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Vietnam: Joint letter to Prime Minister calling for the release of human rights defendersposted on: 2012/03/13

Front Line Defenders together with other international human rights organisations have sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung calling for the immediate release of HRDs and the dismissal of all charges against them.

Vietnam: Update – Sentence of human rights defender Pham Minh Hoang reduced to 17 months on appealposted on: 2011/11/29

On 29 November 2011, the Court of Appeals of the Supreme People's Court reduced the sentence of human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang from three years to 17 months.

Vietnam: Update - Appeal against conviction of human rights defender Pham Minh Hoang to take place on 29 November 2011posted on: 2011/11/25

The appeal lodged by human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang will take place on 29 November 2011. It will start at 7.30 am at the Court of Appeals of the Supreme People's Court, 131 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 1, Saigon.

Vietnam: Front Line joins international NGOs in calling for the release of imprisoned journalists, bloggers, and human rights defendersposted on: 2011/11/14

On 9 November 2011, Front Line, together with six other organisations, submitted a letter to Hoang Chi Trung, Director-General of the Department of International Organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, calling for the release of over 20 detained journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders.

Vietnam: Update – Front Line Defenders informed of the locations of detained human rights defenders posted on: 2011/10/10

On 29 September 2011, Front Line Defenders was informed through local contacts of the locations of eight human rights defenders who were arrested by police officers and officials of the Ministry of Public Security between 30 July and 16 August 2011. Initially, they had been held incommunicado at an unknown location.

Vietnam: Front Line Defenders joins international NGOs in calling for the release of human rights defender Mr Pham Minh Hoang posted on: 2011/10/10

On 4 October 2011, Front Line Defenders and nine other international digital freedom and human rights organisations submitted a joint letter to H.E. Nguyen Tan Dung, the Prime Minister of Vietnam calling for the release of human rights defender Mr Pham Minh Hoang, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment on 10 August 2011.

Vietnam: UPDATE – Human rights defender Pham Minh Hoang sentenced to three years imprisonmentposted on: 2011/08/17

On 10 August 2011, human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang was sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Ho Chi Minh People's Court for violating Article 79 of the Vietnamese Penal Code for “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration”.

Further Information

Prof. Pham Minh Hoang was arrested on 13 August 2010 and was denied bail until his trial on 10 August 2011. It is believed that he was arrested and subsequently sentenced for belonging to Viet Tan, a pro-democracy group. Viet Tan is currently banned by the Vietnamese authorities. According to the information received, only Prof. Pham Minh Hoang's wife and his attorney were allowed in the court while his mother, siblings, and supporters were stopped at the gate and sent away. The trial started at 8.00am and concluded at 11.30am. Security officers in both uniform, and civilian clothing, were positioned on the streets outside the courthouse preventing people from gathering or passing by.

Prof. Pham Minh Hoang, a human right defender and environmentalist, has actively campaigned against bauxite mining in the Central Highlands region.

Vietnam: Update - Trial of human rights defender Pham Minh Hoang commencesposted on: 2011/08/09

On 10 August 2011, the trial of human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang is due to commence before the Ho Chi Minh People's Court.

Further Information

Pham Min Hoang is being brought before the court under Section 79 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code which states that " [those] who carry out activities, establish or join organisations with intent to overthrow the people's administration shall be [...] sentenced to between twelve and twenty years of imprisonment or capital punishment".

Pham Minh Hoang has actively campaigned against bauxite mining in the Central Highlands region. He used the pseudonym, Phan Kien Quoc to blog extensively on the root causes of problems facing Vietnam. He was also involved in organising workshops on leadership skills for his students and sought to empower and encourage future leaders to make a difference in society.

For further information on this case, please refer to Previous Front Line Urgent Appeal

Vietnam: Judicial harassment, police surveillance, and intimidation of human rights defender Mr Huynh Van Dongposted on: 2011/08/02

In a letter received by human rights defender Mr Huynh Van Dong on 22 July 2011, the Daklak Bar Association accuses him of violating the Vietnamese Lawyers' Code of Conduct because he provided legal representation to clients persecuted for being critical of the government.

