The European Union has called the Vietnamese authorities to release a well-known human rights activist Pham Doan Trang and other leading human rights defenders sentenced to imprisonment for investigating and bringing attention to alleged human rights violations in Vietnam
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2021) The European Union has called the Vietnamese authorities to release a well-known human rights activist Pham Doan Trang and other leading human rights defenders sentenced to imprisonment for investigating and bringing attention to alleged human rights violations in Vietnam.
"The European Union calls for the release of Vietnamese journalist and blogger Ms Pham Doan Trang, who has been sentenced to nine years of prison at the Hanoi's People Court on 14 December on the vague charge of alleged 'anti-state propaganda'. The actions taken against Ms Pham Doan Trang on the basis of her extensive and peaceful journalistic work defending civil and political rights are in violation of Vietnam's international human rights obligations," the EU said in a statement.
The EU also urged Hanoi to release human rights advocates Trinh Ba Phuong, Nam Trung and Nguyen Thi Tam sentenced from six to ten years in prison on the charge of making, storing, distributing or disseminating information against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The trial against the activists was the latest in the Southeast Asian country to draw widespread attention from international human rights organizations, as well as media and governments of other countries.
According to the human rights groups, the authorities' attack on the public criticism was stepped up following the clashes that occurred during the Dong Tam village raids in January 2020. Residents of the village protested the lease of the land to a military-owned telecommunications company. A police operation in the region left three police officers and two civilians dead.
All the activists were arrested shortly after the clashes in the village. They documented information on alleged human rights violations and incidents of police brutality in Dong Tam, as well as other alleged abuses of human rights in Vietnam.
