Vietnam

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 26 August 2003 CPJ press release: VIETNAM: Journalist’s sentence reduced on appeal New York, August 26, 2003-In an appeal trial heard today, the Hanoi Supreme Court reduced the prison sentence of journalist Pham Hong Son from 13 years to five years. Son is still required to serve three years […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: New York, August 22, 2003-Vietnam’s Hanoi Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the appeal of journalist Pham Hong Son on Tuesday, August 26. Son is serving a 13-year sentence on espionage charges. “Pham Hong Son should never have been imprisoned,” said Ann Cooper, the executive director […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 16 July 2003 CPJ press release: VIETNAM: Imprisoned journalist offered exile as condition for release New York, July 16, 2003-A top Vietnamese government official has said that imprisoned writer and publisher Nguyen Dan Que would be released only if he agrees to leave Vietnam permanently and live in exile, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned a three-month ban on the weekly youth magazine “Sinh Vien Vietnam”. The magazine’s cover recently featured naked human statuettes and, last year, displayed a photo-montage of banknotes with an image of late President Ho Chi Minh floating in a toilet bowl. Calling on Culture and Information Minister Pham Quang Nghi […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a letter to President Tran Duc Luong, CPJ condemned the harsh sentencing of writer Pham Hong Son to 13 years in prison plus an additional three years of administrative detention, or house arrest, on charges of espionage, on 18 June 2003. Son was arrested on 27 March 2002, after circulating a series […]

(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a Human Rights Watch press release: Vietnam’s Crackdown on Cyber-dissidents Escalates Dismiss Charges Against Online Critic (New York, June 17, 2003) – The Vietnamese government should drop criminal charges against cyber-dissident Pham Hong Son, Human Rights Watch said today. Son is slated to be tried in Hanoi on June 18 […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 30 April 2003 letter to Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong, CPJ expressed its grave concern over two recent violent attacks on journalists in Vietnam. On 21 April, assailants set fire to the car of journalist Hoang Thien Nga outside her home in Dak Lak Province, in the Central Highlands. Nga, the […]

(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a 31 March 2003 HRW press release: Vietnam: UN Delegates Should Condemn Internet Arrests (New York, March 31, 2003) – Vietnam’s use of espionage charges against peaceful dissidents clearly violates Vietnam’s international human rights obligations and this practice should be strongly condemned by delegates at the United Nations Commission on […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 20 March 2003 letter to Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong, CPJ condemned the recent arrest of Nguyen Dan Que, a writer and publisher of the underground magazine “The Future”. His detention is the latest move in President Tran Duc Luong’s government’s ongoing crackdown on free expression in Vietnam. On 17 March, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 20 March 2003, RSF protested strongly against the arrest of Vietnamese dissident editor Nguyen Dan Que, aged 61, and called for his immediate and unconditional release. “He has already spent nearly 20 years in prison,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said in a letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. “If he […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 5 March 2003 letter to President Tran Duc Luong, CPJ expressed grave concern about the safety of 73-year-old Tran Dung Tien, who was arrested on 22 January 2003, after writing an open letter calling for the release of imprisoned activists Pham Que Duong and Tran Khue. His current whereabouts are unknown, […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a 12 February 2003 WiPC press release: INTERNATIONAL P.E.N. WRITERS IN PRISON COMMITTEE CAMPAIGN ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN VIETNAM February/March 2003 The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is launching a campaign on freedom of expression in Vietnam on 17 February 2003 as a result of the recent […]

(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 […]

(Human Rights Watch/IFEX) – The following is a 20 December 2002 Human Rights Watch press release: Vietnam Escalates Crackdown on Democracy Advocates (New York, December 20, 2002) – Human Rights Watch today condemned a fresh wave of arrests and trials of peaceful critics of the Vietnamese government in Hanoi and the northern port city of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the 8 November 2002 sentencing of cyber-dissident Le Chi Quang to four years’ imprisonment with no parole. The cyber-dissident was accused of “publishing criticism of the government on the Internet”. “Even if your government persists in abusing the basic rights of its citizens, we appeal to you to free Le […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ letter to President Tran Duc Luong: 8 November 2002 His Excellency Tran Duc Luong President, Socialist Republic of Vietnam C/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hanoi, Vietnam Via facsimile: 011-84-4-823-1872 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns today’s sentencing of Internet essayist Le Chi Quang to four […]