February 10, 2012
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Viet Nam.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) about the enforced disappearance while in detention of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (alias Dieu Cay), Founder of the Club of Free Journalists and prominent blogger, who has been unaccounted for the past 16 months while in investigative detention.
According to the information received, Mr. Dieu Cay, who is reportedly currently in investigative detention on charges of “propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam” (Article 88 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code), has not had any contact with his family for the past 16 months. His wife, Mrs. Duong Thi Tan, has not been able to see him or obtain any information about him for the past 16 months, and the police has consistently refused to tell her even where he is detained.
On January 17 and 20, 2012, Mrs. Tan was authorised to send food parcels through the police to her husband for the Lunar New Year (January 23, 2012). On February 1, she went to the Ho Chi Minh City Security Police Investigations Department, Phan Dang Luu Street, to ask for a receipt signed by her husband, which is routine practice for all prisoners’ families. Lieutenant-colonel Pham Van Tan, the officer in charge, would not receive her, and delegated a young police officer to take her complaint. When she explained the situation, he went inside the office and returned with a receipt. The signature was a mere scribble. It was definitely not Dieu Cay’s signature, she said. On February 6, 2012, she then went to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Office of Supervision and Control (the People’s Procuracy or Vien Kiem sat), to ask for news of her husband. She had written to the Office seven times before finally obtaining an appointment. However, when she arrived, they refused to receive her, and told her not to bother coming again.
The Observatory is deeply concerned by Mr. Dieu Cay’s enforced disappearance, which seems to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities, and fears that he may have died in prison, or be gravely ill. Accordingly, the Observatory calls on Vietnamese authorities to immediately provide information on the situation of Mr. Dieu Cay, including his whereabouts and current state of health, and to respect his rights to receive visits from, and communicate with his family.
Background information [1]:
The Observatory recalls that Mr. Dieu Cay was arrested in April 2008 and sentenced to two and a half years in prison at an unfair trial on trumped-up charges of “tax evasion” in September 2008 [2]. In fact, he had written articles calling for human rights and democratic reforms posted on the Internet, and staged demonstrations during the Beijing Olympic games. In 2009, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Mr. Dieu Cay to be a victim of arbitrary detention (Opinion 1/2009).
Mr. Dieu Cay was due for release on October 19, 2010 after having completed his prison term. However, his family was then informed that he would remain in detention under the new charge of “propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam”. Since this second charge was pronounced, Mrs. Tan and her family have been denied all contacts with him, and both the police and judiciary systematically refuse to give any information on his case. In 2011, she travelled thirteen times to the Xuan Loc Prison Camp In Dong Nai where he was previously detained, but was turned back by the police each time.
On July 5, 2011, Dieu Cay’s wife was told by Lt.-Colonel Dang Hong Diep of the Ho Chi Minh City Security Police Investigations Department that Dieu Cay had “lost his hand or arm” whilst in detention (the Vietnamese expression is “mất tay”, which could mean losing either a hand or an arm).
The Observatory recalls that this prolonged pre-trial detention is a violation of national and international law, including Article 120 of the Vietnamese Criminal Procedures Code, which limits pre-trial detention to a maximum of four months that may only be extended in “serious cases”.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Viet Nam urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Dieu Cay as well as of all human rights defenders in Viet Nam;
ii. Take prompt action in order to disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Dieu Cay;
iii. Release Mr. Dieu Cay immediately and unconditionally as his detention is arbitrary, as it seems to merely sanction his human rights activities and is contrary to national and international law;
iv. Put an end to all acts harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Dieu Cay as well as against all human rights defenders in Viet Nam;
v. Comply with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular:
– its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,
– as well as Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
vi. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Viet Nam.
Addresses:
· H.E. Mr. Pham Binh Minh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1 Ton That Dam St., Ba Dinh District
Hanoi, Vietnam; Tel: 84-4-37992000; 080 48235; Fax: 84-4-38231872 – 84-4-37992682
· H.E. Mr. Nguyen Thai Binh, Minister of Internal Affairs, 37A Nguyen Binh Khiem St., Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, Vietnam; Tel: 84-4-39764116 – 84-4-39764278; Fax: 84-4-39781005
· H.E. Mr. Ha Hung Cuong, Minister of Justice, 56-60 Tran Phu St., Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam; Tel: 84-4-37336213 – 84-4-37338068; Fax: 84-4-38431431; E-mail: botuphap@moj.gov.vn
· H.E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang, Minister of Public Security, 44 Yet Kieu St., Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam; Tel: 84-4-069 42545 - 84-4-048 226602; Fax: 84-4-9420223
· H.E. Mr. Vu Duc Dam, Minister, Office of the Government (OOG), 1 Hoang Hoa Tham St.
Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam; Tel: 84-4-80 43100 ; 84-4-80 43569; Fax: 84-4-80 44130; E-mail: vpcp@chinhphu.vn
· H.E. Amb. Mr. Le Hoai Trung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 435, New York, NY 10017, USA; Tel: 212 - 644 - 0594 / 0831; Fax: 212 - 644 – 5732; Email: info@vietnam-un.org
· H.E. Mr Vũ Dũng, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotential, Permanent Representative, 30 chemin des Corbillettes, 1218 Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland; Tel (Assistant): +41 022-791 85 40; Phone: +41 (0) 22 791 85 40; Fax : +41 (0) 22-798 07 24; Email : info@vnmission-ge.gov.vn
· HE Mr. PHAM Sanh Chau, Ambassador, Boulevard Général Jacques 1, 1050 Brussels; Tel: +32 (0)2. 379 27 37 ; Fax : +32 (0)2. 374 93 76; Email : vnemb.brussels@skynet.be - unescochau@yahoo.com
Please also write to the embassies of Viet Nam in your respective country.