Hanoi Court on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, jailed Nguyen Lan Thang a prominent political Human rights Activist for 6 years. He was arrested on July 2022 for “ conducting anti-state propaganda “. Thang was denied regular visits to his family and lawyer for the first seven months of his arrest, on 16th Feb for the first time he met his lawyer and family. He was convicted in a closed trial attended by only his lawyer and wife, which is a gross violation of basic human rights.
Vietnamese authorities accused him of violations of Article 117 of the Criminal Code,2015. He was arrested and charged with “making, storing, distributing, or disseminating information, documents, and items against the State”. Thang posted videos which showed various malpractices and corruption of the government on Facebook and Youtube, which the authorities considered ‘anti-state videos’. Nguyen had a background of peaceful protests, opposing Chinese Influence, land expansion and confiscation, and civil righteousness of Vietnamese people for many of which he faced detentions, travel restrictions and harassment before his arrest. Vietnam has used this unjust criminal statute of 117 to arrest at least 32 people, including human rights defenders and journalists, since 2019.
Human Rights organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists have been openly criticizing this move of the Vietnamese Authorities. Vietnam is mocking its status of the United Nations Human Rights Organisations, and these global authorities of protection of Human Rights violations are demanding the release of Thang and demanding a fair and open trial for the protection of his Freedom of Expression.
Amnesty International stated, “Nguyen Lan Thang’s trial shows that the Vietnamese authorities are silencing those producing content deemed ‘unfavourable’ as they seek to ensure subservience to the state. His lack of adequate access to a lawyer and family visits are a further stain on a deeply flawed and unfair trial.”
Democracy’s essence is lost in this current scenario of global politics be it in China, India, the USA or this case Vietnam, the redressal mechanism to a prospective idea is its essential identity to fulfil a consensus of the people’s voice. we are witnessing so many unfair prosecutions of journalists, activists or any form of opposition voice that this world scenario seems like just autocracy cloaked in forms of various democracies.
Swarnabh Saha ,BcomLLB(H) SEM-6, St.Xavier’s University, Kokata
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