By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – Today, nearly one in four Vietnamese use the internet and the number is steadily increasing. Vietnam authorities are worried over the growing number of bloggers and their increased use of the internet to express their views against the government. Currently, all Vietnam media agencies including televised news, radio and newspapers are state run. “They (state media) decide what we will hear, what we will read and what we will see,” said a blogger who identifies himself as Mr. Cold. “They are slaves of the Communists.”

In response, a senior Vietnamese internet security expert said that the Vietnamese authorities plan to police the content of dissident blogs through random checks and self-policing by the country’s blogging community. Authorities currently block some oversea websites that are critical of the government and authorities usually block anything they deem as encouraging public protest or any views that will anger China.

The government crackdown on bloggers has caused widespread criticism. “These new censorship regulations are not in accordance with freedom of speech, a right recognized by the Vietnamese constitution and international conventions signed by Vietnam,” said Le Minh Phieu, a Vietnamese legal scholar living in France.

On December 5, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court confirmed the September verdict and sentencing of Nguyen Hoang Hai, who uses the weblog name Dieu Cay and is a member of the online Free Vietnamese Journalists Club.

Dieu Cay has taken part in anti-Beijing demonstrations about a sensitive sea territory dispute with China and was arrested in April, days before the Olympic torch passed through former Saigon.
After a quick proceeding, the court upheld the sentence of two-and-a-half years imprisonment for Dieu Cay on the charge of tax fraud. “The police refused to let Dieu Cay pay his taxes in order to fabricate evidence of his guilt,” Dieu Cay’s lawyer told Reporters Without Borders. “This conviction was premeditated by the authorities.”

Many see Dieu Cay’s sentence as politically motivated. “The court took no account of new evidence submitted by Dieu Cay’s defence,” Reporters Without Borders said. “These rushed proceedings clearly show that the authorities are persecuting this blogger. The appeal court’s verdict was an unjust decision resulting from a trumped-up charge.”

Shawn Crispin, a Southeast Asia representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said “Nguyen Van Hai’s harsh treatment was meant to send a message to all of the country’s bloggers.”

For more information, please see:

AFP –  Vietnam Court Upholds Blogger’s Jail Term – 4 December 2008 

RFA – Vietnam to Police Blogs – 12 December 2008

RSF – Leading Blogger’s Conviction Upheld on Appeal – 5 December 2008

San Francisco Chronicle – Bloggers the New Rebels in Vietnam – 14 December 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PAMPORE, India – Indian police forces opened fire and used teargas on hundreds of protesters during state elections in Indian Kashmir last Saturday. One demonstrator was killed and about 34 were injured during the anti-election protests.

Separatist leaders called upon hundreds to boycott voting. They believe that participation in the elections strengthen New Delhi’s hold over the dispute Muslim-majority region. Protesters were shouting, “We want freedom” while besieging police and throwing stones at them.

Despite protests, there has been a high turnout at the polls. In the first four hours of voting, more than 22 percent of the population has come out to vote.

“It is not a vote for Indian rule or against separatists. Voting is for development,” said Sajjad Ahmad, a fruit grower. “We want better roads, schools and hospitals.”

Ghulam Mohammed, a retired bank employee said, “I’m here to vote for a candidate who will work to build roads and schools in our town.” Moments before he was about to vote, he continued by saying, “This isn’t a vote against the separatists, nor is it for India. It’s to choose an honest local government.”

Authorities have deployed extra troops, erected barricades and warned residents to remain indoors.

In recent months, there have been huge pro-independence demonstrations in Kashmir which were met with security forces. In anticipation of the protests, separatist leaders were placed in jail or under house arrest.

The polling last Saturday was the fifth round of a seven stage process. The final polls occur on December 24th. Counting of the votes is set to take place on December 28th.

After the collapse of the state government over a Hindu-Muslim land dispute that triggered a series of massive anti-India demonstrations, Kashmir was put under the power of the Indian federal government in July.

Almost 50,000 people have died as a result of the uprising in Kashmir.

For more information, please see:

AFP – One Killed as Clashes Disrupt Indian Kashmir Voting – 13 December 2008

BBC News – Protester Shot as Kashmir Votes – 13 December 2008

Reuters – Police Fire Bullets Against Kashmir Protesters – 12 December 2008

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – International media watchdog, Reporters without Borders (RSF), and the Hindu community asks for the release of P. Uthayakumar, who has been detained without trial since last December. Malaysian authorities arrested Uthayakumar, a human rights lawyer for a non-profit Hindu rights organization, Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act (ISA).

Hindraf works to publicize the plight of ethnic Indian minorities who have been consistently marginalized in Malaysia. Uthayakumar pointed out that every year 1 Hindu is killed under police custody and called upon the international community to put pressure on the Malaysian government to try perpetrators in International Criminal Court. Last November, Uthayakumar posted on his website a letter he wrote to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown asking the Prime Minister to support a UN Security Council resolution that condemned the “persecution” of Hindu minorities in Malaysia.

After Hindraf organized a massive rally last year, where nearly 30,000 Indians marched the streets, the Internal Minister of Malaysia declared Hindraf an unlawful organization. The Internal Minister accused Hindraf of exploiting racial issues which disrupted peace and public order and since last December five Hindraf leaders have been arrested under the ISA.

