The Vietnam Human Rights Network (VNHRN) and Defend the Defenders (DtD) have jointly called on the Vietnamese government to immediately release author Nguyễn Thành Nam and others arrested in connection with the publication of his book Chuyện với Thanh - Lời kể mới về ánh sáng (Conversations with Thanh – A New Perspective on Light). The organizations describe the case as part of a broader crackdown on freedom of expression and literary freedom in Vietnam.
Mr. Nam, a former lecturer on Ho Chi Minh Thought at the private VinUniversity, was arrested in late June and charged under Article 117 of Vietnam's Penal Code with "conducting propaganda against the State." Authorities allege that his book, which concerns the life of late President Ho Chi Minh, "distorts history and the guidelines and policies of the Party and State" and "insults President Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap, and other Party and State leaders."
According to the two organizations, Mr. Nam's arrest was preceded by an extensive online denunciation campaign in which state-affiliated commentators accused him of defaming Vietnam's revolutionary leaders. They said the campaign was coordinated through the Communist Party's Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Committee, drawing comparisons with the Nhan Van–Giai Pham campaign of the late 1950s, when many prominent Vietnamese writers, poets, artists, and intellectuals were publicly condemned and persecuted for expressing independent views.
The organizations said the crackdown has expanded beyond the author. Several individuals involved in editing, printing, publishing, distributing, and promoting the book have reportedly been detained or investigated under similar allegations. In addition, members of the Vietnam Writers' Association have reportedly faced disciplinary measures because of their association with the publication.
"The criminal prosecution of an author and those involved in publishing a literary work represents a serious assault on freedom of expression," the organizations said in a joint statement. "Peaceful discussion of history, public figures, and political ideas must never be treated as a criminal offense."
VNHRN and DtD said Mr. Nam's writing and publication of Chuyện với Thanh constitute the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression, a right guaranteed by Article 25 of Vietnam's Constitution and protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Vietnam is a state party. They argued that the arrests and public denunciation campaign are inconsistent with Vietnam's obligations under the ICCPR and with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The organizations urged the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Nguyễn Thành Nam and all others detained in connection with the book, drop all criminal charges against them, end public intimidation campaigns targeting writers and publishers, and ensure that domestic laws and practices comply with Vietnam's international human rights commitments.
The case has drawn renewed attention to the Vietnamese government's continued use of Article 117 to prosecute peaceful expression. International human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the broadly worded provision, arguing that it is routinely used to imprison journalists, writers, activists, and other government critics for exercising their fundamental rights.
