May 24, 2010

The Government of Vietnam Oppresses Those Who Fight for Freedom and Democracy

Since March 5th, 2008, the day blogger Nguyen Tien Trung, who graduated with a Master’s
degree in computer science engineering, returned to his homeland to work and got “recruited to
serve in the army” and stationed at Gia Dinh regiment, the government of Vietnam has been
harassing and oppressing political dissidents who fight for freedom and democracy in Vietnam.
The people who were arrested included blogger Dieu Cay Nguyen Van Hai, businessman Tran
Huynh Duy Thuc, lawyer Le Cong Dinh, engineer Le Thang Long, engineer Nguyen Tien Trung,
Lieutenant General Tran Anh Kim, writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, writer Nguyen Xuan Nghia,
Mr. Tran Duc Thach, teacher Vu Hung, Ms. Pham Thanh Nghien, and many others.
The people who have been constantly harassed include lawyer Le Tran Luat, who is forced out
of work, blogger “Uyen Vu” Vu Quoc Tu, legal professional Ta Phong Tan, blogger “Anh Ba
Sai Gon” Phan Thanh Hai, blogger Dieu Cay’s ex-wife Ms. Duong Thi Tan, Bloc 8406 member
Lu Thi Thu Trang, blogger “Me Nam” Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, blogger “Nguoi Buon Gio”
Bui Thanh Hieu, journalist Doan Trang, engineer Do Nam Hai, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giang, and
others.

The people currently being detained

1. At the beginning of the crackdown, on April 21st, 2008, 3rd District police took Mr. Nguyen
Van Hai (aka blogger Dieu Cay) into custody, and ordered his ex-wife, Ms. Duong Thi Tan, to
remain at her residence, while the “tax evasion” investigation was ongoing. On September 10th,
2008, 3rd District Court, Ho Chi Minh City, sentenced Mr. Nguyen Van Hai to 2 years 6 months,
while his ex-wife was sentenced to 16 months of non-prison correctional time and 3 years of
probation.
Blogger Dieu Cay is a central member of the Freelance Journalists Club. He wrote many articles
on the internet about civic rights, Paracel and Spratly Islands and was opposed to the passing of
the Beijing Olympic torch through Ho Chi Minh City. In a commentary sent to BBC Vietnamese
on September 10th, 2008, a member of the Freelance Journalists Club, Ms. Ta Phong Tan called
the arrest of blogger Dieu Cay the criminalization of administrative bickering with a political
agenda, and that the government took “revenge” on blogger Dieu Cay because he had sued Ben
Thanh ward police and Ho Chi Minh City Police Newspaper for slandering. Ms. Ta Phong Tan
also believed Hai was “falsely accused of possessing drugs, harassed, beaten, arrested against the
law and given ill-treatment” for “his participation in anti-China protests against the invasion of
Vietnam’s two islands.” [2]

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2. Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, born in 1966, is an engineer and a businessman, a former chief
executive officer of One Connection Incorporated. He was arrested by security forces for
“stealing long distance communication fees,” and was later charged with Article 88 of the
Vietnamese Criminal Code for “propagandizing against the State.” Ho Chi Minh City People’s
Court tried the case on Jan. 20, 2010 and sentenced Thuc to 16 years in prison and 5 years of
probation for “organizing to overthrow the State.” The Court of Appeals, on May 10, 2010,
upheld the sentence.
In the beginning of this decade, the internet telephony company founded and run by Thuc was
considered a big success in the communications industry in Vietnam. It had many innovations
and had investment in neighboring countries as well as the US. Thuc was also well known for his
criticism of how the obstacles laid down by the offices that oversaw long distance
communications had obstructed the growth of this high-tech sector. [3, 4]
3. Le Cong Dinh, born in 1968, is a lawyer, a former member of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar
Association, an active member of AmCham, a representative for Vietnam at Asia Pacific Bar
Association, a member of the Southeast Asian Sea Research Foundation. He also participated in
teaching Vietnamese law to international students in an exchange program between Can Tho
University and Pantheon – Assas (Paris 2). Dinh was an associate at DC Lawyers, a deputy
president of Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, and was working at legal firm Le Cong Dinh.
Dinh wrote commentaries about current events for the media in the country and abroad,
expressing his view of supporting democracy, reforming the legal system and political system of
Vietnam. The government of Vietnam considered these views to be opposing the mainstream
view of the government.
On June 13, 2009, Dinh was arrested under Article 88 of the Criminal Code for “having ties with
foreign sources to oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” [5] Ho Chi Minh City People’s
Court tried his case on Jan. 20th, 2010, and convicted him of Article 79 for “organizing to
overthrow the State”. The Court of Appeals upheld his 5-year prison and 3-year probation
sentence on May 10, 2010.
4. Nguyen Tien Trung, born in 1983, studied in France at Institute National des Sciences
Appliquées (INSA) and graduated with a Master of Science degree in computer science
engineering.
On May 6, 2006, he and other students founded Viet Youth for Democracy and organized an
outreach event called “Hand-in-Hand Marathon.” The main goal was to collect signatures
supporting democracy for Vietnam to send to heads of state visiting the APEC Summit in
Vietnam in 2006. Trung went to Canada to meet with government officials to rally support for
the democratic movement as Canadian representatives were heading to APEC Summit. In
addition to meeting the Canadian prime minister, Trung also met with President George W. Bush
and the president of the European Union.

