Annual Prison Census 2013 - Vietnam

Journalists in prison as of December 1, 2013

Vietnam: 18

Nguyen Van Hai (Nguyen Hoang Hai), freelance
Imprisoned: April 19, 2008

Hai was first arrested in April 2008 and held without charge for five months. A closed court sentenced him to two and a half years in prison for tax evasion on September 10, 2008-charges that rights groups criticized as a pretext to stifle his critical blog postings about the government and its policies.

After completing his prison term, Hai remained in detention while authorities investigated new anti-state charges related specifically to his online journalism. On September 24, 2012, a criminal court sentenced Hai to 12 years in prison and five years' house arrest under Article 88 of the penal code, a vague law that bars "conducting propaganda" against the state. An appellate court upheld his sentence on December 28, 2012.

Hai was an outspoken commentator on his political blog Dieu Cay (The Peasant's Pipe) and on the website of the unsanctioned Free Journalists Club, which he co-founded with two other bloggers. (Co-founders Phan Thanh Hai and Ta Phong Tan were also tried and convicted in September 2012.)

Several of Hai's blog entries had touched on politically sensitive issues, including national protests against China, Vietnam's sovereignty dispute with China over the nearby Spratly and Paracel islands, and government corruption.

Court President Nguyen Phi Long said in his verdict that Hai and the other two bloggers had "abused the popularity of the Internet to post articles which undermined and blackened Vietnam's (leaders), criticizing the (Communist) party (and) destroying people's trust in the state," according to an Agence France-Presse report.

The one-day trial was plagued with procedural irregularities, according to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint reporting program of international human rights groups. The observatory reported that the court cut off the microphone when Hai spoke to defend himself and that his lawyer was barred from calling any witnesses.

Hai has been frequently moved between far-flung prison facilities without his family being told. In February 2013, he was transferred from northern Binh Duong province's Bo La prison to southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province's Xuyen Moc prison camp. On April 26, 2013, he was transferred again to central Nghe An province's Thanh Chuong District Prison No. 6. The frequent moves have limited his family's ability to deliver essential medicines for his declining health, including symptoms related to hypertension.

On June 23, 2013, Hai began waging a hunger strike after prison authorities tried to force him to sign an admission of guilt for the anti-state offenses for which he was convicted. He was placed in solitary confinement when he refused to sign the confession. His family said he was barely recognizable and could not walk or talk during a five-minute prison visit on July 20, 2013. He ended his strike on July 27, 2013, after the highest government prosecutor's office agreed to investigate a petition he filed about alleged widespread prison abuses, according to Radio Free Asia.

Hai was bestowed CPJ's International Press Freedom Award in 2013.

Nguyen Xuan Nghia, freelance
Imprisoned: September 11, 2008

Nghia, who helped edit the pro-democracy news and commentary journal To Quoc (Fatherland) and contributed to several state-run publications, was first arrested at his home in northern Haiphong province. He was sentenced in a one-day trial on October 9, 2009, to six years in prison and four years' house arrest under Article 88 of the penal code for "propagandizing" against the state.

The anti-state charges against Nghia were based on 57 articles, essays, and poems he wrote between 2007 until his arrest in 2008, including writings that the judges said were intended to "insult the Communist Party," "distort the situation of the country," and "slander and disgrace the country's leaders," according to an English-language translation of the verdict done by PEN International, a freedom of expression organization.

Many of the articles promoted democracy and were published in To Quoc, a publication unsanctioned by the state. He had been banned from contributing to state-run publications in 2003. Nghia was also charged with being a founding member of Bloc 8406, a banned pro-democracy movement that has called for pluralism and multi-party democracy. A Haiphong city appeals court upheld his sentence in January 2010.

In March 2012, Nghia was transferred from northern Ha Dong province's B14 labor camp to central Nghe An province's Thanh Chuong District Prison No. 6. His health, including complications from prostate cancer, has deteriorated while in detention.

