Vietnam steps up online crackdown, jailed activists at record high: Amnesty International – Latest News
There are no less than 170 “prisoners of conscience” in Vietnam, the report mentioned, of which round 70 are at the moment serving jail phrases for on-line activism, primarily on Facebook FB.O and Google’s GOOGL.O YouTube.
“As soon as the nice hope for the enlargement of freedom of expression within the nation, social media platforms are quick turning into human rights-free zones, the place any peaceable dissent or criticism of the Vietnamese authorities is liable to be censored,” the report mentioned.
The present variety of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam is the very best that London-based Amnesty has reported because it started publishing the figures in 1996, an Amnesty spokesman advised Reuters.
Amnesty defines prisoners of conscience as individuals who haven’t used or advocated violence, however have been imprisoned due to their identification or beliefs.
Vietnam’s overseas ministry, which handles enquires from overseas media, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Regardless of sweeping financial reform and openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Get together retains tight management on media, tolerates little opposition and has intensified a crackdown on dissidents and on-line activists forward of a key Get together assembly subsequent 12 months.
Final month, Reuters reported that Vietnam had threatened to close down Fb regionally if it didn’t conform to censor extra political content material. Vietnam’s authorities mentioned on the time that Fb ought to abide by native legal guidelines.
Amnesty’s report mentioned the U.S. social media giants don’t do sufficient to withstand authorities stress to censor posts. It cited interviews with Vietnamese activists who mentioned their posts had been censored.
Each Fb and Google have mentioned that they solely prohibit entry to content material if it violates native legal guidelines. One such legislation, Article 117, prohibits Vietnamese residents from “making, storing or spreading” anti-state supplies.
