Vietnam - country of concern: latest update 31 December 2014
Updated 21 January 2015
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vietnam-country-of-concern/vietnam-country-of-concern-latest-update-31-december-2014
Any incidents or events taking place after 31 December 2014 will be covered in future reports.
0.1 Latest update: 31 December 2014
The human rights situation in Vietnam for the period October to December 2014 remains of concern, and is largely unchanged from the previous quarterly report. The authorities have continued to harass and arrest political and human rights activists, and there have also been further deaths reported in police custody. Whilst some political prisoners have been released and there has been recent official recognition of international conventions on human rights, the UK remains concerned about Vietnam’s commitment to improving the country’s human rights situation.
Five political prisoners were released in late September and early October, just missing inclusion in the last report. The highest-profile release was Nguyen Van Hai, popularly known as Dieu Cay. Hai is an activist, journalist and blogger, well-known for posting pro-democracy and anti-China content. He was sentenced in 2012 to 12 years’ imprisonment under article 88 of the Criminal Code – “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”. Hai was expelled in October to the US without prior notice to his family. The UK raised Hai’s case with the authorities when Hai was on hunger strike and has continued to lobby for the release of political prisoners in general.
Other political prisoners released in September were Tran Tu, sentenced to life in 1993 for “attempting to overthrow the state”, and Nguyen Tuan Nam, sentenced in 1996 for 19 years for “fleeing abroad to oppose the state.” In early October, Dau Van Duong was released from prison having served two years of a three-and-a-half-year sentence for “propaganda against the state”.
The UK welcomes these releases and is encouraged by the wider trend of prisoner releases, which saw a total of 13 political prisoners released during 2014.
However, the UK remains concerned about ongoing harassment and arrest of individuals for exercising their fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly.
Two bloggers were arrested in late November and early December under article 88 of the Criminal Code – both for “anti-state propaganda”. Hong LeTho was arrested for posting content online on his blog, Nguoi Lot Gach (”Brick Layer”), whilst Nguyen Quang Lap was arrested for his popular blog Que Choa (”Father’s homeland”).
The UK is concerned that these individuals may have been arrested for peacefully voicing legitimate political opinions online, and has raised these two cases with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in the context of our concerns about freedom of expression in Vietnam.
Two more deaths of prisoners in police custody were reported in October. Nguyen Van Ha, in Binh Thuan province, and Nguyen Tung Lam, in Hai Phong city, hanged themselves whilst in custody. Online reports suggest these were the 19th and 20th deaths in police custody in 2014. UK judges that these deaths are an indication of the harsh conditions in Vietnamese prisons and especially in police custody, neither of which is regularly opened to the international community for inspection. Both deaths are being investigated by local police.
The UK remains concerned about Vietnam’s attitude towards events promoting follow-up work to their Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations. The previous quarterly report, covering July to September 2014, outlined the lack of official involvement and the active intimidation of civil society seeking to participate in these events. There is no evidence to suggest this has changed and, at a civil society UPR event in November, one of the speakers was prevented from attending by uniformed police. These actions by the Vietnamese authorities go against the spirit of the UPR process. In regular meetings with the MOFA and the Ministry of Public Security on Human Rights, the UK has urged the Vietnamese authorities to adopt an inclusive, collaborative approach to developing plans for implementing agreed UPR recommendations. This includes creating space for civil society to register its views.
The UK welcomes the National Assembly ratification of two UN conventions; the Convention against Torture and Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We hope that the Vietnamese authorities will engage both with relevant domestic actors, including civil society, and with the international community, on the process of implementing the conventions, and the UK stands ready to provide support.
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