In late 2012, authorities allowed him to undergo surgery. His wife, Nguyen Xuan Nghia, said he was returned to detention just four days after the medical procedure, according to Boat People SOS, a Vietnamese-American advocacy, research, and community development organization.

In July 2013, Nghia was put in solitary confinement after telling his wife during a visit that fellow detained blogger Nguyen Van Hai was on a hunger strike to protest against alleged prison abuses, according to English PEN. It is unclear if Nghia had been released in late 2013.

Nghia was awarded Human Rights Watch's Hellman/Hammet prize in 2011.

Tran Huyn Duy Thuc (Tran Dong Chan), freelance
Imprisoned: May 24, 2009

Thuc, a blogger who wrote under the penname Tran Dong Chan (Change We Need), was first arrested on charges of "promoting anti-Socialist, anti-government propaganda," according to news reports. On January 20, 2010, he was sentenced by the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City to 16 years in prison and five years' house arrest for "activities aimed at overthrowing the government" under Article 79 of the penal code.

The court's indictment charged him with disseminating false information over a website and three different blogs, according to news reports. He was convicted in part for writing, along with two political activists, a book called "The Vietnam Path" which the court ruled was part of a plan to create unsanctioned political parties and overthrow the government, according to news reports. Thuc maintained his innocence at the trial.

Thuc was not listed on CPJ's prison census in prior years, but new information obtained in 2013 led CPJ to conclude that he is jailed for journalistic work.

His personal blog, "Tran Dong Chan," focused on local issues of inequality, social ills, and risks of a possible socioeconomic crisis. He also wrote about sensitive foreign affairs-related topics, including a March 2009 article called "Obama, China, and Vietnam," which analyzed the three countries' divergent approaches to civil liberties, human rights, and economic development.

On May 11, 2012, an appellate court upheld Thuc's sentence in a closed trial, according to news reports. He was being held at southern Dong Nai province's Xuan Loc Z30A prison, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network, an exile-run human rights group.

Thuc was held in solitary confinement from August 2012 to March 2013, and denied access to books, newspapers, and writing materials, according to a Radio Free Asia report citing his father.

Lu Van Bay (Tran Bao Viet), freelance
Imprisoned: March 26, 2011

Bay, also known as Tran Bao Viet, was arrested after police raided his house and confiscated his computers and copies of his published articles, according to news reports. On August 22, 2011, he was sentenced by a court in southern Kien Giang province to four years in prison and three years of house arrest on charges of "conducting propaganda against the state," an anti-state offense under Article 88 of the penal code.

The court's judgment cited 16 articles Bay posted from early 2010 until his arrest on websites hosted overseas-including Dam Chin Viet (Vietnamese Birds), Do Thoa (Dialogue), and To Quoc (Fatherland)-that were critical of Vietnam's one-party system and called for multi-party democracy, according to media reports.

Bay had also been detained in January 2008 and interrogated in connection with eight articles he was accused of writing under pseudonyms and contributing to the overseas Voice of Freedom website. He was released at the time on the condition that he stop writing, according to state media reports.

He was being held at northern Kien Giang province's An Bien prison camp, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network, an exile-run human rights group.

Dang Xuan Dieu, freelance
Ho Duc Hoa, freelance
Imprisoned: July 30, 2011

Dieu and Hoa, both religious activists and frequent contributors to the news website Vietnam Redemptorist News, were arrested at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam Redemptorist News, an online publication run by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, reports on the plight of the country's persecuted Catholic minority, land disputes between the government and grassroots communities, and other social issues.

They were first detained on unspecified charges under Article 79 of the penal code, which outlines penalties for activities aimed at overthrowing the government. Both were also accused of being members of the exile-run Viet Tan party, an organization outlawed by the dominant Communist party.

In a two-day trial that concluded on January 9, 2013, a court in the northern city of Vinh convicted and sentenced each to 13 years in prison and five years' house arrest on charges of participating in "activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration," "undermining of national unity," and of disseminating "propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," news reports said.

An appellate court upheld Hoa's prison sentence on May 23, 2013.

