Vietnam:16 years behind bars for political blog

Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, an ICT entrepreneur and blogger in Vietnam, was arrested on May 24th, 2009 and accused of „supporting anti-government propaganda“ under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code. On January 20th, 2010, he and his three co-defendants (Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen Tien Trung and Le Thang Long) were tried before the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City. All of them were prosecuted for „carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing Vietnam’s administration“ under Article 79 of the Criminal Code. Thuc was sentenced to 16 years in prison and his co-defendant Dinh, Long and Trung were sentenced to 5, 7 and 5 years in prison.
They were indicted for writing articles on a blog that called for political reform and respect for human rights. They did not get a fair trial, as their relatives and foreign journalists could not enter the courtroom. Microphones did not work at the moment Thuc’s defense attorney tried to speak, and when Long tried to inform the court that all defendants confessed under duress. According to eyewitnesses, the judges considered the case only for 15 minutes and then returned with a decision that took 45 minutes to read. Witnesses believe that the decision has already been prepared before the trial.
On August 29th, 2012, the UN Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) expressed that the detention of Thuc and his three co-accused defendants has violated their right to freedom of opinion and expression under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The detention has also violated their right to liberty and security of humans (Article 9) and the right to freedom of association as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Treaty. WGAD requests that the Vietnamese government release these men and give them compensation in accordance with international obligations, as Vietnam is a party to ICCPR. Although Vietnamese government has received 31 recommendations calling for respect for and protection of freedom of expression, it has failed to resolve the Thuc case.
Thuc has been jailed for six years, Le Cong Dinh and Le Thang Long were released, and Nguyen Tien Trung is still serving a seven-year prison sentence.