Quote attributable to Phil Robertson, Deputy Director, Asia Division, Human Rights Watch
VRNs (Sep 27th. 2012) – HRW – “A day after delivering long prison terms to the three leaders of the “Club for Free Journalists”, Vietnam’s abusive ‘Big Brother’ campaign against free speech rights activists just keeps rolling along, slamming more people into prison for actions that should have never been considered crimes. The Vietnam government’s intolerance for free expression was on trial just as much as Dau Van Duong, Tran Huu Duc, and Chu Manh Son, the three Catholic youths in Vinh (Nghe An province) who were appealing their conviction under article 88 of the criminal code for ‘propaganda against the state.’ The court reduced Chu Manh Son’s sentence by six months, but refused to order any reduction in the sentences of the other two. Their so-called “crime” for which they were arrested and convicted was distributing pamphlets urging people to boycott Vietnam’s sham parliamentary elections – showing just how far the government is from basic principles of democracy like the right to decide whether to participate in an election or boycott it.”