Dieu submitted to authorities a petition calling for a new investigation and trial on the grounds that his conviction was based on fabricated information, according to a Radio Free Asia report. Authorities had not responded to his petition in late 2013.

Both were being held at Vinh city's Nghi Kim Detention Center.

Paulus Le Van Son, freelance
Imprisoned: August 3, 2011

Son, a blogger and contributor to the news websites Vietnam Redemptorist News and Bao Khong Le (Newspaper Without Lanes), was arrested in front of his home in the capital, Hanoi. News reports citing an eyewitness said that police knocked him from his motorcycle to the ground, grabbed his arms and legs, and threw him into a waiting police vehicle.

Son was initially detained on unspecified charges under Article 79 of the penal code, which outlines penalties for activities aimed at overthrowing the government. He was also accused of membership in the outlawed, exile-run Viet Tan party.

In a two-day trial that concluded on January 9, 2013, a court in the city of Vinh sentenced Son to 13 years in prison and five years' house arrest on charges of participating in "activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration," "undermining of national unity," and disseminating "propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," news reports said. On May 23, 2013, Son's prison sentence was reduced to four years' imprisonment and four years' house arrest by the Appeal Court of the Supreme People's Court.

Months before his arrest, Son had posted a number of entries on his personal blog about anti-China protests and territorial disputes with China. His work also focused on land disputes, government harassment of pro-democracy and Catholic Church activists, police abuse, and discrimination against HIV patients. He was also briefly detained in April 2011 after attempting to report on the court hearing for pro-democracy dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu.

On July 18, 2013, Son was severely beaten by prison guards at Ha Nam province's Nam Ha prison, according to the international human rights group Frontline Defenders. He was denied medical treatment for his injuries, including a broken leg, and was placed in solitary confinement, the group reported. After a prison visit on August 21, 2013, Son's family said he was still in pain from his injuries and had difficulty walking, according to Frontline Defenders.

Son was still in solitary confinement in late 2013.

Nong Hung Anh, freelance
Imprisoned: August 5, 2011

Anh, a foreign languages student at Hanoi University, was detained on unspecified charges under Article 79 of the penal code. He frequently wrote about social and religious issues in various Vietnamese-language blogs and online news services, including Vietnam Redemptorist News, Bao Khong Le (Newspaper Without Lanes), and the environmental blog Bauxite Viḝt Nam.

In a two-day trial that concluded on January 9, 2013, a Vinh city court convicted and sentenced Anh to five years in prison and three years' house arrest on charges of participating in "activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration," "undermining of national unity," and disseminating "propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," news reports said.

He was being held at Nghe An provincial prison, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network, an exile-run human rights group.

Nguyen Van Duyet, freelance
Imprisoned: August 7, 2011

Duyet, a regular contributor to the news website Vietnam Redemptorist News and president of the Association of Catholic Workers, was first detained in Vinh city, Nghe An province. Vietnam Redemptorist News, an online publication run by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, reports on the plight of the country's persecuted Catholic minority, land disputes between the government and grassroots communities, and other social issues.

Duyet was detained on unspecified charges under Article 79 of the penal code, which outlines penalties for activities aimed at overthrowing the government. Duyet was also accused of membership in the outlawed, exile-run Viet Tan political party.

In a two-day trial concluded on January 9, 2013, Vinh city court convicted and sentenced Duyet to six years in prison and four years' house arrest on charges of participating in "activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration," "undermining of national unity," and disseminating "propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," news reports said.

On May 23, 2013, an appellate court reduced his sentence by six months to five and a half years total. He was being held at Vinh city's Nghi Kim Detention Center.

Ta Phong Tan, freelance
Imprisoned: September 5, 2011

Tan, a blogger and former police officer, was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on anti-state charges related to her online writings. On September 24, 2012, a criminal court sentenced her to 10 years in prison and five years' house arrest under Article 88 of the penal code, which bars "conducting propaganda" against the state. She had been briefly detained and interrogated on several previous occasions.

