[ndlr] Nguyễn Văn Đài (1969-), activiste bien connu, est de nouveau emprisonné. Son arrestation le 16 décembre 2015 pour “propagande anti-étatique” a soulevé les protestations de l’ensemble des organisations de défense des Droits de l’homme et de l’Union européenne. Communiqué d’Amnesty International ci-après.

Authorities in Viet Nam must immediately and unconditionally release human rights lawyer Nguyễn Văn Đài, who has been detained on charges of “spreading propaganda against the state” shortly after the EU-Viet Nam Human Rights dialogue was held in the capital Ha Noi, Amnesty International said today.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Public Security, Nguyễn Văn Đài was taken into police custody on Wednesday and charged under Article 88 of the Penal Code, which has frequently been used to imprison peaceful activists and human rights defenders. A search warrant was issued for his house in Ha Noi. The arrest comes a month before the once every five years National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam which is often preceded by a crackdown on dissent.

“Nguyễn Văn Đài is a brave and passionate activist who has been raising awareness domestically and internationally about human rights violations in a country that tolerates no dissent. His arrest highlights Viet Nam’s spurious commitment to human rights. He must be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“The timing of Đài’s arrest is worrying and may indicate the start of a crackdown on government critics similar to those which have preceded previous party congresses. Rather than locking up its critics, Viet Nam should be looking on the party congress as an opportunity to reform and to move the country towards a genuine commitment to human rights.”

Nguyễn Văn Đài is a well-known human rights lawyer and former prisoner of conscience. He founded the dissident Committee for Human Rights in Viet Nam in 2006 – now called the Vietnam Human Rights Centre – and was one of the original signatories to an online petition on Freedom and Democracy for Viet Nam which garnered the support of thousands.

Between 2007 and 2011, Nguyễn Văn Đài served four years in prison on charges of “conducting propaganda against the state”. In April 2013, he founded the Brotherhood for Democracy, and he now faces imprisonment for a second time for his commitment to human rights. If convicted for “spreading propaganda against the state”, Nguyễn Văn Đài faces between three and 20 years in prison. Since his arrest this morning, activists inside Viet Nam have been describing Đài as Viet Nam’s Pu Zhiqiang.

The arrest comes 10 days after Đài and three colleagues were brutally assaulted by 20 men in plain clothes after they had delivered a small workshop on human rights. The attack is the latest in a series of physical assaults on human rights defenders in Viet Nam over the past 18 months which have been highlighted by the UN, among others.

“The Vietnamese authorities must also take immediate steps to end intimidation, harassment and other forms of attacks against human rights defenders, and establish an independent and impartial body to investigate and bring suspected perpetrators to justice,” said Champa Patel.

Background

Amnesty International and others have repeatedly called for Article 88 to be repealed or amended to conform with international human rights law and standards, which Viet Nam is obliged to uphold as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Vietnamese authorities have stated that several laws relating to human rights are under preparation for approval by the National Assembly in 2016. They include the draft Amended Law on the Press, the draft Law on Association, the draft Law on Demonstrations and the draft Law on Access to Information.

Source : Amnesty International

Pour en savoir plus :

• LS Đài ‘không dự phòng’ việc bị bắt, BBC tieng Viet, 16/12/2015.

• Arrest and arbitrary detention of Mr. Nguyen Van Dai, a human rights lawyer and well-known defender of religious freedom, FIDH, 18/12/2015.

• JM, Nouvelle arrestation de Nguyên Van Dai, défenseur de la liberté religieuse, Églises d’Asie, 18/12/2015.

• L’État vietnamien s’acharne contre le journalisme-citoyen, Reporters sans Frontières, 10/12/2015 : Une semaine après avoir été passé à tabac, le journaliste-citoyen Nguyen Van Dai a été arrêté pour “propagande contre l’état”. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) dénonce cette nouvelle arrestation arbitraire et exhorte les autorités à mettre un terme au harcèlement des journalistes-citoyens vietnamiens.

• Statement by the Spokesperson on the arrest of lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, European Union EEAS, 18/12/2015.

• Vietnamese Activists, EU Slam Arrest of Dissident Lawyer and Blogger, RFA, 18/12/2015.

• Voir sa fiche sur le site Avocats pour Avocats

Image “à la une” : Nguyen Van Dai, page Facebook.

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