Activist journalist in Vietnam loses appeal against nine-year jail term

Hanoi — A Vietnamese court upheld a nine-year prison term for a journalist and prominent dissident convicted of anti-state activities, her lawyers and state media said.

The Hanoi People’s High Court rejected the appeals by Pham Doan Trang at a tightly controlled trial in the capital city.

Pham, who widely published material on human rights and alleged police brutality in Vietnam, was convicted in December of “conducting propaganda against the state”.

“Trang argued that the initial trial in December didn’t follow domestic legal procedures and international treaty … but the court insisted that there was no foundation to accept her appeals,” her lawyer, Dang Dinh Manh, said.

Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party imposes tight media censorship and tolerates little criticism.

Manh said Pham’s family members and diplomats in Hanoi were barred from attending her appeals trial.

On Thursday, the EU called the charges Pham was convicted on “vague”, adding that the arrests and convictions of peaceful activists and journalists are in direct contradiction to international human rights law.

“The EU continues to call on the Vietnamese authorities to release all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained,” said European Commission foreign affairs spokesperson Nabila Massrali.

In March, US secretary of state Antony Blinken announced Pham as winner of an International Women of Courage prize at a ceremony attended by first lady Jill Biden, in Washington. Vietnam objected to Pham’s being granted the prize.

On Tuesday, the court said Pham was not innocent, though she had pleaded not guilty, according to state media.

“The jury held that Pham Doan Trang’s activities were dangerous for the society,” the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

Earlier in August, the court also upheld lengthy prison terms for at least three other activists.

Reuters