VIETNAM: Tran Thi Nga is free but living in exile - is that freedom, after all?
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February 1, 2020 — The Coalition For Women In Journalism is relieved to learn that Vietanamese blogger Tran Thi Nga has been released after three years in prison on January 10. However, we regret that she is forced to live in exile abroad after being released on condition to leave Vietnam immediately.
Tran flew to Atlanta, United States, with her husband and two children, where she will now live under asylum provided by the US government. However, it is sad to know that she had to leave her family behind to seek shelter and safety in another country. Tran has also received the Engel-du Tertre human rights award to honor her fight for human rights in Vietnam.
In January 2017, Tran was arrested from her home in Ha Nam on charges for “using the Internet to spread propaganda videos and writings that are against the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”. She was charged under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.
Tran - a blogger and human rights activist - was taken into custody for posting about the rights of migrant workers, called for combating corruption and propagated for environmental protection in Vietnam, particularly the damage done to the climate by the Formosa Iron and Steel Company. She was arrested amidst the wave of crackdown against bloggers and activists who were, at the time, reporting independently.
She was subsequently jailed at the Gia Trung Detention Center in the Gia Lai Province, where she was subjected to ill-treatment. In July 2017, she was sentenced to nine years in prison followed by an additional five years of living under house arrest.
We, at The Coalition, are glad that our colleague is finally free from prison. However, her freedom comes with a cost of living away from her family and her home country. No one deserves to live in exile a for speaking truth to power.
We demand that Tran should be allowed to visit Vietnam as a free citizen and continue to blog. Vietnam is notorious for persecuting journalists and human rights activists. We would urge the Vietnamese government to stop oppressing journalists and advocates of press freedom.
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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
Visit our website: www.womeninjournalism.org
Instagram: @womeninjournalism | Twitter @CFWIJ | Email: press@womeninjournalism.org