Tan was one of three founding members of the Free Journalists Club website, which was singled out in the court ruling for posting anti-state materials. Co-founders Phan Thanh Hai and Nguyen Van Hai were tried and convicted at the same time. Tan's personal blog, Cong Ly v Su That (Justice and Truth), focused on human rights abuses and corruption among police and in the court system.

Court President Nguyen Phi Long said in his verdict that Tan and the other two bloggers had "abused the popularity of the Internet to post articles which undermined and blackened Vietnam's (leaders), criticizing the (Communist) party (and) destroying people's trust in the state," according to Agence France-Presse. An appellate court upheld Tan's sentence on December 28, 2012.

Tan is widely recognized as one of Vietnam's first independent bloggers to write and comment on political news events banned by authorities in the state-controlled media. She was expelled from her job as a police officer and as a member of the Communist Party in connection with her online writings, according to a Radio Free Asia report.

Tan's mother, Thi Kim Lieng, set herself on fire on July 30, 2012, in front of a government office in Bac Lieu province to protest the official harassment suffered by her family and the handling of her daughter's case, according to news reports. She died on her way to the hospital while in police custody, the reports said.

Tan was being held at southern Dong Nai province's Z30A Xuan Loc prison camp, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network. She was honored with the U.S. State Department's International Woman of Courage Award in 2013.

Dinh Dang Dinh, freelance
Imprisoned: October 2011

Dinh, a former schoolteacher and blogger, was held in pre-trial detention for 10 months while state investigators prepared their case against him. He was charged with violating the criminal code's Article 88, a vague provision that bans "propagandizing" against the state. On August 8, 2012, he was sentenced in a one-day trial to six years in prison by a Dak Nong provincial court.

The charges related to entries Dinh posted on his personal blog between 2007 and 2011 in which he expressed opposition to the Communist Party leadership and a government-supported bauxite mining project in the country's Central Highlands region, according to an Agence France-Presse report.

Authorities said they found hundreds of pages of what they considered to be anti-state material on Dinh's seized laptop computer, including entries that rejected the ruling Communist Party and questioned the ethics of state founder Ho Chi Minh, according to a Voice of America report.

Radio Free Asia reported that Dinh's family had been pressured by authorities not to publicize his case and had not been told when his trial would be held. A Dak Nong province appeals court upheld his sentence on November 21, 2012. Before the trial, police tried to pressure Dinh into signing a confession in exchange for a reduced sentence. Radio Free Asia reported Dinh was beaten by police with clubs and violently pushed into a waiting police truck after the ruling.

Dinh is suffering from advanced stomach cancer, according to an interview with his wife, Dang Thi Dinh, posted on the independent Danlambao blog. He was being held at Dak Nong provincial prison, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network, an exile-run human rights group.

Le Thanh Tung, freelance
Imprisoned: December 1, 2011

A Hanoi court convicted Tung, a former military officer and independent blogger, on charges of "conducting propaganda" against the state under Article 88 of the criminal code, news reports said. He was sentenced to five years in prison and four years of house arrest. In the one-hour trial held in August 2012, the court ruled that Tung's articles "distorted the policies of the state and the party," the reports said.

Tung's online articles called for pluralism, multi-party democracy, and constitutional amendments that would alter Vietnam's authoritarian, one-party political system, Agence France-Presse reported, citing local-language publications.

He was being held at Hanoi's Thanh Liet B14 Detention Center, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network, an exile-run human rights group.

Nguyen Van Khuong (Hoang Khuong), Tuoi Tre
Imprisoned: January 2, 2012

Khuong, an investigative reporter with the Vietnamese-language state-controlled daily Tuoi Tre, was arrested on charges of bribing a police officer, according to news reports. The 15 million dong (US$720) bribe, made in June 2011, was part of a Tuoi Tre undercover investigation into police corruption.

Based on the undercover transaction, the newspaper published an article headlined "Traffic cop takes bribe to return bike" under Khuong's penname, Hoang Khuong. The story prompted a government investigation of not only the recipient of the bribe but also of the journalist.

