Phan Thanh Hải (born c. 1969) is a Vietnamese dissident blogger. Blogging as "Anhbasg" or "Anh Ba Sài Gòn" at the website "Independent Journalists' Club", Phan discussed controversial topics including other dissidents, Vietnam's maritime border with China, and government corruption scandals. A lawyer by training, Phan was denied permission to practice due to his blogging and his involvement in protests. In 2007, he was arrested after a protest against the Beijing Olympics and later placed under police surveillance. In October 2010, he was arrested 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 charged with disseminating anti-state information and materials, carrying a maximum sentence of twenty years' imprisonment; he later confessed to the charges. Fellow "Independent Journalists' Club" posters

Nguyen Van Hai 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 Ta Phong Tan were also arrested. Though their trial was scheduled to begin in August, it was delayed indefinitely after Ta's mother Dang Thi Kim Lieng immolated herself in front of the government offices in

Bac Lieu BAC or Bac may refer to: Places * Bac, a village in Montenegro * Baile Átha Cliath, Irish language name for Dublin city. * Bîc River, aka ''Bâc River'', a Moldovan river * Baç Bridge, bridge in Turkey * Barnes County Municipal Airport (ICAO a ...

province in protest of the trial. The UN

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the United Nations Secretariat, Se ...

criticized the arrests, stating its concern for "what appears to be increasingly limited space for freedom of expression in Viet Nam". In a July 2012 visit to Hanoi, US Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

expressed concern for the detention of the three members of the Free Vietnamese Journalists' Club.

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 ...

described the three bloggers as prisoners of conscience, "detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression through their online writings", and urged their release. The

International Federation for Human Rights The International Federation for Human Rights (french: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international h ...

and World Organisation Against Torture also released a joint statement calling on the Vietnamese government to release the three bloggers unconditionally. In 2011,

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 ...

awarded him a Hellman/Hammett Award for "writers who demonstrate courage and conviction in the face of political persecution". On 4 October 2012, Panh Than Hai pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison in a one-day hearing ''

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 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." On the same day, Ta Phong Tan was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, and Nguyen Van Hai, to twelve years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phan, Thanh Hai Living people Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Vietnam Vietnamese bloggers Vietnamese dissidents Vietnamese prisoners and detainees Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)