Family of
Jailed Vietnamese Blogger Urges Public, Media Turnout at Trial
Tra Mi - VOA
October 24, 2013
The
mother of a well-known Vietnamese dissident blogger is appealing to VOA and
other media outlets, as well as the public, to attend his upcoming trial on
charges of violating state interests.
Dinh Nhat Uy is the first blogger publicly charged under Vietnam's controversial
new Article 258, which provides criminal penalties for "abusing freedoms to
infringe upon the state's interests".
He was arrested after writing blog posts critical of the four year prison
sentence given to his brother in August following a highly publicized trial of
two anti-China student activists. Interviews with VOA and other media outlets
are cited in the charges against Dinh, who will go on trial on October 29 in the
city of Long An.
Nguyen Thi Kim Lieng told VOA's Vietnamese service the prosecution of her son
has attracted widespread public attention and people should come to witness what
a public trial' looks like in Vietnam.
"Uy's trial is the first for Vietnamese bloggers on Article 258, so I'd like to
invite everybody to come witness what the authorities describe as a public
trial'," she said.
Defense attorney Ha Huy Son told VOA's Vietnamese service that Hanoi is using
Uy's trial to test the reactions from domestic bloggers and the international
community.
"The authorities are using this trial as a test to define upcoming measures for
Vietnamese bloggers who challenge the government's intolerance of criticism," he
said.
He added that Article 258 is unconstitutional and also violates international
rights conventions and treaties signed by Vietnam.
It is not known if the trial will actually be open to the public. Vietnamese
officials have not responded to VOA's requests to comment on the matter.
Human Rights Watch Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson said this is part of an
on-going persecution of peaceful critics in Vietnam.
"Unfortunately, this is part of the ongoing persecution of peaceful critics in
Vietnam. The government should immediately stop these actions against people
that violate their freedom of expression."
Rights groups, dissidents and some western countries frequently accuse Vietnam
of stifling dissent and free speech.
(This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Vietnamese service.)