The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International is appalled by the sentences handed down to songwriters Vo Minh Tri and Tran Vu Anh Binh who were sentenced to four and six yeas in prison respectively, for conducting ‘anti-state propaganda’ via their critical songs posted on the internet. PEN International protests their imprisonment in the strongest possible terms, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a signatory.
Vo Minh Tri (pen name:Minh Tri and Viêt Khang) and Tran Vu Anh Binh (pen name: Hoang Nhat Thong) were convicted for ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’ under Article 88 of the Criminal Code, for posting the songs they authored on the internet. Both writers were sentenced after a five-hour trial at Ho Chi Minh People’s Court on 30 October 2012.
The court also accused the songwriters of having links with the organisation Tuoi Tre Yeu Nuoc (Young Patriots), a group that reportedly advocates respect for issues including human rights and democratic reforms. The court alleged that some of Vo and Tran Vu’s songs and blog posts had been published on the Young Patriots’s website.
Read more: http://www.ifex.org/vietnam/2012/10/31/songwriters_convicted/
