Posted
October 21st, 2008
by
English PEN is outraged by the two-year prison sentence imposed on Nguyen Viet Chien and the two-year non-custodial sentence handed down to Nguyen Van Hai, both journalists accused for their reporting on a major corruption case.
According to our information, Nguyen Viet Chien and Nguyen Van Hai, reporters for the Vietnamese language newspapers Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre respectively, were both arrested on 13 May 2008. Their detention was linked to their reports on high-level corruption in the so-called “PMU-18″ scandal in 2006. It is said that the scandal provoked the resignation of some senior officials, some of whom who were allegedly linked to stolen development funds which were used to gamble on European football, rather than to build roads and bridges.
On 15 October 2008 the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced both journalists under Article 258 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, for ‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interest of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens’. Nguyen Viet Chien was given a two-year imprisonment sentence after pleading his innocence, while Nguyen Van Hai was handed down a non-custodial two-year re-education sentence, after pleading guilty.
English PEN remains alarmed about the situation of freedom of expression in Vietnam. In September, there was an apparent crackdown on dissent as a number of writers were arrested for their peaceful dissident activities. It is believed that some of them are still detained, while others remain under ‘residence surveillance’.
To see our previous alert on Vietnam, please click here.
For the BBC’s country profile on Vietnam, please visit:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1243338.stm
To read CPJ’s report ‘Graft-busting reporter jailed for two years’, please visit:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2008/asia/vietnam15oct08na.html
Please send appeals:
- Protesting the sentences imposed on Nguyen Viet Chien and Nguyen Van Hai, and calling for their convictions to be quashed.
- Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression in Vietnam, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory.
Appeals to:
His Excellency Nguyên Minh Triêt
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Nguyên Tân Dung
Prime Minister
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Lê Doan Hop
Minister of Culture and Information
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Please note that there are no fax numbers available for the Vietnamese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for Vietnam in your country to forward your appeals. It would also be advantageous to ask your country’s diplomatic representatives in Vietnam to intervene in the case.
HE Mr Tran Quang Hoan
Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
12-14 Victoria Road
London W8 5RD
Originally posted with the url: www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/vietnamtwojournalistssentenced/
