Wipo geneva, City in Switzerland

Authorities in Vietnam must immediately release four activists jailed this week for spreading anti-State propaganda, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.Over a three-day period, prominent human rights defenders Trinh Ba Phoung, Nguyen Thi Tam, Do Nam Trung and independent author Pham Doan Trang, were sentenced to up to a decade in jail, and five years on probation.Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said OHCHR was "deeply troubled" by the harsh sentencing of the human rights and land rights defenders, who were charged under articles 88 and 117 of Viet Nam's Criminal Code.Meanwhile, journalist Le Trong Hung, who had announced his intention to run for political office as an independent, is facing trial on 31 December on similar charges."We urge the authorities in Viet Nam to immediately release all these individuals as well as the many others arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression," said Shamdasani, speaking in Geneva.All five persons were arrested in 2020 and 2021, and OHCHR said the charges against them appeared to be part of a campaign to silence and intimidate those who speak out in defence of human rights."All the cases follow similar worrying patterns that raise serious issues concerning the presumption of innocence, the legality of their detention, and the fairness of their trial," Shamdasani told journalists."There is prolonged incommunicado pre-trial detention, prosecution under the vaguely worded offence of 'spreading anti-State propaganda', denial of access to legal counsel and closed trials that do not respect international fair trial standards."The UN human rights office has urged the Vietnamese Government to repeal all legal provisions that violate fundamental freedoms."Cases of this kind contribute to a climate of self-censorship in the country and have a chilling effect on media freedom," said Ms. Shamdasani. "They also prevent people from exercising their fundamental rights and engaging in public debate on issues of importance."( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Wipo GenevaFOLLOW

Wipo geneva, Latest News

Geneva, Feb 15 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded the efforts of South African researchers, who have ... ...

Dozens of people, including Afghan citizens gathered in front of the Swiss consulate in Munich, Germany on Sunday in connection with the Taliban delegation's visit to Switzerland. ...

LawSikho, headquartered in New Delhi, is a leading ed-tech start-up that specialises in preparing lawyers and law students across developing nations for international remote jobs. ...

Days after their quiet detention, the Taliban freed two western citizens and their two Afghan colleagues on Friday who had been working for the UN after the world body had announced that they had been held by the Taliban for several days in Afghanist ...

Kabul, Feb 12 A Taliban delegation currently on a five-day visit to Geneva has called for talks with ... ...

Sydney, Dec 23 Wearing a mask and getting booster shots of Covid "every six months" may now become ... ...

United Nations, Dec 21 UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said that he is ready to convene ... ...

Authorities in Vietnam must immediately release four activists jailed this week for spreading anti-State propaganda, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday. ...