Crackdown on freedom of speech and the press
Freedom of speech is the political right to openly express one individual or group's ideas and opinions. Freedom of the press is the right to communicate such expressions through various means of public media. In Vietnam, many cases of violations of these rights have been reported by international press for the last few years. Despite the acknowledgement of these rights in constitutional law, the government continues to use national security forces and media censorship to enforce restrictions. The government still heavily restricts free speech that criticizes the government, promotes multiparty democracy, or advocates sensitive human rights, religious and political matters. The CPV and large organizations censor and have control over all broadcast, print and electronic media.
On January 20, 2010, lawyer Le Cong Dinh was convicted with "subversion crime" and "attempts to overthrow the state", after being charged at first as "spreading anti-goverment propaganda". He had openly criticized the bauxite mining case in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and he also publicly defended many other human rights defenders (who were considered political dissents) such as Nguyen Van Dai and Nguyen Van Hai. The latter was also known under the name Dieu Cay, and was sentenced to 12 years this September due to his criticism of the government in his online blog. This September also marked the imprisonment of two other bloggers aside from Nguyen Van Hai. Ms. Ta Phong Tan, formerly a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her blog, Justice and Truth, after her mother set herself on fire in front of a government building to protest Ms. Tan's charges. Pham Thanh Hai, a legal activist blogging under the name Anh Ba Saigon, was jailed for four years with the crime of contacting "anti-state people". On his blog, he has written on sensitive topics such as territorial disputes on the South China Sea and the bauxite mining case.
On January 20, 2010, lawyer Le Cong Dinh was convicted with "subversion crime" and "attempts to overthrow the state", after being charged at first as "spreading anti-goverment propaganda". He had openly criticized the bauxite mining case in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and he also publicly defended many other human rights defenders (who were considered political dissents) such as Nguyen Van Dai and Nguyen Van Hai. The latter was also known under the name Dieu Cay, and was sentenced to 12 years this September due to his criticism of the government in his online blog. This September also marked the imprisonment of two other bloggers aside from Nguyen Van Hai. Ms. Ta Phong Tan, formerly a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her blog, Justice and Truth, after her mother set herself on fire in front of a government building to protest Ms. Tan's charges. Pham Thanh Hai, a legal activist blogging under the name Anh Ba Saigon, was jailed for four years with the crime of contacting "anti-state people". On his blog, he has written on sensitive topics such as territorial disputes on the South China Sea and the bauxite mining case.