by Alessia Donzello / March 25, 2022
Vietnam, March 25 – A Vietnamese court jailed an eminent social commentator whose name is Le Van Dung, for five years and five subsequent years of probation for posting videos on social media for anti-state activities. The 51-year-old activist was convicted of implementing propaganda against the state of Vietnam, in a trial that lasted only a few hours.
He was processed under Article 117 of the penal code, an anti-state provision that bans “creating, storing and disseminating information and materials” against the state.
Dung was charged for uploading 12 videos on the internet to calumniate the administration and “offend the glory and prestige of the party and state leaders,” reported the national radio Voice of Vietnam.
“Vietnamese authorities must release journalist Le Van Dung immediately and stop imprisoning members of the press”, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
The activist, a member of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam, used to regularly broadcast live to thousands of followers on Facebook and YouTube before his arrest in June last year.
Before the trial against Le Van Dung, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said Vietnam should eliminate the charges against Dung, who was one of the 60 people being accused of letting the citizens hear their voices.
Last week, Vietnam opposed the United States granting a prize for courage to an opposition writer who was jailed for nine years for anti-state propaganda. Vietnam has described the award as “unobjective and unsuitable”.
Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains strict media censorship and tolerates little criticism, despite many years of economic development and progressive social change.
Vietnamese authorities still see criticism and propaganda as a grave threat to be prosecuted with long prison terms.
Vietnam’s horrible human rights record worsened in 2018 as the government imprisoned rebels for longer prison terms and enacted laws that menace, even more, freedom of expression.
Human rights including freedom of expression, association, and peaceful public assembly are severely banned. Private media is not allowed and the government controls TV, radio, and newspapers. Authorities block sensitive websites, oftentimes shut down blogs, and require internet service providers to remove content or social media accounts regarded as politically unacceptable.
Moreover, the government in Vietnam forbids the creation of political associations and human rights organizations. Authorities necessitate approval for gatherings and don’t give any permission for meetings or marches they consider to be intolerable. In recent years, authorities have assaulted dozens of people who participated in demonstrations to protest against draft laws on special economic zones and laws on cybersecurity.
Another very sensitive theme in Vietnam is religion. For maintaining the focus on the Communist Party, the government does not want the citizens to be influenced by something as powerful as religion. Religious groups are required to get approval from the government and they can operate only under the control of it. The Vietnamese government bans religious activities that they consider misleading, but they allow churches and pagodas to hold some worship services.
Vietnamese bloggers like Le Van Dung face regular persecution and intimidation. The police often arrest political critics for their posts on the internet. The sentences given ranged from 4 to 12 years in prison. Police constrain dissidents to long and bullying interrogations and detain them for a long period of time without access to family members or legal counsel.
Even if they would like to escape and move to another country, they couldn’t as the Vietnamese government prohibited many dissidents and human rights defenders from traveling abroad.