION IX: Human Rights in the Countries of Concern This section contains our review of the human rights situation in 27 countries where the UK Government has wide-ranging concerns. For this year’s report, we decided to review thoroughly the criteria we use for deciding which countries are of most human rights concern to the UK. We drew on feedback from the Foreign Affairs Committee and consulted with the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights in doing so. Our geographical directors, with input from our embassies and high commissions overseas, subsequently assessed all Read the full article…
Freedom House 30 January 2013 The government in 2012 continued its crackdown on dissent, particularly online, arresting and jailing additional bloggers and online columnists. Serious economic problems—including inflation and massive debts at state-owned enterprises—reportedly fueled turmoil within the ruling Communist Party and tighter controls on discussion of high-level party activities. Also during the year, the government drafted a decree that would expand the definition of speech crimes on the internet and force internet providers to block and filter content more thoroughly. Read full report here.
Committee to Protect Journalists via RefWorld 22 February 2012 Key Developments Several bloggers imprisoned in clampdown on political dissent. New regulations give authorities greater power to curb sensitive reporting. Vietnam intensified a media crackdown targeting online journalists and bloggers, reasserting the government’s near-total control of domestic news media. Authorities arrested and detained five bloggers and contributors to online news publications, bringing to nine the number of journalists behind bars. Political bloggers Pham Minh Hoang and Vi Duc Hoi were both given harsh prison sentences on antistate charges related to their writings. Authorities continued to hold and deny visitation privileges for Read the full article…