Vietnam Officially Charges Young Activist Tran Hoang Phuc with Anti-state Propaganda Allegation
By Defend the Defenders, July 9, 2017
Vietnam has officially charged young activist Tran Hoang Phuc with allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code after detaining him for five days.
On July 3, Hanoi’s police said they will hold Phuc for investigation for producing, holding and spreading videoclips which defame the ruling communist party and its leaders. Phuc, a member of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) established few years ago by then U.S. President Barack Obama, was kidnapped by security forces in his renting apartment in Hanoi on June 29 and the arrest was publicized after his mother came from Ho Chi Minh City to ask about his situation.
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, the mother of imprisoned Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, said she came to the police detention facility in Khanh Hoa province on July 3 to request for meeting with her daughter but the prison’s authorities denied. Quynh, who was arrested on October 10 last year and sentenced to 10 years in prison on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code, met with her mother once since her arrest on June 28, one day ahead of her trial on June 29.
Authorities in Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province continue to terror the Catholic community in the Van Thai sub-parish by sending thugs to beet followers.
Many Vietnamese detainees continue to be found dead in police stations in a number of localities. This week, the victim came from Phan Rang city and police said the detainee hanged himself with his shirt.
Many domestic and international human rights signed in a joint letter to request Vietnam’s government to launch an “independent, unbiased and effective” investigation into the suspicious death of Nguyen Huu Tan, a Hoa Hao Buddhist follower, at a police station in the southern province of Vinh Long in May.
Many international rights groups also jointly sent a petition to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to demand for release of prisoners of conscience Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do, human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai and environmental activist Do Thi Hong.
