Inhaftierte Bloggerin Ta Phong Tan im Hungerstreik
Datum: 11.06.2015 09:54
Kategorie: Politik, Recht & Gesellschaft
Pressemitteilung von: Forum Vietnam 21
Bloggerin Ta Phong Tan (Bild: VRNs)
10.06.2015 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Die bekannte Bloggerin Ta
Phong Tan ist seit dem 13. Mai im Hungerstreik, um gegen die
Misshandlung von politischen Gefangenen und miserable
Haftbedingung zu protestieren. Die Nachricht von Tans
Hungerstreik erreichte die Öffentlichkeit als ihre Schwester Ta
Minh Tu nach dem Haftbesuch mit Reportern und
Menschenrechtsaktivisten sprach. Es soll sich bereits um ihren
dritten Protest dieser Art handeln. Familienangehörige durften
sie am 3. Juni im Gefängnis besuchen und berichteten danach,
dass Ta Phong Tan "sehr schwach" sei und sich ihr
Gesundheitszustand drastisch verschlechtert habe. Amnesty International zufolge leidet
Tan an Arthritis, Bluthochdruck, und Magenproblem.
Ta Phong Tan hat früher als Polizistin gearbeitet und gewann dadurch einen Einblick in die
Funktionsweise des Systems. Im Jahr 2006 begann sie in ihrem eigenen Weblog
„Gerechtigkeit und Wahrheit“ ("Công Lý và Sự Thật") über soziale Probleme zu berichten.
Später schrieb sie über Machtmissbrauch und Willkür der vietnamesischen Polizei sowie
ungerechte Besteuerung und illegalen Landraub durch lokale Parteifunktionäre. Sie ist
Mitbegründerin des unabhängigen „Club der freien Journalisten“ in Vietnam (Free
Journalists' Club of Viet Nam), der sich seit September 2007 für Meinungsfreiheit und
Alternativen zu den staatlich kontrollierten Medien einsetzt.
Jahrelang war sie immer wieder verhört und vorübergehend festgenommen worden, bis sie
im September 2011 verhaftet und wegen "Verbreitung von Propaganda gegen den Staat"
nach Artikel 88 des Strafgesetzbuches angeklagt wurde.
Nach einem Prozess der nur einen Tag dauerte, wurde sie am 4. Oktober 2012 zu zehn
Jahren Gefängnisstrafe mit zusätzlicher drei Jahren Hausarrest nach Entlassung verurteilt.
Sie weigerte sich, sich schuldig zu bekennen. In dem selben Prozess sind zwei
Bloggerkollegen verurteilt worden.
Am 30. Juli 2012 steckte sich Dang Thi Kim Lieng, die Mutter von Ta Phong Tan, vor dem
Büro des Volkskomitees der Provinz Bac Lieu aus Verzweiflung über die Drangsalierung
ihrer Tochter und anderer Familienmitglieder durch die Sicherheitsbehörden selbst in
Brand. Dang Thi Kim Lieng starb an ihren Verbrennungen. Man setzte Ta Phong Tan über
den Tod ihrer Mutter in Kenntnis, erlaubte ihr jedoch nicht, an der Beerdigung
teilzunehmen.
Ta Phong Tan verbüßt derzeit die zehnjährige Haftstrafe im Gefängnis Nr.5 der Provinz
Thanh Hoa, wo sie mehrere Monate in einer fensterlosen Einzelzelle festgehalten wurde
und die Gefängniswärter ihr in dieser Zeit nicht erlaubten, mit anderen Gefangenen zu
sprechen.
Am internationalen Frauentag hat die US-First Lady Michelle Obama Ta Phong Tan als eine
der zehn meist mutigen Frauen in der Welt mit dem Preis «International Woman of
Courage Awards Winners 2013 » ausgezeichnet.
Ta Phong Tan wurde am 21. März 2013 mit dem Preis „Journalism Award“ von Index of
Censorship geehrt.
Der Journalist Nguyen Van Hai, Bloggername "Dieu Cay", Mitbegründer des "Club der
Freien Journalisten" mit Tan, wurde im letzten Oktober aus der 12 Jahren Haftstrafe
vorzeitig entlassen und in die USA abgeschoben.
"Die Regierung muss ihr hartes Vorgehen gegen Menschen, die ihr Recht auf freie
Meinungsäußerung wahrnehmen, beenden. Sie muss aufhören, gegen friedliche
Aktivistinnen und Aktivisten vorzugehen, und zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement
erlauben", fordert Amnesty International.
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde auf openPR veröffentlicht.
Kontakt:
Dr. Hong An Duong
Forum Vietnam 21
Mail: forumvietnam21@gmail.com
Forum Vietnam 21 ist ein Aktionsbündnis für Demokratie und soziale Gerechtigkeit. Es
versteht sich als Bestandteil der Demokratiebewegung in Vietnam und unterstützt alle
Bemühungen um den friedlichen Wandel der kommunistischen Diktatur in eine Demokratie
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jailed Vietnamese Activist on Hunger Strike to Protest Treatment in Prison
2015-06-08
Ta Phong Tan in an undated photo before her 2011 arrest.
Photo courtesy of Danlambao
A
prominent online activist jailed in Vietnam for “anti-government
propaganda” has mounted a hunger strike for at least three weeks to
protest what she says is the mistreatment of political prisoners by
authorities in her detention center, her sister said Monday.
