{"id":41945,"date":"2019-11-22T18:27:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T18:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queme.org\/?p=41945"},"modified":"2021-07-16T13:03:42","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T13:03:42","slug":"vietnam-arbitrary-detention-of-journalist-pham-chi-dung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vietnam-arbitrary-detention-of-journalist-pham-chi-dung\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam: Arbitrary detention of journalist Pham Chi Dung"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

URGENT\nAPPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

VNM 003 \/ 1119 \/ OBS 097
\nArbitrary detention \/
\nJudicial harassment\/
\nObstacle to freedom of expression
\nVietnam
\nNovember 22, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Observatory for the\nProtection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World\nOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the\nfollowing situation in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Description of\nthe situation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Observatory has been informed by the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR)<\/strong> about the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mr. Pham Chi Dung<\/strong>, a journalist, founder of the Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) [1]<\/a> and worker rights activist. As an independent journalist, Mr. Pham Chi Dung has written articles criticizing the government\u2019s human rights record, and collaborated with several foreign media, such as Voice of America and the BBC, under different pen names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mr.
Mr. Pham Chi Dung<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to the\ninformation received, on November 21, 2019, Mr. Pham Chi Dung was arrested\nby security officers at his home in Ho Chi Minh City and charged with \u201cmaking,\nstoring or disseminating information, documents, materials and items against\nthe Socialist Republic of Vietnam\u201d (under Article 117 of the Criminal Code).\nAccording to the police, Mr. Pham Chi Dung wrote \u201canti-State articles\u201d and\n\u201ccooperated with foreign media to deliver distorted information\u201d. Shortly after\nhis arrest, IJAVN\u2019s website (www.vietnamthoibao.org<\/a>) was shut down by the authorities.\nIf found guilty, Mr. Pham Chi Dung could face a sentence of five to 20\nyears of prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Pham Chi Dung\u2019s arrest comes as the European Parliament (EP) considers ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). On November 10, 2019, Mr. Pham Chi Dung sent a petition to the EP urging its members to postpone ratification of the EVFTA until issues of worker rights and human rights have been addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time\nMr. Pham Chi Dung has been detained for the legitimate exercise of his\nright to freedom of opinion and expression. In 2012, Mr. Pham Chi Dung was\narrested over the same accusation, and released six months later without being\ntried. He has also been frequently harassed by the authorities and was banned\nfrom traveling abroad in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Observatory strongly\ncondemns the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Mr. Pham Chi\nDung, which seem to be only aimed at punishing him for his legitimate exercise\nof his right to freedom of expression. The Observatory calls on the Vietnamese\nauthorities to immediately release Mr. Pham Chi Dung and put an end to any\nacts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against him and all the\nhuman rights defenders in the country. The Observatory further calls on the\nauthorities to respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression as\nenshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political\nRights (ICCPR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actions requested:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please write to the\nauthorities of Vietnam asking them to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i. Guarantee, in all\ncircumstances, the physical integrity and psychological well-being of\nMr. Pham Chi Dung and of all human rights defenders in Vietnam;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ii. Immediately and\nunconditionally release Mr. Pham Chi Dung as his detention is arbitrary\nand merely aimed at punishing him for his human rights activities;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iii. Guarantee the access\nof Mr. Pham Chi Dung to his relatives and a lawyer of his choice;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iv. Put an end to any\nharassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Pham Chi Dung and\nall human rights defenders in Vietnam, and ensure in all circumstances that\nthey are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance or\nfear of reprisals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

v. Respect under any\ncircumstances the right to freedom of opinion and expression in accordance with\nArticle 19 of ICCPR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

vi. Conform to the\nprovisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the\nGeneral Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular with\nArticles 1, and 12.2.
\nvii. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental\nfreedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and\ninternational instruments ratified by Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addresses:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong, President of Vietnam; Email: webmaster@president.gov.vn<\/a>
\u2022 Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of Vietnam; Email: nguoiphatngonchinhphu@chinhphu.vn<\/a>
\u2022 Mr. Pham Binh Minh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam; Fax: 84-4-38231872 \u2013 84-4-37992682, Email: ttll.mfa@mofa.gov.vn<\/a>
\u2022 Mr. Le Vinh Tan, Minister of Home Affairs of Vietnam; Fax: 84-4-39781005
\u2022 Mr. Le Thanh Long, Minister of Justice of Vietnam; Fax: 84-4-38431431
\u2022 Mr. To Lam, Minister of Public Security of Vietnam; Fax: 84-4-9420223
\u2022 Mr. Mai Tien Dung, Minister, Office of the Government (OOG), Vietnam; Fax: 84-4-80 44130
\u2022 Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland; Fax: +41 (0) 22-798 07 24, Email: info@vnmission-ge.gov.vn<\/a>
\u2022 Embassy of Vietnam in Brussels, Belgium; Fax: +32 (0)2 374 93 76, Email: vnemb.brussels@skynet.be<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please also write to the\ndiplomatic representations of Vietnam in your respective countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***
\nParis-Geneva, November 22, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kindly inform us of any\naction undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme 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. <\/em>
 
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:<\/strong>
\u2022 E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org<\/a>
\u2022 Tel and fax FIDH +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 \/ +33 1 43 55 18 80
\u2022 Tel and fax OMCT +41 (0) 22 809 49 39 \/ +41 22 809 49 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Ph\u1ea1m Ch\u00ed D\u0169ng is a\nformer member of the Communist Party (Internal affairs commission of Ho Chi\nMinh City Communist Party). He left the Communist Party in 2013, and announced\nthe creation of the Independent Journalists\u2019 Association of Vietnam on July 4,\n2014. Its membership consists of over 70 journalists defending freedom of press\nin Vietnam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY VNM 003 \/ 1119 \/ OBS 097 Arbitrary detention \/ Judicial harassment\/ Obstacle to freedom of expression Vietnam November 22, 2019 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":41946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,113,125,98,64],"tags":[634,343,774,295,294,960],"class_list":["post-41945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-latest-posts","category-news","category-others","category-press-release","category-vchr","tag-evfta","tag-freedom-of-expression","tag-hdr","tag-observatory","tag-omct","tag-pham-chi-dung"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}