Vietnam Releases Anti-Corruption Journalist

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – Nguyen Viet Chien, a well known anti-corruption reporter for the Thanh Nien newspaper, was granted the Lunar New Year amnesty. On January 15th, Vietnamese President Nguyen Mihn Triet signed for Chien’s freedom before his jail term ended. Chien is one amongst 15,000 prisoners to be freed before the prisoner’s jail term.

Among those to be released as part of the Lunar New Year amnesty are 36 foreigners including 19 Chinese, five Taiwanese, four Cambodians, three Malaysians, one Briton, one French, one South Korean, one Laotian, and one Sri Lankan.

In May 2008, Chien and his colleague Nguyen Van Hai was arrested for covering a high profile scandal where government officials were accused of misusing large sums of public funds. In October Chien was charged with “abusing freedom and democratic rights” and sentenced to two years in jail. Throughout trial Chien maintained his innocence. Chien’s arrest and conviction caused an international outcry.

Chien’s colleague, Hai pleaded guilty and was awarded a lenient sentence to two years of re-education without detention. International Media Watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, called the prosecution of Chien and Hai as a “terrible step backwards for investigative journalism in Vietnam”.

The Vice Minister of Public Security Le The Tiem told reporters that “Nguyen Viet Chien will be released in this presidential amnesty for showing remorse while serving his sentence,” and “Mr. Chien co-operated with the authorities so he was granted this special amnesty.”

Reporters Without Borders said, “This early release is obviously a good thing in itself, but it will not make us forget that this journalist should never have gone to prison in the first place … This case now being closed, it is time for the government to introduce reforms that will prevent this kind of scandal happening again.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Official: Vietnam to Release Jailed Reporter Early– 16 January 2009

BBC – Vietnam Reporter Freed in Amnesty– 16 January 2009

RSF – Government Announces Early Release of Journalist Nguyen Viet Chien– 19 January 2009

Author: Impunity Watch Archive