![\"Pham](\"https:\/\/queme.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/phamdoantrang_Paul-Mooney.jpg\")
Pham Doan Trang was\narrested more than a year ago in Ho Chi Minh City, on 7 October 2020, and\ninitially charged under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code and its successor\nprovision, Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code, which both criminalize \u2018making,\nstoring, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against\nthe Socialist Republic of Vietnam.\u2019 She is now being charged under Article 88\nof the 1999 Penal Code, according to the indictment made public on 18 October\n2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A month before her arrest,\nDoan Trang was the subject of a joint communication issued by five UN Human\nRights Council Special Rapporteurs (independent experts) responding to mounting\nharassment against her and other independent writers and journalists. In its\nDecember 2020 response, the government of Vietnam denied all allegations of\nwrongdoing and, without providing evidence, justified Doan Trang\u2019s arrest as a\nresponse to her alleged abuse of the internet to overthrow the State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is clear that Pham Doan\nTrang is being persecuted for her long-standing work as an independent\njournalist, book publisher, and human rights defender, known for writing about\ntopics ranging from environmental rights to police violence, as well as for her\nadvocacy for press freedom. Vietnamese authorities have regularly used Article\n88 (and later Article 117) of the Penal Code to punish human rights defenders,\nindependent journalists and writers, and others who have peacefully exercised\ntheir human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
International human rights\nexperts have repeatedly called on Vietnam to amend the non-human rights\ncompliant provisions of its Penal Code and bring them into line with\ninternational law. In 2021, four UN Special Rapporteurs noted that Article 117\nis \u2018overly broad and appears to be aimed at silencing those who seek to\nexercise their human right to freely express their views and share information\nwith others.\u2019 In 2019, the UN Human Rights Committee called on Vietnam \u2018as a\nmatter of urgency\u2019 to revise vague and broadly formulated legislation,\nincluding Article 117, and to end violations of the right to freedom of\nexpression offline and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June 2021, the UN\nWorking Group on Arbitrary Detention, responding to the detention of an\nIndependent Journalist Association of Vietnam member, pointed to a \u2018familiar\npattern of arrest that does not comply with international norms, which is\nmanifested in the circumstances of the arrest, lengthy detention pending trial\nwith no access to judicial review, denial or limiting of access to legal\ncounsel, incommunicado detention, prosecution under vaguely worded criminal\noffences for the peaceful exercise of human rights, and denial of access to the\noutside world. This pattern indicates a systemic problem with arbitrary\ndetention in Vietnam which, if it continues, may amount to a serious violation\nof international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since her arrest, Doan\nTrang has been held incommunicado, until 19 October 2021, when she was finally\nallowed to meet with one of her lawyers after having been denied access to her\nfamily and legal representation for over a year. Prolonged incommunicado\ndetention is a form of prohibited ill-treatment under international law under\nthe Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment\nor Punishment and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and\nPolitical Rights (ICCPR), which Vietnam has ratified. As a result of this\ndenial of her rights to a fair trial, liberty, and security, she has faced\nincreased risk of torture and other ill treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 30 August 2021,\nfollowing the conclusion of the police investigation, the Hanoi Procuracy\nOffice issued its formal indictment against Doan Trang. Alarmingly, her family\ndid not learn of this until more than a month later, on 7 October, and only after\nhaving requested information from the authorities. The family and lawyers were\nagain denied visitation. Authorities at the time also refused to provide Doan\nTrang\u2019s lawyers with a copy of the indictment or access to the evidence they\nhad prepared against her. This undue delay in the proceedings and refusal to\ngrant access to a lawyer of her choosing amounts to a violation of her right to\na fair trial under Article 14 of the ICCPR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the\nindictment, which was only made public on 18 October\u2014more than a year after her\narrest\u2014Doan Trang is being charged under Article 88 of the Penal Code, for\nalleged dissemination of anti-State propaganda. The authorities dropped the\nsimilar charge under Article 117 of the amended Penal Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The indictment calls attention\nto three specific pieces of writing. It mentions a book-length report Doan\nTrang wrote with Green Trees, an environmental rights group, about the 2016\nFormosa Ha Tinh Steel disaster; a 2017 report on the freedom of religion in\nVietnam; and an undated article titled \u2018General assessment of the human rights\nsituation in Vietnam.\u2019 The indictment also accuses her of speaking with two\nforeign media, Radio Free Asia and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),\nto allegedly defame the government of Vietnam and fabricate news. These\npublications highlight Doan Trang\u2019s vital work as an author, journalist, and\nhuman rights defender who has worked tirelessly for a more just, inclusive, and\nsustainable Vietnam. Her peaceful activism should be protected and promoted,\nnot criminalized, in line with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,\nthe undersigned organizations said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The use of human rights\nreports as evidence in a criminal prosecution sends a chilling message to civil\nsociety against engagement in human rights documentation and advocacy, and\nincreases the risk of self-censorship. In light of the fact that Doan Trang\u2019s\nreport on Formosa was also part of direct advocacy with the UN Special\nRapporteur on toxics and human rights in 2016, its inclusion as