HANOI: A Vietnamese court on Thursday upheld a 10-year jail sentence for a prominent blogger convicted of publishing propaganda against the state, her lawyer said, the latest move in a crackdown on critics of the one-party state.
Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness toward social change, including gay, lesbian and transgender rights, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism.
In recent months, it has targeted critics whose voices have been amplified by social media in a country that ranks among Facebook’s top ten, in terms of users.
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, 37, known as “Me Nam” (Mother Mushroom), who gained prominence for blogging about environment issues and deaths in police custody, was found guilty in June for distributing what police called anti-state reports.
A court in the central city of Nha Trang upheld Quynh’s sentence, one of her lawyers said.
“This sentence is not objective and is unfair,” Ha Huy Son said by telephone. “Quynh said she is innocent and she carried out her right as a citizen.”
Vietnam’s state news agency confirmed the appeal outcome.
Quynh’s mother said she was among those outside the court protesting against the verdict when plainclothes policemen approached and beat them.
“The police beat me repeatedly,” Nguyen Tuyet Lan, the mother, said, adding that police detained three activists. Reuters was unable to reach police for comment.
In March 2009, Quynh spent nine days in police detention for receiving funds from Viet Tan, a California-based activist group which Vietnam calls a terrorist group, to print T-shirts with slogans against a major bauxite project, police said.
She has also spoken out against a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics that caused one of Vietnam’s biggest environmental disasters in April.
A US diplomat in Vietnam said she was “deeply troubled” that the court upheld Quynh’s conviction.
“The US calls on Vietnam to release Ms. Quynh and all prisoners of conscience immediately, and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely and assemble peacefully,” Caryn McClelland, the US chargé d’affaires, said in a statement.
New York-based Human Rights Watch called the appeals hearing a farce.
“The proceedings were a farce, with the judge simply going through the motions before issuing the harsh verdict predetermined by the ruling communist party, upholding her long prison sentence,” said Phil Robertson, the group’s deputy director for Asia.
Vietnam court upholds prominent blogger’s 10-year jail term
Vietnam court upholds prominent blogger’s 10-year jail term
Israeli journalists warn of media crackdown as UK billionaire prepares Channel 13 sale
- The Union of Journalists in Israel has condemned the transaction as “an unlawful deal”
LONDON: Israeli journalists and media unions have voiced serious concern over a proposed sale of a major stake in Israel’s Channel 13, warning that the move could deal a devastating blow to independent journalism in the country amid a broader campaign to reshape the media landscape ahead of elections.
According to The Guardian, British billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik is preparing to sell a 15 percent stake in Channel 13, one of Israel’s few mainstream channels critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi, a French-Israeli businessman who already owns media outlets perceived as sympathetic to the current government.
Journalists and free press advocates said the sale risked consolidating pro-government influence in a media environment already under pressure from financial sanctions, lawsuits, and regulatory threats.
The Union of Journalists in Israel has condemned the transaction as “an unlawful deal,” describing it as part of a broader “master plan to capture the media” ahead of the country’s scheduled elections.
Channel 13 has aired critical coverage of Netanyahu in recent years, including reporting on his corruption cases.
Drahi’s reported acquisition would make him a significant stakeholder at a time when Blavatnik is pulling back after years of financial losses, reported The Guardian.
Although the stake falls within the legal threshold for media ownership, critics argued that Drahi’s financial power as the only investor currently willing to inject funds would give him de facto control of editorial direction.
“While Patrick Drahi is only buying 15 percent, our fear is that by buying 15 percent, he gets 100 percent hold of the policy of the channel,” Anat Saragusti, a senior official at the Union of Journalists, told The Guardian. “It’s a lose-lose for the Israeli public, in terms of freedom of speech and diversity of opinions.”
A separate offer from a group of liberal Israeli tech entrepreneurs, reportedly valued at up to $120 million over three years, was also on the table, but ultimately rejected. A spokesperson for Blavatnik’s Access Industries insisted there was no political influence behind the deal and that Drahi’s bid was “the stronger, faster option” of the two.
“Any suggestion that the preferred offer has been selected for political reasons is entirely false,” the spokesperson said, adding that the transaction would allow Channel 13 to invest in high-quality content and digital innovation.
The Netanyahu government has come under growing scrutiny for actions seen as hostile to independent media, including imposing sanctions on the newspaper Haaretz and initiating defamation lawsuits against investigative reporters. The prime minister is also on trial for alleged efforts to trade regulatory favors for favorable press coverage, one of several corruption charges he faces.
“If Channel 13 falls, this would be the end of the free press in Israel,” Saragusti warned. “It’s the tipping point.”