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On August 5th, 2007, Nguyen Tien Trung returned to Vietnam. On March 5th, 2008, he was
recruited to join Vietnam People Army. In the military, Trung refused to say the 10 pledges of
honor because he believed the military can only be loyal to the people, to a government truly of
the people, not to the Communist Party or any other political party. On July 6th, 2009, the Army
decided to expel Trung. On the afternoon of July 7th, 2009, Trung was charged with Article 88
of the Criminal Code for having acts opposing the State. On Jan. 20, 2010, Trung and three other
political dissidents were tried at Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court. Trung was convicted of
“organizing to overthrow the State,” violating Article 79 of the Criminal Code by being
associated with the Democratic Party of Vietnam and for having founded Viet Youth for
Democracy. He was sentenced to 7 years of prison and 3 years of probation. He did not file for
appeal. [6]
5. Le Thang Long, born in 1967 in Quang Ngai, is an engineer and a businessman. He was
arrested on June 4th, 2009, and was tried at Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on Jan. 20th, 2010.
Long was sentenced to 5 years in prison for “organizing to overthrow the State.” At the Court of
Appeals on May 11, 2010, his sentence was reduced to 3.5 years of prison and 3 years of
probation.
In 2005, Long and Tran Huynh Duy Thuc founded the Chan Research Group to study the
political, economic and social climate of Vietnam. In April 2009, Long and a Buddhist monk
Thick Minh Tam in Australia started a website, called chanhungnuocviet.info, to gather support
for various clubs, including an Anti-Corruption Club, Police for the Vietnamese Progress Club,
Military Personnel for Vietnamese Progress Club, Journalists for Vietnamese Progress Club,
Lawyers for Vietnamese Progress Club, etc. [7]
6. Tran Anh Kim, born in 1949 at Thai Binh, is a former Lieutenant Colonel in Vietnam People
Army, and a former Deputy Captain of the Military Committee at Thai Binh.
During the period from 1995 to 2005, Mr. Tran Anh Kim actively participated in many protests
taking place at Ha Noi, Hai Phong, and Ho Chi Minh City. He was also among many individuals
rallying support to establish anti-corruption associations, associations of people seeking justice,
and most importantly Bloc 8406. In June 2006, he joined the Democratic Party and was given the
responsibility of leading the movement in Thai Binh. Because of his participation, the
government of Vietnam ordered his arrest on July 7, 2009, the same day with Nguyen Tien
Trung. On December 28, 2009, he was tried at Thai Binh Court and sentenced to 5 years and 6
months in prison [8]. On April 29, 2010, the Court of Appeals upheld the sentence. [8]

The Wave of Arrests

Six democracy activists were brought to court in Hai Phong for violating Article 88 of the
Criminal Code. They included Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nghia, 60, Nguyen Van Tinh, 67, Nguyen
Kim Nhan, 60, Nguyen Van Tuc, 45, Ngo Quynh, 25, and Nguyen Manh Son, 66. Writer
Nguyen Xuan Nghia was considered the mastermind and given the highest sentence of 6 years in
prison and 3 years of house arrest. The remaining five were sentenced from 2 to 4 years. Mr.

