Aug. 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States has signaled its concern on Friday over the conviction and nine-year prison sentence against human rights activist Pham Doan Trang for “spreading propaganda against the state” of Vietnam.
“We take note of the reports of Trang’s deteriorating health and urge Vietnam to ensure adequate medical care and allow him access to assess his health status,” the US Secretary of State said in a statement on Friday. , NedPrice.
In this sense, Washington has declared that the journalist’s arrest “is the latest example of an alarming pattern of arrests and sentences of people in Vietnam for peacefully expressing their opinions.”
“We call on the Vietnamese government to release Trang and allow all people in Vietnam to exercise their right to freedom of expression, without fear of reprisal, in accordance with the human rights provisions in the Vietnamese constitution and the obligations and international commitments of Vietnam”, Price settled.
Hanoi’s Higher People’s Court on Thursday rejected the appeal of a sentence handed down in December against the journalist, who was sentenced to a nine-year prison term for spreading “propaganda against the state”, thus confirming her sentence.
Amnesty International called this week for the freedom of the journalist, as well as “all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Vietnam”, among which are also the journalist Le Van Dung or the activists Can Thi Theu and Nguyen ThiTam, among others.
This complaint was also joined by Reporters Without Borders, which called on Vietnam’s trade partners, including the European Union and the United States, to use their trade agreements with Hanoi to press for Pham’s release.
“Unfortunately, the confirmation of Pham Doan Trang’s sentence is not surprising, given the degree to which Vietnam’s judicial system is under the control of ruling party bureaucrats,” the Asia-Pacific bureau chief said Thursday. of RSF, Daniel Bastard.
On the other hand, the European Union also ruled on the ratification of his sentence, for which it assured, in a statement, that “the numerous and arbitrary arrests of peaceful activists and journalists are in direct contradiction with International Law.”
“The European Union continues to call on the Vietnamese authorities to release all arbitrarily detained human rights defenders. We also call on the authorities to allow trial observation and guarantee the right to a fair trial for all people. “, said at the time the EU.
The activist was arrested in October of last year 2020 in the city of Ho Chi Minh, since which time she has been in preventive detention, depriving her of the right to a lawyer. Pham has been involved throughout her career in peaceful protests against government policies and has joined demonstrations against the arrest of other activists on numerous occasions.
Thus, she was accused of illegally storing documents in English that “have the content of propagating psychological warfare, disseminating false information that sows confusion in people, disseminating distorted information on the guidelines and policies of the State and defaming the Administration.”
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