Open letter to the EU on the closed trial of three pro-democracy bloggers

JOINTOPEN LETTER – THE OBSERVATORY

Attn : Heads of Missions

Embassies of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, NewZealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, theUnited States of America, and the Delegation of the European Union to Viet Nam

July 31, 2012

Re:Closed trial of three pro-democracy bloggers on August 7, 2012

YourExcellency,

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), together with the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights(VCHR), wish to draw your attention to the upcoming trial of threepro-democracy Vietnamese bloggers.

OnAugust 7, 2012, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), Mr. Phan Thanh Haiand Ms. Ta Phong Tan are scheduled to be tried by the Ho Chi MinhPeople’s Court at 8am. They have been charged under Article 88 of the PenalCode for “conducting propaganda against the state” for their peaceful onlinecriticisms of the government. They face a maximum of 20 years in prison ifconvicted.

Thetrial was originally scheduled for May 15, 2012, but the Court notified thedefendants’ lawyers that it would bepostponed indefinitely. The Observatory and VCHR have learned that the PublicSecurity Bureau has requested the Court to sentence the bloggers “harshly”, butthe People’s Prosecutor’s Office and the Court reportedly prefer lightersentences. It appears thus that a guilty verdict has already been decided inadvance. Moreover, the lawyers and the family of Mr. Dieu Cay have reportedthat during his detention he has been subjected to intense pressure to pleadguilty to the charges laid against him, which he has systematically refused. His lawyers also stated that Mr. Dieu Caywent on hunger strike in prison in March 2012 to protest his detention, and hadto be hospitalised. Mr. Dieu Cay was previously convicted after a manifestlyunfair trial in 2009 and his imprisonment was declared by the United NationsWorking Group on Arbitrary Detention to be arbitrary and in violation ofinternational law (Opinion 1/2009). Before his arrest, he had written articlescalling for human rights and democratic reforms posted on the Internet, andstaged demonstrations during the Beijing Olympic games. Mr. Phan Thanh Hai andMs. Ta Phong Tan were arrested respectively on October 18, 2010 and onSeptember 5, 2011, and have since been in pre-trial detention in Ho Chi MinhCity. Mr. Phan Thanh Hai published in particular an analysis outlining thatArticle 88 of the Criminal Code violates the right to freedom of expressionenshrined in the Constitution, and that it shall be abrogated. Ms. Ta Phong Tanposted articles on police abuse and violations of human rights by the State[1].On July 30, 2012, Ms. Ta Phong Tan’s mother (Mrs. Dang Thi Kim Lieng) immolatedherself outside the People’s Committee Headquarters in Bac Lieu to protests herdaughter’s unfair imprisonment. She had suffered repeated police harassmentsand interrogations since her daughters’ arrest. She died later the same day.

Thetrial will reportedly be closed to the public. The indictment against the threebloggers dated July 19, 2012 and sent by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court toDieu Cay’s lawyer, Mr. Ha Huy Son, specifically states that no witnesses willbe allowed to testify at the trial, and no family members will be allowed toattend the proceedings. The right to a fair and public trial is guaranteedunder Article 131 of the Vietnamese Constitution of 1992 and Article 14 of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Viet Namis a State party.

TheObservatory and VCHR consider that the judicial action against the threebloggers is merely aimed at punishing the peaceful exercise of their right tofreedom of expression, and thus violates Viet Nam’s obligations underinternational human rights law

Itis feared that the scheduling of the trial during the summer holidays, whenmany members of the diplomatic community are on leave from Hanoi, may aim atminimising international attention. Their trial is also another chillingharbinger of the new draft Decree on Management, Provision, and Use of InternetServices and Information on the Network, which, if passed in its current form,would significantly increase the government’s legal arsenal to censor andcriminalise online speech.

Therefore,the Observatory and VCHR respectfully ask your Embassy to:

· Urge the Government of Viet Nam todrop all charges against Ms. Ta Phong Tan, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai and Mr. PhanThanh Hai, and release them immediately and unconditionally

· Send high-level embassy officials tothe Ho Chi Minh People’s Court to attend the trial on August 7, 2012

Wethank you in advance for your attention and for taking urgent and necessaryactions to secure the freedom of the three bloggers

Sincerelyyours,

SouhayrBelhassen

President

InternationalFederation for Human Rights (FIDH)

GerardStaberock

Secretary-General

WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Vo Van Ai

President

VietnamCommittee on Human Rights (VCHR)

Copied to:

Ms. Matilda Bogner

Regional Representative to SouthEast Asia

Office of the United Nations (UN)High Commissioner for Human Rights

Ms. Pratibha Mehta

UN Resident Coordinator

UN Country Team in Viet Nam

[1] Forbackground information of the case, see Observatory Urgent Appeal of April 30,2012, available at: http://bit.ly/OwUS0O.