Democratic Voice of Vietnam

Bringing the voice of Vietnam’s civil society to the world

A project of BPSOS

Category: Freedoms

  • Summary appeal hearing upholds blogger’s jail term

    Published on Tuesday 20 November 2012. Updated on Wednesday 21 November 2012. In yet another act of summary justice, a court in Dak Nong province took just 45 minutes today to confirm blogger Dinh Dang Dinh’s six-year jail sentence on appeal. Reporters Without Borders is appalled by the decision and calls on the international community…

  • Asean Human-Rights Pledge Leaves Critics Cool

    The Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2012 By CHUN HAN WONG PHNOM PENH—Southeast Asian leaders signed their first-ever joint declaration on human rights, a landmark in a region whose governments are often criticized for curtailing freedom—but rights groups dismissed it as inadequate. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ declaration—adopted at the 10-member group’s summit in…

  • PHNOM PENH STATEMENT – ON THE ADOPTION OF THE ASEAN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION (AHRD)

    PHNOM PENH STATEMENT ON THE ADOPTION OF THE ASEAN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION (AHRD) WE, the Heads of State/Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), on the occasion of the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; REAFFIRMING ASEAN’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental…

  • “ASEAN Human Rights Declaration should maintain international standards,” urge key UN expert group

    GENEVA (16 November 2012) – The largest body of independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights system today called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ensure that international human rights standards are maintained when they come to consider the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration this Sunday, 18 November. “It…

  • International organizations call on ASEAN to postpone flawed human rights declaration

    05 November 2012   ASEAN: Postpone deeply flawed ASEAN Human Rights Declaration   Bangkok, Thailand – In a letter sent today to ASEAN Heads of State, leading international human rights organizations called for the postponement of the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, pointing out that in its current form, the Declaration falls short…

  • US State Department deplores Vietnam’s sentencing of two musicians

    Conviction and Sentencing of Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh Press Statement Mark C. Toner Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC November 1, 2012 The United States is troubled by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court conviction and sentencing on October 30 of musicians Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh…

  • Vietnamese activists convicted for online songs

    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…

  • Vietnam sentences 2 songwriters to prison for posting songs critical of the government

    By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, October 30, 6:50 AM HANOI, Vietnam — Two musicians in Vietnam whose topical songs are popular among overseas Vietnamese were sentenced to prison Tuesday, prompting criticism from the United States and international rights groups. Vo Minh Tri and Tran Vu Anh Binh were sentenced to four and six years in…

  • Vietnam Jails Musicians Over ‘Anti-State Propaganda’

    VOA News, Marianne Brown October 30, 2012 HANOI — Two prominent Vietnamese musicians have become the latest activists to be jailed for spreading songs that are critical of the Chinese government. Marianne Brown reports from Hanoi.Despite strict censorship spanning decades, composers in Vietnam have rarely been prosecuted for the content of their music. However the…

  • Viet Nam: Acquit songwriters who face 20 years in jail

    Amnesty International, 29 October 2012 Two Vietnamese songwriters who face up to 20 years in jail for writing songs criticizing their government should be released immediately and unconditionally, Amnesty International said today, ahead of their trial on Tuesday 30 October 2012 at Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Court. Vo Minh Tri, known as Viet Khang,…