hardboiled

writing the good fight

Vietnamese journalists arrested for reporting on federal corruption

In 2006, Vietnamese journalists Nguyen Viet Chien, 56, and Nguyen Van Hai, 33, reported on a government scandal of massive proportions. They, among other journalists, worked to investigate the Project Management Unit 18 (PMU 18) plan to spend 2 billion dollars on improving national infrastructure. The ultimate discovery was that officials had used these funds on gambling, luxury cars, and prostitutes. The report quickly led to the arrest of PMU 18 director, Bui Tien Dung and investigations of fellow project heads. However, many officials were acquitted and on May 2008, both journalists were arrested by the federal government for their allegedly biased work.

If the irony is not yet oozing off the page, let’s take a look at the specific charges. Nguyen Viet Chien, reporter for Thanh Nien (Gentlemen) newspaper, and Nguyen Van Hai, reporter for Tuoi Tre (The Youth) newspaper, were originally accused of “abusing their professional power and position” to taint the government’s image. The basis of the state’s charges was that the men had exploited the content of the scandal with the objective of discrediting the Communist party in power. These charges were later adjusted to “abusing freedom and democratic rights to breach the interest of the State and legal rights of organizations and citizens.”

In both cases, the journalists stated that prior to being charged with committing a federal crime this year, no one had approached them about revising any part of their articles on PMU 18. The men followed journalistic procedures and have the evidence to demonstrate that they had not falsified their information. A major point of contention was the report that officials linked to the PMU 18 scandal had offered bribes to ensure their acquittal. Nguyen Viet Chien aptly provided documentation of interviews with qualified government sources. Instead of helping their cases, this information led to the indictment and punishment of two police officials---the former chief of the Department on Social Crime Investigative Police, Pham Xuan Quac, received an official warning while Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Van Huynh, was sentenced to one year in prison. They were charged with providing inaccurate and unconfirmed government information.

There is also a significant disparity in the punishments for the journalists. Nguyen Van Hai pleaded guilty to the federal accusations. The judge ruled that Nguyen Van Hai would be held under house arrest and undergo two years of re-education. In contrast, Nguyen Viet Chien who pleaded innocent, was sentenced on October 15 to two years in prison. At the Hanoi People’s Court, Nguyen Viet Chien said in his defense, "With my journalist conscience, I can say I never have any other purpose in mind when writing my reports but exposing wrongdoing and fighting corruption.”

The contradictions in this case are enormous. While the government asserts that their charges are aimed at protecting democratic rights, they are committing acts of blatant suppression. Is it in any way due process to wait two years to arrest journalists for false reporting, especially when the reporters were never first contacted to make corrections? International media watchdogs such as Reporters without Borders and Committee to Protect Journalists are up in arms stating that the Vietnamese government has taken vengeful steps to silence the journalists.

Although the Vietnamese government allowed international press access to the trials to signify that they are in fact open to international inquiry, the message of the trials is clear: free speech on a domestic level is extraordinarily limited. These trials may cause Vietnamese reporters to fear taking an oppositional stance towards the government, and further damage the government's image on an international level. In a constant battle between the pen and the sword, it now becomes the role of other international media sources and the Vietnamese people to voice their dissent in the name of free press.