evidence\nagainst her may constitute an act of intimidation and reprisal for cooperation\nwith the UN and consolidate an environment of fear, as already noted by several\nUN actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahead of her 4 November\n2021 trial, Doan Trang was only granted her first meeting with her lawyer on 19\nOctober 2021. While the lawyer noted Doan Trang\u2019s overall positive attitude, he\nalso recounted several serious medical concerns. Doan Trang\u2019s legs, which were\nbroken by the police in 2015, have been in greater pain as a result of the\ndenial of adequate medical care during her detention. She has not been allowed\nto visit a doctor to treat other preexisting conditions, including low blood\npressure, and as a result she has lost 10 kilograms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We denounce this\nunacceptable denial of her rights to a fair trial and freedom from torture and\nother cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and call for an immediate end to\nher arbitrary detention, and for all charges against her to be dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doan Trang\u2019s\nbackground as an independent journalist and human rights defender<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Doan Trang is among the\nleading voices and best-known independent writers in Vietnamese civil society\nand recognized internationally for her human rights advocacy. She is the author\nof thousands of articles, blog entries, Facebook posts, and numerous books\nabout politics, social justice, and human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She is the co-founder of\nthe environmental rights group Green Trees, and the independent media outlets\nLuat Khoa Magazine, The Vietnamese Magazine, and the Liberal Publishing House.\nDoan Trang is the recipient of the 2017 Homo Homini Award presented by Czech\nhuman rights organization People in Need and the 2019 Reporters Without Borders\nPress Freedom Award Prize for Impact. In 2020, the International Publishers\nAssociation awarded her organization, the Liberal Publishing House, with their\nPrix Voltaire Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pham Doan Trang is no\nstranger to harassment and intimidation by the State for her writing and human\nrights advocacy. This has included torture and other ill-treatment, including\nphysical assault. In 2015, she was beaten so badly by security forces that she\nwas left disabled and has since often needed crutches to aid her mobility. In\n2018, she was hospitalized after being subjected to torture in police custody.\nFor three years preceding her arrest, she was forced to move constantly and\nlived in fear of intimidation and harassment by police and other State\nauthorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In view of the\nabove, we call on the government of Vietnam to<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Immediately and\nunconditionally release and drop all charges against Pham Doan Trang and all\nother human rights defenders currently imprisoned solely for the peaceful\nexercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Pending her immediate and\nunconditional release, guarantee humane treatment and conditions, and ensure\nprompt access to medical attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Guarantee Doan Trang\nunrestricted access to and regular communication with her family and\nconfidential access to legal assistance of her choosing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Ensure that her chosen\nlawyers are promptly provided with timely access to all relevant legal\ndocumentation and granted unrestricted communication and access in\nconfidentiality with Doan Trang and adequate time and facilities to prepare for\nher defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Ensure the trial is open\nto the public, including diplomatic and human rights civil society observers\nand the media, and refrain from any arbitrary restriction on travel or\ninterference of trial observers, media, and civil society preceding and during\nthe trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Repeal or substantially\namend the Penal Code and other non-human rights compliant legislation, used to\nharass and imprison individuals\u2014including independent journalists and human\nrights defenders\u2014for the exercise of their fundamental rights, and bring them\nin conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to\nwhich Vietnam has been a State Party since 1982, and other applicable\ninternational law and standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Signatories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Access Now Ahead of her upcoming trial on 4 November, the undersigned 28 human rights and freedom of expression organizations today condemn the ongoing arbitrary detention of independent journalist and woman human rights defender Pham Doan Trang. We call on the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release and drop all charges against her. The persecution of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":46101,"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":[137,113,98,64],"tags":[296],"class_list":["post-46104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-latest-posts","category-news","category-press-release","category-vchr","tag-hrd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46104","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=46104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nALTSEAN-Burma
\nAmnesty International
\nARTICLE 19
\nAsia Democracy Chronicles
\nAsia Democracy Network
\nAsian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
\nBoat People SOS (BPSOS)
\nCIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
\nCommittee to Protect Journalists
\nDefend the Defenders
\nFIDH – International Federation for Human Rights, within the framework of the\nObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
\nFront Line Defenders
\nGreen Trees
\nHuman Rights Watch
\nInternational Commission of Jurists
\nInternational Publishers Association
\nLegal Initiatives for Vietnam
\nOpen Net Association
\nPEN America
\nPeople in Need
\nQue Me – Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
\nReporters Without Borders
\nSafeguard Defenders
\nThe 88 Project
\nVietnam Human Rights Network
\nVietnamese Women for Human Rights
\nWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the\nObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"