Democratic Voice of Vietnam

5 Win Prestigious Hellman/Hammett Awards

Human Rights Watch

(New York, December 20, 2012) – Five Vietnamese bloggers are among an extraordinary group of 41 people from 19 countries who have received the prestigious Hellman/Hammett
award recognizing writers who demonstrate courage and conviction in the face of
political persecution, Human Rights Watch said today. They are Huynh Ngoc Tuan,
Huynh Thuc Vy, Nguyen Huu Vinh, Pham Minh Hoang, and Vu Quoc Tu (short
biographies below).

“Like other Vietnamese exercising their right to free expression, many of the
country’s growing corps of bloggers are increasingly threatened, assaulted, or
even jailed for peacefully expressing their views,” said Brad Adams, Asia
director at Human Rights Watch, which administers the annual Hellman/Hammett
awards. “By recognizing these five brave men and women, who have already
suffered much and face on-going threats to their basic rights, we are honored
to amplify the voices the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party wants to prevent
from participating in public discussions of Vietnam’s many social and political
problems.”

This year’s Vietnamese award-winners reflect the diversity of sectors in
Vietnamese society whose critical and concerned voices the government wishes to
silence: advocate of religious freedom Nguyen Huu Vinh (who blogs as J.B Nguyen
Huu Vinh); rights defender Pham Minh Hoang (who blogs as Phan Kien Quoc);
freelance journalist Vu Quoc Tu (known as Uyen Vu); novelist Huynh Ngoc Tuan;
and the youthful political, social commentator Huynh Thuc Vy. All five have
been persecuted for their writings.

Human Rights Watch said that the Vietnamese government systematically
suppresses freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and
persecutes those who question government policies, expose official corruption,
or call for democratic alternatives to one-party rule. Writers and bloggers
often face lengthy prison terms imposed by “people’s courts,” temporary police
detention and onerous interrogation, intrusive surveillance by various
authorities, restrictions on domestic travel and prohibitions on leaving the
country, beatings by security officials and anonymous thugs, fines, and denial
of opportunities for livelihood.