Authorities pressured Tuoi Tre's editorial board to suspend Khuong from his reporting duties on December 3, 2011, a month before his arrest. Police investigators seized voice recordings from his private residence after his arrest, according to state media reports. Tuoi Tre representatives were not permitted to give evidence during Khuong's brief trial, according to The Associated Press.

In a two-day trial on September 7, 2012, the People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Khuong to four years in prison, news reports said. The police officer who received the bribe and the two businessmen involved in brokering and delivering the money on Khuong's behalf were also given prison terms.

Khuong, who had reported on police corruption in the past for Tuoi Tre, maintained his innocence at the trial. An appellate court upheld his conviction on December 27, 2012.

Pham Nguyen Thanh Binh, freelance
Imprisoned: May 25, 2012

Binh was arrested at his home in Ho Chi Minh City, according to a local Thanh Nien newspaper report citing his court indictment.

He was charged in connection with eight critical articles he wrote on political, economic, and social issues in Vietnam, which were published between January and May 2012 on a blog called "Nguoi Viet Vi Dan Toc Viet" (Vietnamese people dedicated to Vietnam). The blog is run by a dissident group based in Australia, according to news reports.

On April 17, 2013, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court convicted Binh under Article 88 of the penal code, a vague law that bars "conducting propaganda" against the state. He was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of house arrest.

According to the indictment, Binh's articles contained "distorted information about the Party's policies, the State's laws and fabricated information about the private life of Party and State leaders," Thanh Nien reported.

The court ruled that Binh's articles were "against the guidelines of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Vietnamese government" and "aimed at inciting the people to act against" the state, Radio Free Asia reported, citing state media reports. Court judges said that he had misrepresented himself in his writings as a member of the party with inside sources, according to the reports.

On August 15, 2013, an appeals court reduced Binh's sentence to two years. He was being held at Ho Chi Minh City's Phan Dang Luu Detention Center, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network.

Le Quoc Quan, freelance
Imprisoned: December 27, 2012

Quan, a lawyer and blogger, was arrested on tax evasion charges while taking his children to school in the capital city of Hanoi. His arrest came days after he wrote an article published on the BBC's Vietnamese-language website that criticized the Communist Party-dominated government's constitutional reform drive. The opinion piece criticized the inclusion in the reform drive of Article 4, which states that the Communist Party has the leading role in Vietnam.

On October 2, 2013, the People's Court in Hanoi ruled in a one-day trial that Quan had failed to pay income tax at a consulting company he ran and established with his family. He was given a 30-month prison sentence and fine of 1.2 billion dong (US$60,000), and was ordered to pay 600 million dong ($30,000) in back taxes.

Quan denied the charges in court and said he was the victim of "political acts," according to news reports. His lawyer, Ha Huy Son, said the presiding judge would not allow any arguments from the defense and that there were "inaccuracies" in the prosecution's evidence, according to news reports. Son said after the trial that Quan would appeal the conviction.

CPJ research shows that Vietnamese authorities have used trumped-up tax evasion charges to silence critical voices. Another journalist, Nguyen Van Hai, was sentenced to prison in 2008 on similar trumped-up tax evasion charges.

Quan wrote a popular blog that reported and commented on issues of government corruption, religious freedom, political pluralism, and human rights abuses. In August 2012, Quan was beaten outside his home by two unidentified men wielding iron bars who he suspected were sent by local police, he told local reporters.

He was being held at Thanh Liet-B14 Detention Center in Hanoi, according to the Vietnam Human Rights Network, an exile-run human rights group.

Truong Duy Nhat, freelance
Imprisoned: May 26, 2013

Nhat, a former reporter with state-controlled newspapers, was arrested at his home in the central coastal city of Danang, according to news reports. He was flown under police escort the next day to the capital, Hanoi, where he was charged with "abusing democratic freedoms," an anti-state crime under Article 258 of the penal code.

Nhat had maintained a personal blog known as "Nhat Mot Goc Nhin Khac" (A Different Point of View) since 2010, according to reports. His posts were frequently critical of the Communist Party-led government and included entries that called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for their perceived mismanagement. Vietnamese authorities did not initially specify whether the charges against Nhat were in connection with his blog.