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Pham Van Troi, 37, was recently sentenced to 4 years in prison and 4 years of house arrest.
Journalist Vu Hung was sentenced 3 years in prison and 3 years of house arrest for violating
Article 88. Ms. Pham Thanh Nghien, arrested in September 2008, along with the group
dissidents in Hai Phong, was convicted of “propagandizing against the State.” On Jan. 29th,
2010, the Court sentenced her to 4 years in prison and 3 years of house arrest.
These people were charged with the crime of hanging banners and spreading leaflets opposing
the State in August 2008. They were calling for democracy, multi-party rule, criticizing the
government for out-of-control inflation and policies regarding Lach Tray Bridge (Hai Phong)
and Lai Cach (Hai Duong), and posting writings and photos on the internet [9, 10].
People suffering from frequent harassments
1. Mr. Le, Luat T., Lawyer. Born in 1970 in Khanh Hoa province, he was a lawyer in the
committee of Ninh Thuan province. He was well-known for representing defendants in cases
involving human rights violations, which brought to his office a lot of difficulties with the
government.
As a result, all branches of his office were forced shut in March 25, 2009 before
the occurrence of the court trying 8 Catholic people from Thai Ha, Hanoi, in which he
represented the defendants. Mr. Le accused the forced closure of his office as “preventing
support for human rights and democracy, and sending a warning message to other lawyers.” (11),
(12)
He became unemployed since, and found it impossible to find a job because all employers
are afraid of being involved with human rights issues and thus disturbed by the police force. He
also experienced difficulties with accommodation. (13)
2. Mr. Phan, Hai T. (aka Anh Ba Saigon), Blogger. Mr. Phan was first involved with
disturbances from the government at the end of 2007 when he posted several articles to the
Internet in which he mentioned human rights issues and the corruptions of the Vietnamese
government. He has since been arrested against the law many times. (14)
3. Ms. Ta, Tan P., Lawyer and former Police Officer. She was colleague of Lawyer Le at
Phap Quyen law office. She posted a lot of news and photos to her personal blog (The Truth &
Justice) about the forced closure of PQ law office, as well as many other articles regarding social
injustice and the corruptions of the government. She has been experiencing difficulties with
accommodation and frequent illegal arrests. (15)
4. Ms. Duong, Tan T., ex-wife of blogger Dieu Cay. She has been required to come forth to
the local government body to review her guiltiness once every month, and particular three times
in December 2009. The government requires so but refuses neither to hear her explanations nor
to give a legal justification for such requirement. (16)
5. Ms. Lu, Thu-Trang T., Democracy Advocator and member of Group 8406. She was
brutally attacked and arrested at Ms. Duong’s house and transferred to police station at Go Vap
District, HCMC where she was continued to be attacked in front of her 5-year-old son. She
described the police force as having intentions “to take revenge and to kill” her (17).

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6. Ms. Nguyen, Nhu-Quynh N. (aka Me Nam), Blogger. She was arrested on September 3,
2009 in Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province at the age of 31 being accused of “violating
national security” after posting a few articles on the Internet in which she expressed her
viewpoint against the government’s policies, such as those regarding harvesting bauxite and
foreign affairs with China. She was released on September 12. Earlier, in July 2009, Ms. Nguyen
was arrested and questioned many hours because she had worn a green t-shirt with a sentence
opposing to the government’s plan to harvest bauxite in Vietnamese Central Highland. (18), (19)
7. Mr. Bui, Hieu T. (aka Wind Trader), Blogger. He was summoned on August 27, 2009 in
the morning regarding national security issues. 8pm the same day, his house was searched; two
computers and a few paper documents were seized by the police force. The government accused
Mr. Bui as being involved with writing and publishing articles regarding the conflicts at two
Catholic regions of Thai Ha and Tam Toa.
Mr. Bui also wrote a lot of articles criticizing the
government’s policies regarding the border conflict in Vietnamese Eastern Sea (aka South China
Sea), foreign affairs with China, and the plan to harvest bauxite in Vietnamese Central Highland.
(20)
8. Ms. Pham, Trang D., Journalist. She signed a lot of articles posted on the website Tuan
Viet Nam mentioning the border conflict between Vietnam and China in Vietnamese Eastern Sea
(aka South China Sea) and accusing the Chinese government of violating Vietnam’s territorial
rights on the Paracel and Spartly Islands. She was arrested at the end of August, 2009 and
released on September 6, 2009.
9. Mr. Do, Hai N., Technician and member of the administrating committee of Group 8406.
He has been disturbed frequently, particularly on January 20, 2010 when a court in HCMC tries
4 other democracy advocators who were accused of “organizing to overthrow the State”. The
police force immobilized Mr. Do on that day to prevent him from appearing at the court or
meeting with international reporters who came for the aforementioned court. (22)
10. Dr. Nguyen, Giang T., former Dean of Geo-Physics, department of Geological Mapping,
Compound University of Hanoi. He was born in 1936 and retired from academic work in 1996 to
begin politic affairs. Even though his method of advocating for democracy is not only totally
unarmed but also involved of only mild-worded suggestions to the Vietnamese Communist
Party, the Congress, and the Government, he was arrested in 1999. Unable to find him guilty of
any accusation, the government silently released him but continue to brutally disturbed his
personal life, such as erecting a guard station in front of his house, watching him on the streets,
eavesdropping his telephone line, searching his house and seizing his personal properties for 5
times, illegally arresting and questioning him for 6 times, hiring people to throw stones at his
house and to hit him on the street and in his house, defiling his reputation on the newspapers,
summoning him to the local government body to hear the public judging, cutting his phone lines
to separate him from friends and relatives… (23)
11. Ms Tran, Thanh-Thuy K., former Teacher, Journalist, writer, member of the Hanoi
Association of Arts and Literature, and honorary member of PEN UK in 2007. She was arrested

