Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465-1004
Fax: (212) 465-9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: media@cpj.org
CPJ Contacts:
Abi Wright or Sophie Beach
Tel: 212-465-1004; asiaprogram@cpj.org
New York, May 6, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about jailed Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Vu Binh, who is currently on a hunger strike. On May 5, the Supreme People's Court in the capital, Hanoi, rejected Binh's appeal and upheld his seven-year sentence on charges of espionage.
Following the announcement of the appeal verdict, Binh declared in court, "To me, either freedom or death. If the authorities won't release me, I will start my hunger strike now," according to CPJ sources. Binh has refused to eat since the trial finished. He is currently being held at New Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi.
On September 25, 2002, Binh was arrested at his home in Hanoi. On December 31, 2003, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced him to seven years in prison, followed by three years of house arrest upon his release.
Shortly before his arrest, Binh had written and distributed online an article titled "Some Thoughts on the China-Vietnam Border Agreement," which criticized land and sea border agreements between the two countries. An official news report of the appeal hearing said that Binh had "written documents calling for outside intervention in Vietnam's internal affairs." A former journalist with the official Tap Chi Cong San (Journal of Communism), Binh has written several articles in recent years calling for political reform and criticizing current government policy.
For background on Nguyen Vu Binh's case, please see:
CPJ's May 3 news alert at
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent, nonpartisan
Committee to Protect Journalists
January 5 protest letter at
organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide. For more
information about press conditions in Vietnam, visit www.cpj.org.
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