Further Information

Huynh Van Dong is a human rights lawyer and a member of the Daklak Bar Association. He has been a practicing lawyer since 2003 and works primarily on cases concerning the protection of land rights and the right to freedom of expression.

On 22 July 2011, Huynh Van Dong received a letter from the Daklak Bar Association requesting that he present himself before the Association on 31 July 2011 in order to discuss his work, in particular for his representation of clients who are critical of the Government. The letter claims that through his work as a lawyer, Huynh Van Dong has violated the code of conduct applicable to lawyers, as well as damaged the interests of the Vietnamese Government.

Huynh Van Dong was informally told by an official at the Daklak Bar Association that the Association wanted to terminate his membership and advised him to find another job.

Vietnam: UPDATE - Appeals court reduces jail sentence of human rights defender Mr Vi Duc Hoiposted on: 2011/04/26

On 26 April 2011 human rights defender Mr Vi Duc Hoi had his jail sentence reduced from eight years to five years by an appeals court in northern Lang Son province. This sentence will be followed by three years house arrest.

Further Information

Front Line renews calls that Vi Duc Hoi be released immediately as the charges are a direct result of his legitimate and peaceful work as a democracy activist and in the defence of human rights, and sees it as forming part of an ongoing pattern of harassment against human rights defenders in Vietnam.

See here the original case

Vietnam: UPDATE - Human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang remains in detention without having been brought to trialposted on: 2011/04/06

Almost eight months since his initial arrest, human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang remains in detention without having been brought to trial. Furthermore, Phan Minh Hoang's lawyer has yet to be granted access to his file.

Further Information

Pham Minh Hoang is a lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic Institute and an anti-mining activist. He faces charges of “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration” under Article 79 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, an offence which carries the death penalty as a maximum sentence.He was arrested in Saigon on 13 August 2010 on suspicion of belonging to an outlawed organisation. The authorities did not acknowledge his arrest until 9 September, after almost one month of incommunicado detention in an unknown location.

Front Line believes that the ongoing detention of Phan Minh Hoang is directly related to his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights.

Vietnam: Update – Human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang charged with attempting to overthrow the administration posted on: 2010/09/30

Human rights defender Professor Pham Minh Hoang has been officially charged under Article 79 of the Vietnamese Penal Code with “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration”, an offence which carries the death penalty as a maximum sentence. It has been reported that he will be detained for at least four months while investigations are being carried out.

Vietnam: Court in Vietnam today upheld the guilty verdict against human rights defender Mrs Tran Khai Thanh Thuyposted on: 2010/04/16

Front Line regrets to inform you that a court in Vietnam today upheld the guilty verdict against human rights defender

Vietnam: UPDATE – Appeal hearing in the case of human rights defender Mrs Tran Khai Thanh Thuy scheduled to take place on 16 April 2010posted on: 2010/04/09

The appeal hearing in the case of Tran Khai Thanh Thuy and her husband Mr Do Ba Tan will take place on 16 April in Hanoi. Tran Khai Thanh Thuy was recently sentenced to three and a half years in prison having been convicted on fabricated assault charges. Her husband, Do Ba Tan, was sentenced to two years under house arrest.

Vietnam: UPDATE – Human Rights Defender Ms Pham Thanh Nghien has been sentenced to four years in prison for spreading propaganda against the stateposted on: 2010/01/29

Human rights defender Ms Pham Thanh Nghien has been sentenced to four years in prison followed by three years under house arrest, having been found guilty of spreading propaganda against the state. The trial was closed to Western media and diplomats who have previously been allowed to watch such proceedings on closed-circuit at the courthouse, despite the fact that European Union diplomats had requested permission to attend and observe the trial. Pham Thanh Nghien has been held in prison since she was arrested on 18 September 2008 for attempting to stage a peaceful protest.