[ad_1]
Civil society organizations, journalists and protesters in lots of Asia-Pacific nations are dealing with growing repression, in keeping with a new report by the CIVICUS Monitor.
Vietnam got here underneath specific criticism for failing to honor its obligations as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 time period.
CIVICUS, a worldwide civil society alliance, assessed situations in 198 international locations and territories for its “Folks Energy Beneath Assault 2023” report, classifying eight on this area – Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Myanmar, North Korea Vietnam and Bangladesh – as “closed.”
In Vietnam CIVICUS cited many circumstances of repression, together with the March sentencing of land rights activist Truong Van Dung to 6 years in jail, and the eight 12 months sentence towards alleged anti-state propagandist Tran Van Bang, handed down in Might.
Different imprisoned activists named within the report included Bui Tuan Lam, jailed for over 5 years for “propaganda;” anti-corruption campaigner Dang Dang Phuoc, who acquired an eight-year sentence; Phan Son Tung, handed a six-year time period; and Nguyen Lan Thang, jailed for six years.
Circumstances in Vietnam’s prisons additionally worsened, the report mentioned. Lawyer Dang Dinh Bach was assaulted by policemen in August after telling his household he’d been threatened by inmates.
CIVICUS additionally criticized Hanoi’s rising use of censorship, blocking a whole bunch of internet sites and ordering social media platforms to take down “anti-state” posts.
Folks’s freedom to protest was additionally curtailed with dozens of ethnic Ede demonstrators dispersed by armed police after they tried to dam a drainage undertaking in April.
“What we’ve seen is ongoing efforts to criminalize and jail human rights defenders together with environmental activists and minority rights activists utilizing a spread of restrictive nationwide safety legal guidelines after unfair trials,” CIVICUS Montior’s Asia-Pacific researcher Josef Benedict informed Radio Free Asia.
“This can be very worrying that the authorities have continued to make use of torture and ill-treatment towards political prisoners with the aim of coercing confessions, acquiring info or punishing political dissidents for his or her opinions,” he added.
Benedict referred to as on the worldwide group to place stress on Vietnamese authorities “to launch all political prisoners and repeal all restrictive legal guidelines.”
He additionally urged Vietnam’s neighbors to guard dissidents in search of refuge of their international locations, citing the kidnapping of Duong Van Thai by Vietnamese safety brokers working in Thailand and accusing Hanoi of “transnational repression.”
Edited by Taejun Kang.
[ad_2]
Source link
