Tried in secret for “abuse of democratic freedoms” and detained in a psychiatric hospital against his will, journalist Le Anh Hung knows how much any criticism of communist power costs Vietnam.
“They forced me to take medicine. I refused. But they tied my hands, legs and even my shoulders to a bed, and they gave me an injection”, describes this former regular collaborator from the Voice of America radio website, released in July.
Mr Le, 50, spent three years in a psychiatric hospital against his will before being tried without his family knowing and sentenced to five years in prison. The charges against him have not been publicly detailed.
Restricted freedom of expression, absence of opposition, arbitrary arrests… US President Joe Biden is visiting a country on Sunday whose human rights record is “deplorable in all areas”, noted the NGO Human Rights Watch.
A spokesman for the US State Department assured AFP that “human rights are a subject that we raise at the highest levels with Vietnam”.
But the majority of activists expect little from the visit of the Democratic leader, dictated by his strategy of counterbalancing the influence of China, a rival superpower, in the region.
Since 2016, the N°1 of the Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong has orchestrated a toughening of repression, without being too worried by the international community. The government has been largely successful in crushing the opposition, activists say.
The imprisonment since 2022 of five environmental defenders for tax evasion has not prevented Hanoi from receiving the promise of fifteen billion dollars in aid from rich countries, including the United States, to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
“The protection and promotion of human rights is a constant policy” of Vietnam, the government assured earlier this year. He did not respond to a recent request from AFP for comment on the matter.
A total of 193 activists are in prison in Vietnam, according to The 88 Project, an NGO defending freedom of expression in Vietnam.
Among them, Peter Lam Bui, a noodle seller, detained for “anti-state propaganda”.
His wrong? To have imitated “Salt Bae”, in a nod to the controversy provoked by a senior Vietnamese official for having eaten a steak covered with gold leaf, in a London restaurant owned by the famous cook.
“The Communist Party has certainly succeeded in drowning out the voices of people like me,” said Nguyen Vu Binh, 54, a political activist imprisoned for nearly five years in the early 2000s.
Most activists expect little from Biden’s visit. “I don’t expect serious pressure from the United States and the European Union,” said Le Cong Dinh, a former lawyer from Ho Chi Minh City who was imprisoned for subversion. “These countries see Vietnam as a strategic partner for their security and trade policies in Southeast Asia (…). The protection of human rights is no longer a priority in their relationship, especially with the conflict in Ukraine. “.
The few remaining voices of the pro-democracy movement decry Vietnam’s lack of transparency, which continues to apply the death penalty largely in secret.
At 77, Nguyen Truong Chinh is fighting to defend the innocence of his son, Nguyen Van Chuong, arrested in 2017 and sentenced to death for the murder of a policeman.
The United Nations called in early August on Vietnam not to proceed with the execution of Nguyen Van Chuong, whose case has been marked by accusations of torture and violations of the right to a fair trial.
“I want to help but I feel desperate” in the face of an opaque system that rejected his appeals, explains Mr. Nguyen. “Me, his sister, his mother, we are dying slowly”.
He is convinced that he is being watched by the authorities who would have acted behind the scenes to have his requests for accommodation in the capital Hanoi rejected, where he could have campaigned for his son more effectively.
Despite everything, he still believes that there will be “a Vietnam with freedoms, democracy and human rights”.
09/05/2023 08:49:45 – Hanoi (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
