Authorities in Vietnam have arrested veteran journalist critical of the government’s repressive policies for his alleged participation in video livestreams, says a report.
Nguyen Vu Binh, 55, was briefly taken home after his arrest on Feb. 29 and his house searched based on a warrant, US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on March 1.
Binh was allowed to pack some clothes for himself, and his family was informed that he was under arrest. The police did not provide any documents nor was the reason for his arrest made clear, an unnamed relative told RFA.
“The police brought Binh home, read out the search warrant, a list of confiscated items and other documents, and took him away,” the relative said.
The relative said Binh was not handcuffed when police brought him.
Binh was allegedly arrested for his participation in video livestreams on the YouTube channel, TNT Media Live, owned by San Jose, a California-based Vietnamese radio station Tieng Nuoc Toi (My Country’s Language), RFA reported.
Reportedly, Binh had received a summons from the Hanoi Security Investigation Agency ordering him to present himself before it on Feb. 27.
Nguyen Van Dai, a Germany-based human rights lawyer, told RFA that Binh had stopped participating in livestreaming since 2022.
Binh was a reporter with the official Tap Chi Cong San or Communist Review for 10 years before becoming an activist in the capital Hanoi.
In 2003, the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Binh to seven years in jail for “espionage.” He was charged with collecting and composing documents “distorting” the democratic and human rights situation in Vietnam and sending them to “reactionary” overseas organizations.
Binh was released in early 2007 as part of an amnesty order and has been participating in peaceful human rights activities, RFA reported.
Allegedly, the Vietnamese government has been intolerant towards dissident citizens and activists. It is currently running for re-election as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, RFA reported.
Paris-backed rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks Vietnam 178th among 180 nations in its press freedom index. Vietnam is the world’s third largest jailer of journalists, the rights group said.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has awarded Binh the Hellman-Hammett Award twice in 2002 and 2007.
The Hellman-Hammett Award is given to writers “who have been victims of political persecution and are in financial need.”
Binh is also an honorary member of the UK-based PEN International which “works to protect, shelter and resettle writers at risk.”
RFA reported that Truong Duy Nhat, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Nguyen Lan Thang — three bloggers who have been contributing to RFA Vietnamese — are currently serving prison terms.
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