(RSF/IFEX) – On 2 January 2003, RSF strongly condemned the sentencing of cyber-dissident Nguyen Khac Toan to 12 years in prison, as well as the flagrant violation of his right to a fair trial. The organisation called on Justice Minister Uong Chu Luu to free him at once. RSF noted that the prison term is […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 2 January 2003, RSF strongly condemned the sentencing of cyber-dissident Nguyen Khac Toan to 12 years in prison, as well as the flagrant violation of his right to a fair trial. The organisation called on Justice Minister Uong Chu Luu to free him at once. RSF noted that the prison term is the heaviest ever imposed on a cyber-dissident in Vietnam. Moreover, this attack on freedom of expression confirms the government’s determination to follow China’s policy of widespread repression of Internet users.
On 20 December, a “people’s court” in Hanoi sentenced Nguyen Khac Toan to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of spying for e-mailing material to allegedly “reactionary” Vietnamese human rights organisations abroad. The authorities consider this crime to be in violation of Article 80 of the Criminal Code. The hearing, which lasted only a few hours, was held in secret, in violation of Article 131 of the national Constitution. No one was allowed access to the hearing, including Nguyen Khac Toan’s family members. He was only allowed to see his lawyer twice, a few days before the trial, but was not able to talk to him in private.
Nguyen Khac Toan, a former army officer, was arrested on 8 January 2002 in a Hanoi cybercafé and has since been held in the B14 prison not far from the city.
RSF notes that three other cyber-dissidents are in prison in Vietnam. Le Chi Quang, who is in poor health, was sentenced to four years in jail on 8 November for advocating political reforms on the Internet (see IFEX alerts of 27 December, 8 November, 23 and 9 October, 27 September, 15 August and 14 March 2002). Pham Hong Son, who was arrested on 29 March (see IFEX alerts of 27 December, 23 October, 15 August, 26 July and 18 April 2002), and journalist Nguyen Vu Binh, who was arrested on 25 September (see IFEX alerts of 27 December, 23 and 9 October, 27 September and 23 July 2002), are in prison for having expressed opinions online and have not yet been tried. Tran Khue, a literature teacher who wrote a letter to then Chinese President Jiang Zemin which he put on the Internet, has been under house arrest since 10 March (see IFEX alerts of 4 July and 14 March 2002).
