Nguyễn Văn Hải (born c. 1952; also known as Nguyen Hoang Hai), better known by his pen name Điếu Cày, is a Vietnamese blogger who has been prosecuted by the government of Vietnam for

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

and "disseminating anti-state information and materials". His imprisonment was protested by several international human rights organizations, and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

considers him a prisoner of conscience. On 21 October 2014, he was released and deported to the United States.

Journalism

Nguyen Van Hai publishes his reporting through a blog, ''Dieu Cay'' ("Peasant's Pipe"), which also serves as his pen name. He is a founding member of the Club for Free Journalists, created in September 2007. In 2008, he participated in as well as reported on Vietnamese protests against the Beijing Olympics following a China-Vietnam maritime dispute.

Arrest and prosecution

Hai was arrested on 20 April 2008 in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, and his computers and files were confiscated. He was then charged with tax evasion and sentenced to thirty months' imprisonment. He was scheduled for release in October 2010, but on the day of his release, his sentence was extended "pending further investigation". His home was allegedly also raided and his wife Duong Thi Tan beaten. On 5 July 2011, Duong Thi Tan was informed that Nguyen Van Hai had lost one of his arms due to an injury sustained in prison. In April 2012, he was brought to an additional trial for "spreading anti-government propaganda" along with bloggers Ta Phong Tan and

Phan Thanh Hai Phan may refer to: * Phan (surname), a Vietnamese family name * Phan District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand * Phan River, Bình Thuận Province, Vietnam * Phan (tray) Phan ( th, พาน, ) is an artistically decorated tray with pedestal. I ...

. Nguyen Van Hai pleaded not guilty. According to the state newspaper '' Thanh Nien'', Nguyen Van Hai and Phan Thanh Hai were also believed to have attended a training seminar sponsored by the overseas opposition party

Viet Tan The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lan ...

International reactions

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of the three bloggers. In 2009, the group awarded Nguyen Van Hai its

Hellman Hellman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Åke Hellman (1915–2017), Finnish centenarian, painter, and art professor *Bonnie Hellman (born 1950), American actress * C. Doris Hellman (1910–1973), American historian of scie ...

- Hammett Award "for writers who have suffered persecution as a result of their writings".

designated him a prisoner of conscience, expressing concern at reports of his weight loss and deteriorating health. On 6 March 2012, former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Joseph Cao organized a Vietnamese-American lobbying effort for Hai,

Nguyen Van Ly Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

Nguyen Dan Que Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

, and other Vietnamese political prisoners, calling on the administration of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and the U.S. Congress to take a stronger stand on their behalf. In April,

Civil Rights Defenders Civil Rights Defenders (Formerly the Swedish Helsinki Committee) is an international non-governmental organisation based in Stockholm, Sweden that does human rights work with a focus on civil and political rights. They primarily work to support lo ...

named him its Human Rights Defender of the Month. On 17 April, a US State Department spokeswoman called on Vietnam to release Nguyen Van Hai and the other bloggers, stating that the three had "done nothing more than exercise their universally recognized rights to freedom of expression". U.S. President

said in May 2012 that "we must not forget journalists like blogger Dieu Cay, whose 2008 arrest coincided with a mass crackdown on citizen journalism in Vietnam" In 2013, he was awarded the International Press Freedom Award of the New York-based

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

Trial and sentence

In September 2012, in a one-day trial of three dissidents including Ta Phong Tan and

, Nguyen Van Hai received the harshest sentence of twelve years in prison. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' described the session as looking "very much like an old-fashioned Soviet-style show trial". Prosecutors stated that the three had "distorted the truth about State and Party, created anxiety among citizens and supported schemes to overthrow the government", while the court found that they were "seriously affecting national security and the image of the country in the global arena." Phan Thanh Hai, who had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, and Ta Phong Tan to ten years. Nguyen Van Hai's former wife, Duong Thi Tan, stated that police detained her and her son for several hours to prevent them from attending the trial. The sentences were upheld by an appeals court on 28 December 2012.

Release

On 21 October 2014, Hai was released by the Vietnamese authorities and sent to the United States.

References