July 27, 2011
According to Vietnamese state media, Pham Minh Hoang will be brought to trial on August 10, 2011 in Saigon on charges of “attempting to overthrow the socialist government” under Article 79 of the penal code.
Pham Minh Hoang went abroad to study in France in 1973. In 2000, he returned to Vietnam as a lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology with the aspiration of educating Vietnam’s future generation. As a member of Viet Tan, Pham Minh Hoang shared a desire to overcome dictatorship and reform the country through peaceful means.
In the subsequent decade, Pham Minh Hoang participated in wide ranging efforts to defend Vietnamese national interests such as protesting bauxite mining in the Central Highlands and raising awareness on Chinese encroachment in the East Sea. Under the penname Phan Kien Quoc, he blogged extensively on the root causes of the problems facing the country. He also organized workshops on leadership skills for his students and sought to empower and encourage future leaders to make a difference in society.
The activities of Pham Minh Hoang in no way violated any law. He merely exercised his fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.
In recent days, the Hanoi regime has renewed its crackdown on human rights. Authorities transferred Catholic Priest Nguyen Van Ly from his church in Hue to a harsh prison camp, though he suffers from serious health ailments incurred in jail previously. Meanwhile, authorities announced that legal scholar Cu Huy Ha Vu will face an appeals court on August 2. His conviction for “propaganda against the socialist state” was widely criticized by Vietnamese and international public opinion.
Rather than uniting the country to deal with the grave threats from China, the Hanoi authorities remain focused on suppressing domestic dissent—from detaining activists protesting Chinese aggression to jailing intellectuals who have spoken out. The ongoing repression of patriotic voices by the Hanoi leadership is an open invitation for Beijing to increase its encroachment over Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
Viet Tan extends our deepest concern to the families of Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, legal scholar Cu Huy Ha Vu and professor Pham Minh Hoang. We will continue to advocate for the unconditional release of these courageous democracy activists. Only a free and democratic Vietnam where the participation of all citizens is respected can fully develop and maintain the country’s territorial sovereignty.
Contact:
Duy Hoang +1.202.470.0845