Citizen journalist Ta Phong Tan—a former policewoman who has received international awards for her work—began fasting on May 13 at her prison in Thanh Hoa province, where she has been serving a 10-year sentence since her conviction in 2012, her sister Ta Minh Tu told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.
“She said she went on the hunger strike to protest the prison officers’ mistreatment of political prisoners,” said Tu, who visited Tan on June 3.
“While other prisoners have cells with windows, her cell does not. The other cells are surrounded by barbwire, but her cell is surrounded by a four-meter (13-foot) wall. No breeze can enter the cell during really hot temperatures.
According to Tu, the day she visited her sister, temperatures reached 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius).
“She said she could not sleep at all [because of the heat],” Tu said.
“They also confiscated her personal hygiene products without stating any reason.”
Tu said her family had tried to convince Tan to end her hunger strike, fearing for her health, but she refused.
She said prisoners are allowed to call home once every two weeks and that her family was anxiously awaiting news from Tan about whether she was continuing with the protest.
Tan, who is a member of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) and runs a blog called Su That Va Cong Ly (Truth and Justice), has campaigned online in defense of Vietnam’s territorial integrity in the South China Sea as well as human rights and democracy.
She was arrested and tried along with IJAVN founder Nguyen Van Hai, who blogs under the name Dieu Cay, and blogger Phan Thanh Hai, who is known online as Anh Ba Saigon. Nguyen Van Hai was deported to the U.S. following his release from prison last year and Phan Thanh Hai has also since been freed.
In May last year, Tan’s relatives said her fellow inmates would “mentally terrorize” her and regularly curse her mother, Dang Thi Kim Lieng, who burned herself to death three years ago to protest the charges against her daughter.
The U.S. State Department honored Tan in March as one of the world’s 10 most courageous women on International Women’s Day, and last month marked Press Freedom Day by calling on Vietnam to immediately free her.
Bloggers targeted
Police surveillance and harassment is a common experience for dissident bloggers in one-party communist Vietnam, which is listed by press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders as an “Enemy of the Internet.”
Government critics and bloggers are usually charged under Article 258 of the country’s penal code, which critics say is vaguely worded and used to prosecute anyone who speaks out against the government.
Because the state controls the media, the Vietnamese have turned to blogs and social media for news that contains less propaganda.
As of the end of last year, Vietnam had detained 29 bloggers for “abusing democratic freedoms,” “subversion,” “antigovernment propaganda” or “trying to overthrow the government,” according to Reporters Without Borders.
London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in April that Vietnam had at least 60 prisoners of conscience, including bloggers—many of whom were convicted for peacefully expressing their views after unfair trials.
Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Ninh Pham. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Citizen journalist Ta Phong Tan—a former policewoman who has received international awards for her work—began fasting on May 13 at her prison in Thanh Hoa province, where she has been serving a 10-year sentence since her conviction in 2012, her sister Ta Minh Tu told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.
“She said she went on the hunger strike to protest the prison officers’ mistreatment of political prisoners,” said Tu, who visited Tan on June 3.
“While other prisoners have cells with windows, her cell does not. The other cells are surrounded by barbwire, but her cell is surrounded by a four-meter (13-foot) wall. No breeze can enter the cell during really hot temperatures.
According to Tu, the day she visited her sister, temperatures reached 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius).
“She said she could not sleep at all [because of the heat],” Tu said.
“They also confiscated her personal hygiene products without stating any reason.”
Tu said her family had tried to convince Tan to end her hunger strike, fearing for her health, but she refused.
She said prisoners are allowed to call home once every two weeks and that her family was anxiously awaiting news from Tan about whether she was continuing with the protest.
Tan, who is a member of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) and runs a blog called Su That Va Cong Ly (Truth and Justice), has campaigned online in defense of Vietnam’s territorial integrity in the South China Sea as well as human rights and democracy.
She was arrested and tried along with IJAVN founder Nguyen Van Hai, who blogs under the name Dieu Cay, and blogger Phan Thanh Hai, who is known online as Anh Ba Saigon. Nguyen Van Hai was deported to the U.S. following his release from prison last year and Phan Thanh Hai has also since been freed.
In May last year, Tan’s relatives said her fellow inmates would “mentally terrorize” her and regularly curse her mother, Dang Thi Kim Lieng, who burned herself to death three years ago to protest the charges against her daughter.
The U.S. State Department honored Tan in March as one of the world’s 10 most courageous women on International Women’s Day, and last month marked Press Freedom Day by calling on Vietnam to immediately free her.
Bloggers targeted
Police surveillance and harassment is a common experience for dissident bloggers in one-party communist Vietnam, which is listed by press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders as an “Enemy of the Internet.”
Government critics and bloggers are usually charged under Article 258 of the country’s penal code, which critics say is vaguely worded and used to prosecute anyone who speaks out against the government.
Because the state controls the media, the Vietnamese have turned to blogs and social media for news that contains less propaganda.
As of the end of last year, Vietnam had detained 29 bloggers for “abusing democratic freedoms,” “subversion,” “antigovernment propaganda” or “trying to overthrow the government,” according to Reporters Without Borders.
London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in April that Vietnam had at least 60 prisoners of conscience, including bloggers—many of whom were convicted for peacefully expressing their views after unfair trials.
Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Ninh Pham. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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