Under article 8 of the ISA, a person can be detained up to two years if he is “acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia” and the detention can be extended indefinitely. RSF said, “Uthayakumar’s detention yet again shows to what degree the ISA is used to violate the principle of free expression … by allowing someone to be arrested without charge, this law enables the government to silence its opponents. We urge the authorities to release Uthayakumar, who just used his right to free speech.”

For more information, please see:

India Post – Indian Diaspora on Malaysia Resents Ban on Hindraf – 23 November 2008

Malaysia Insider – Hindraf Adrift One Year After Mass Protest – 26 November 2008

RSF – Call for release of Hindu minority lawyer arrested a year ago under security law – 12 December 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The local Chinese government arrested Guan Jian, a reporter investigating allegedly corrupt real estate transactions in Taiyuan.  He has been held incommunicado ever since.  Jian’s son, Guan Yufei told Reuters that the family has not hear anything from Jian since police took him away. “His friends couldn’t reach him, his colleagues couldn’t either. At first we thought he had just gone on a reporting trip, but then after several days when he still wasn’t in touch, we got worried,” Guan Yufei said in a phone interview.

Police seized guan Jian’s work over bribery allegations, the official Xinhua News Agency said. He was arrested at a Taiyuan hotel by police officers from Zhangjiakou in the neighboring province of Hebei. Video footage recorded by the hotel’s security camera shows him being forcibly taken away in a car by five men.

It is the second case this month of a journalist being arrested because of reporting on alleged abuse of authority and corruption in Shanxi. CCTV reporter Li Min has been held since 4 December. Li Min, was investigating the prosecutors for a story when they traveled to Beijing to seize her, Chinese media said.  According to local news reports, authorities have accused her of accepting gifts from the brother of a businessman involved in a corruption story she was working on.  A lawyer working for Li’s family said that she appeared to be the victim of a “terrifying” abuse of power to silence her work.

Also, in 2007, a local journalist Lan Chenzhang was beaten to death at the site of a Shanxi mine accident.  Police accused him of posing as a journalist to extort money from the mine owners.  All cases highlight the risky situation that Chinese journalists find themselves when trying to report on corruption.  “Abuse of authority by local officials is common in this region, which is biggest source of coal in China and is riddled with corruption,” Reporters Without Borders said. “It is becoming increasingly dangerous for journalists to investigate corruption allegations involving officials. We urge the central government to investigate these cases and punish those who are really guilty.”

For more information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists – Two Chinese journalists face corruption charges in Shanxi – 16 December 2008

Reporters Without Boarders – A second reporter arrested after investigating suspected corruption in Shanxi province – 5 December 2008

Reuters – Chinese reporter chasing corruption claims disappears – 15 December 2008

South China Morning Post – A cleaner press needed, as well as a freer one – 17 December 2008

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – Today, nearly one in four Vietnamese use the internet and the number is steadily increasing. Vietnam authorities are worried over the growing number of bloggers and their increased use of the internet to express their views against the government. Currently, all Vietnam media agencies including televised news, radio and newspapers are state run. “They (state media) decide what we will hear, what we will read and what we will see,” said a blogger who identifies himself as Mr. Cold. “They are slaves of the Communists.”

In response, a senior Vietnamese internet security expert said that the Vietnamese authorities plan to police the content of dissident blogs through random checks and self-policing by the country’s blogging community. Authorities currently block some oversea websites that are critical of the government and authorities usually block anything they deem as encouraging public protest or any views that will anger China.

The government crackdown on bloggers has caused widespread criticism. “These new censorship regulations are not in accordance with freedom of speech, a right recognized by the Vietnamese constitution and international conventions signed by Vietnam,” said Le Minh Phieu, a Vietnamese legal scholar living in France.

On December 5, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court confirmed the September verdict and sentencing of Nguyen Hoang Hai, who uses the weblog name Dieu Cay and is a member of the online Free Vietnamese Journalists Club.

Dieu Cay has taken part in anti-Beijing demonstrations about a sensitive sea territory dispute with China and was arrested in April, days before the Olympic torch passed through former Saigon.
After a quick proceeding, the court upheld the sentence of two-and-a-half years imprisonment for Dieu Cay on the charge of tax fraud. “The police refused to let Dieu Cay pay his taxes in order to fabricate evidence of his guilt,” Dieu Cay’s lawyer told Reporters Without Borders. “This conviction was premeditated by the authorities.”

Many see Dieu Cay’s sentence as politically motivated. “The court took no account of new evidence submitted by Dieu Cay’s defence,” Reporters Without Borders said. “These rushed proceedings clearly show that the authorities are persecuting this blogger. The appeal court’s verdict was an unjust decision resulting from a trumped-up charge.”

Shawn Crispin, a Southeast Asia representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said “Nguyen Van Hai’s harsh treatment was meant to send a message to all of the country’s bloggers.”

For more information, please see:

AFP –  Vietnam Court Upholds Blogger’s Jail Term – 4 December 2008 

RFA – Vietnam to Police Blogs – 12 December 2008

RSF – Leading Blogger’s Conviction Upheld on Appeal – 5 December 2008

San Francisco Chronicle – Bloggers the New Rebels in Vietnam – 14 December 2008