Ho Van Hai
Ho Van Hai | |
|---|---|
| Add a Photo | |
| Born | 1964 |
| Nationality | Vietnamese |
| Citizenship | Vietnam |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Citizen journalism |
Ho Van Hai (born 1964) is a Vietnamese doctor and blogger. He was arrested and charged with "anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.[1] After a one-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai was sentenced to four years in prison followed by two years house arrest.[2]
Background and Activism
Ho Van Hai was formerly a doctor working at Cho Ray Hospital.[3] In 2004, he opened a private clinic, where he worked until his arrest in 2016.[3] Hai is also the president and founder of the Go West Foundation.[3]
Hai had criticized Vietnam’s one-party Communist government under the handle “Ho Hai,” on the internet.[3] His Facebook page and blog posts spanned topics such as education and the environment, notably covering a toxic spill that poisoned millions of fish which was caused by a Taiwanese-owned steel plant.[1]
2016 Arrest and Sentence
In November 2016, Ho Van Hai was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City and accused of “spreading information and documents on the internet that are against the government of the Social Republic of Vietnam,”.[4]
After a one-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City on February 1st, 2018, Hai was sentenced to four years in prison followed by two years house arrest.[3] He was charged with "anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.[1]
Duong Lam, an activist in Ho Chi Minh City, told |RFA’s Vietnamese Service that Hai's trial was held in secret, with nearly none of his supporters aware of the proceedings.[3]
His detention is part of a series of arrests of several activists and bloggers, including Nguyễn Văn Hoá and Le Dinh Luong, who also wrote about the environmental disaster at the Formosa steel plant.[5]
Ho Van Hai was detained in Chi Hoa prison in Ho Chi Minh City in harsh conditions.[6] Reportedly, his existing health issues were exacerbated and he did not receive sufficient food or correct medications.[6]
He was released on April 17th, 2020 and is currently serving two years of house arrest.[6]
International Response
After his arrest, the Office of the UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia called on Vietnam to unconditionally release Hai.[1]
In December 2017, the European Parliament adopted an urgent resolution which called on Vietnam to end its persecution of citizen-journalists and to free all of the bloggers that had been imprisoned. [7]
In March 2019, human rights focused non-profit Freedom Now submitted a report detailing the case to the Office of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.[8] This report was delivered in advance of Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review conducted by the UN in January 2019.[8]
In October 2019, Freedom Now and international law firm Dechert LLP submitted a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Ho Van Hai.[9] In February 2021, the Working Group determined that his detention is arbitrary and violates international law.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Four years in prison for Vietnamese blogger". Reporters Without Borders. February 2, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ Duyen, Hai (February 2, 2018). "Vietnamese Facebooker sentenced to 4 years in prison for anti-state propaganda". VnExpress International. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Lipes, Joshua (February 1, 2018). "Vietnam Hands Blogger Ho Van Hai Four-Year Jail Term For 'Anti-State Propaganda'". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ Williams, Alison (November 2, 2016). "Vietnam police arrest anti-government blogger". Reuters. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ "Vietnam : Why is the Party cracking down harder on bloggers?". Reporters Without Borders. August 4, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (February 19, 2021). "Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its eighty-ninth session, 23–27 November 2020 Opinion No. 81/2020 concerning Ho Van Hai (Viet Nam)" (PDF). OHCHR. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ "MEPs call for release of all citizen-journalists held in Vietnam". Reporters Without Borders. December 14, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee Information on State Parties to be Examined – Vietnam 125th session" (PDF). Freedom Now. March 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ "Petition To: United Nations Working Group On Arbitrary Detention" (PDF). Freedom Now. October 29, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
External links
This article "Ho Van Hai" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.