CPJ has documented an intensifying crackdown on Vietnam's independent bloggers, many of whom are detained on arbitrary anti-state charges. Blogging is the only avenue open to critical and independent reporters and writers in Vietnam, as many issues are not covered by the state-dominated mainstream media.

Nhat's blog was disabled soon after his arrest, but later reappeared with software embedded that downloaded malware to viewers' computers, according to reports. If convicted under Article 258, Nhat faces up to seven years in prison. He was being held in Hanoi while a government investigation was ongoing in late 2013.

Pham Viet Dao, freelance
Imprisoned: June 13, 2013

Police arrested Dao, a prominent political blogger and a former official at the Ministry of Culture, at his home in the capital of Hanoi. His house was searched and he was accused by the Ministry of Public Security of "abusing democratic freedoms," an anti-state crime under Article 258 of the penal code, according to news reports.

Dao was arrested days after giving an interview to the BBC's Vietnamese-language service in which he criticized a confidence vote, in which National Assembly members voted on the performance of ministers and officials, including Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. In the interview, Dao raised questions about the integrity of the vote as well as the government's constitutional reform initiative.

Dao's blog posts were frequently critical of government officials and policies. He also wrote about sensitive issues such as territorial disputes with China. His online journalism had several thousand regular followers at the time of his arrest, according to news reports.

Authorities did not initially disclose whether the anti-state accusations against Dao were related to his critical blogging.

CPJ has documented an intensifying crackdown on Vietnam's independent bloggers, many of whom are detained on arbitrary anti-state charges. Blogging is the only avenue open to critical and independent reporters and writers in Vietnam, as many issues are not covered by the state-dominated mainstream media.

If found guilty of violating Article 258, Dao faces up to seven years in prison. He was being held in Hanoi while a government investigation was ongoing in late 2013.

Vo Thanh Tung (Duy Dong, Vo Tung), Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh
Imprisoned: August 7, 2013

Police arrested Tung, a prize-winning investigative reporter with the state-controlled Vietnamese-language daily Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh, accusing him of receiving a bribe from a bar owner in Bien Hoa town in southern Dong Nai province, according to local press reports.

Tung had recently reported investigative stories in Phap Luat detailing noise level violations, drug abuse, and illegal pole-dancing in some of the town's entertainment venues. Local reports said the journalist allegedly accepted a 50 million dong (US$2,370) bribe from the owner of one of the bars to stop his investigative reporting. The reports added that two individuals identified as Tung's reporting assistants, Nguyen Van Tai, a university student, and Duong Van Minh, a local official, were also arrested on the same accusation of bribery. Police claimed the three had demanded a total of 200 million dong ($9,481) to stop their reporting.

While in police custody, Tung allegedly confessed to demanding a bribe, according to the police's local newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan. His paper's editor-in-chief, Pham Phu Tam, could not confirm the confession, according to other local reports.

Local police were implicated in Tung's reporting for not upholding the law at the exposed entertainment venues. Police authorities in Vietnam often coerce confessions from suspects in custody, according to CPJ research.

Police raided Tung's home on the day of his arrest and seized a computer, camera, camcorder, and cartons of documents, among other items. The journalist is under investigation.

The journalist is known for his investigative reporting on corruption issues. An exposé he wrote on the unregulated incineration of government-seized meat products was recognized by the Ho Chi Minh City Journalists Association as the top news story of 2012.

Tung also exposed a bribery racket involving traffic police and gas stations along a national highway in the country's southern region.

Vietnamese journalists working for state-controlled newspapers have previously faced retribution for exposing corruption and illegal activities. Nguyen Van Khuong, an investigative reporter for Vietnamese-language daily Tuoi Tre, was convicted of bribery in connection with his undercover reporting to expose corruption.

Tung and his two assistants were being held in detention in Hanoi while an investigation into the accusations was ongoing in late 2013. They each faced a potential 20 years in prison if convicted on bribery charges.