Information about imprisoned journalist’s stroke unavailable in press or Facebook

The Vietnamese government is behaving in a criminal manner towards certain prisoners of conscience, keeping them in detention although they are in very poor health. Father Nguyen Van Ly, the editor of an opposition newspaper, has had as stroke in prison, while writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy’s health has been undermined by harsh prison conditions. “Such ruthless treatment of political prisoners, including journalists and writers, is unworthy of a government that has just presided the United Nations Security Council,” Reporters Without Borders said. “This appalling reality is very far from the ‘New Vietnam’ that French Prime Minister François Fillon praised during a recent visit.” The press freedom organisation added: “In view of the urgency of these humanitarian cases, we expect a public reaction from the European Union, which is engaged in a human rights dialogue with Vietnam that has yet to produce any results.” The Vietnamese themselves will not find any mention of these cases in the press, especially as the government has just issued a new directive of which article 7 makes the dissemination of news and information “not in accordance with the interests of the nation and people” punishable by heavy fines or the withdrawal of the journalist’s press card. Neither will Vietnamese Internet users be find information about these cases on the social-networking website Facebook, which is almost entirely inaccessible. Reporters Without Borders calls on the authorities to explain why Internet users are having so many problems accessing the site. Vietnam is making a mistake if it is following China’s example in targeting Facebook. Internet users in Vietnam told Reporters Without Borders they have been having increasing difficulties in accessing Facebook for the past week. The website has more than a million users in Vietnam and most of them use the Vietnamese-language version that was developed by Facebook itself, which is based in the United States. The Associated Press has quoted a technician at Vietnam Data Corp, an Internet service provider, as saying the authorities gave orders for Facebook to be blocked. Prisoners of conscience Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest, suffered a stroke on 14 November in his cell in wing 11 of Ba Sao prison, where he has been held since 2007. His family say the right side of his body is now paralysed. He has been taken to a hospital in the capital where he is slowly recovering the use of his right arm. The security minister said in early September that Nguyen Van Ly’s health was “assured” in the prison. He nonetheless had a serious of problems prior to the stroke – including haemorrhaging, a fall and incipient paralysis – that were almost certainly due to his hypertension. The editor of the dissident newspaper Tu do Ngôn luan, Nguyen Van Ly is serving an eight-year jail sentence on a charge of “propaganda hostile to the government.” Writer and human rights activist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy’s health suffered a marked deterioration after he was transferred to Hoa Lu prison, near Hanoi, on 19 October. She was beaten at the time of her arrest on a trumped up charge of aggravated assault. Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, who suffers from diabetes and tuberculosis that is in an advanced stage, was denied medical treatment during a previous spell in prison. Other dissidents are having problems in jail. Secondary school teacher Vu Van Hung went on hunger strike in protest against his three-year sentence for defending multi-party democracy. Lawyer and blogger Le Thi Cong Nhan is suffering from allergies exacerbated by the conditions in her prison. In the 50-square-metre cell she has to share with 60 other inmates, the space in which she has to sleep on a mat is just 60 cm wide. At least 21 journalists and bloggers are in prison in Vietnam.