5
and her house searched on September 2, 2006 while attempting to transfer some documents
abroad. Human Rights Watch award her of the Hellmann/Hammett prize in February 2007. She
was urgently arrested on April 21, 2007 for “propagandizing against the State” and sentenced 9
months in prison for “disturbing public order”. She was summoned to court again on October 9,
2010 being accused of “intentionally causing physical harm” (Sect. 104, Criminal Law). She was
sentenced 42 months in prison for that accusation on February 5, 2010. There are opinions that
the whole case was framed by the police force and that the photos and evidences used against
Ms. Tran are fake.

References

(1) http://nld.com.vn/236880P0C1019/truy-to-blogger-dieu-cay-toi-tron-thue.htm
(2)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2008/09/080910_dieucay_verdict.shtml+blogge
r+dieu+cay&cd=1&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=vn
(3)
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%E1%BA%A7n_Hu%E1%BB%B3nh_Duy_Th%E1%BB%A9c
(4) http://www.bbc.co.uk/.../090616_tranhuynhduythuc.shtml -
(5) http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_C%C3%B4ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%8Bnh
(6) http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyễn_Tiến_Trung
(7) http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_Th%C4%83ng_Long
(8) http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%E1%BA%A7n_Anh_Kim
(9)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LFhjz9VeV8cJ:www.bbc.co.uk/vietnam
ese/vietnam/2010/01/100129_phamtnghien_sentence.shtml+ph%E1%BA%A1m+thanh+nghi%C
3%AAn&cd=1&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=
(10)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/2009/10/091009_trials_updates.shtml+nha+van+nguy
en+xuan+nghia&cd=1&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=vn
(11) http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lê_Trần_Luật
(12)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/forum/2009/03/090325_letranluat_lawyer.shtml+Lu%E1%BA
%ADt+s%C6%B0+nh%C3%A2n+quy%E1%BB%81n+%E2%80%98b%E1%BB%8B+ng%E1
%BB%ABng+ho%E1%BA%A1t+%C4%91%E1%BB%99ng%E2%80%99&cd=1&hl=vi&ct=cl
nk&gl=vn

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(13) http://tinletrai.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/ls-le-tr%E1%BA%A7n-lu%E1%BA%ADt-
vi%E1%BB%87c-lam-m%E1%BB%9Bi/
(14) http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/vietnam/chinh-tri/Why-vn-crackdown-on-blogger-anh-ba-
saigon-tquang-
04182010111212.html+anh+ba+s%C3%A0i+g%C3%B2n&cd=7&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=vn
(15) http://mldcvietnam.blogspot.com/2009/03/co-ta-phong-tan-bi-cong-bat-coc-giua.html
(16) http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/Blogger-dieu-cay-wife-held-at-public-criticism-
gminh-12262009141650.html+dương+thi+tân&cd=3&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=v
(17) http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/Lu-Thi-Thu-Trang-beaten-and-arrested-in-front-of-
5-year-old-son-HGiang-
04282010213233.html+L%C6%B0+th%E1%BB%8B+Thu+Trang&cd=1&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=v
n
(18)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/2009/09/090912_blogmenam_freed.shtml+me+nam&
cd=8&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=v
(19) http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/another-blogger-held-in-Vietnam-
09032009102351.html+me+nam&cd=11&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=vn
(20) http://freelecongdinh.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/tin-kh%E1%BA%A9n-blogger-
ng%C6%B0%E1%BB%9Di-buon-gio-b%E1%BB%8B-b%E1%BA%AFt/
(21) http://www.rfi.fr/actuvi/articles/117/article_4785.asp
(22)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Szfx4lAmmkQJ:dongathi.multiply.com/
journal/item/1066+%C4%91%E1%BB%97+nam+h%E1%BA%
A3i&cd=1&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=vn
(23)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Fn_EEUDPjdEJ:nguyenthanhgiang.com
/TieuSu.html+nguyen+thanh+giang&cd=2&hl=vi&ct=clnk&gl=vn
(24)
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%E1%BA%A7n_Kh%E1%BA%A3i_Thanh_Th%E1%BB%A7y