Paris-Geneva,
June 29, 2017 - The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT partnership) and the Vietnam
Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) condemn today’s conviction and prison sentence
against prominent blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh aka Mother Mushroom and call
for her immediate and unconditional release.
On June 29, 2017, the People’s Court
in Khanh Hoa Province sentenced Nguyen
Ngoc Nhu Quynh to 10 years in prison on charges of “conducting propaganda
against the State” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code.
“By jailing Nguyen Ngoc
Nhu Quynh, the Vietnamese Government shows it is not serious about its stated
commitment to upholding human rights. The reality is that Vietnam remains a
dangerous country for human rights defenders and all those who peacefully
criticize the Government,” said FIDH President Dimitris Christopoulos.
Detained since October 10, 2016,
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh is one of the very first human rights defenders in
Vietnam to have used the Internet and social media to document human rights
violations committed by the Vietnamese authorities. Since her first arrest in
2009, she has relentlessly criticized the Government on a wide range of social
and political issues.
In April 2016, she addressed the Government’s
mishandling of serious water pollution problems and the subsequent mass fish
deaths caused by toxic waste discharged by the Taiwanese company Formosa
Plastics in three coastal provinces. In an important document entitled “Stop
Police Killing Civilians”, Nhu Quynh exposed numerous incidents of police
brutality and alleged torture that resulted in the death of several individuals
while in custody.
“The
sentencing of Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh is outrageous and clearly illustrates the Government’s deliberate efforts to silence any dissenting
voices in the country. We call for her immediate and unconditional release, as her
detention merely aims at punishing her legitimate human rights activities,” said OMCT Secretary
General Gerald Staberock.
Because of her outspoken stance on
human rights, her mother and other family members have been subjected to
surveillance and harassment by the authorities. Detained incommunicado from
October 2016 until June 2017, Nhu Quynh’s health has been seriously affected
and she has had no opportunity to prepare her defence.
In an Opinion issued on May 30,
2017, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD)
declared that Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh’s detention was arbitrary because it
violated her rights to liberty; fair trial; freedom of expression; freedom of
peaceful assembly; and freedom of association. The WGAD concluded that Nhu
Quynh’s “arrest and detention was intended to restrict her activities as a
human rights defender”[1].
The WGAD called on the Vietnamese authorities to immediately release Nguyen
Ngoc Nhu Quynh, and urged the Government to bring Article 88 of the Criminal
Code in compliance with Vietnam’s international human rights obligations.
“Vietnam’s harsh sentence
against Nhu Quynh and its relentless crackdown on human rights defenders is the
result of the use of numerous repressive laws that must be urgently repealed.
The Government must use the ongoing revision of the Criminal Code to repeal
Article 88 and other draconian provisions,” said VCHR President Vo Van Ai.
The
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was
created in 1997 by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this program is to prevent
or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and
OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights
Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
For more information, please
contact:
• FIDH: Samuel Hanryon
(French, English): +33 6 72 28 42 94 (Paris) / Andrea Giorgetta (English): Tel:
+66886117722 (Bangkok)
• VCHR: Penelope Faulkner
+33 1 45 98 30 85 (English, Vietnamese)
[1] See UNWGAD Opinion A/HRC/WGAD/2017/27 adopted at its
seventy-eight session, April 19-28, 2017, May 30, 2017.
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