Ho Van Hai

Ho Van Hai
Born	1964 (age 59–60)
Nationality	Vietnamese
Occupation(s)	Doctor and Blogger
Known for	Citizen journalism

Ho Van Hai (born in 1964) is a Vietnamese doctor and blogger. He was arrested and charged with "anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.^[1][2][3][4] After a one-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai was sentenced to four years in prison followed by two years' house arrest.^[5][6][7]

Background and activism

Previously, Ho Van Hai worked as a doctor at Cho Ray Hospital.^[8] He ran a private practice that he founded in 2004 up until his detention twelve years later.^[8] Additionally, Hai has served as the president of a non-profit that he established called the Go West Foundation.^[8]

Hai had criticized his nation's one-party regime by the name of “Doctor Ho Hai,” on the internet.^[8][9] His Facebook page and blog posts spanned topics such as education and the environment, notably covering a toxic spill that poisoned millions of fish which was caused by a Taiwanese-owned steel plant.^[1]

2016 arrest and sentence

In November 2016, Ho Van Hai was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City and accused of “spreading information and documents on the internet that are against the government of the Social Republic of Vietnam,”.^[10]

After a one-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City on February 1, 2018, Hai was sentenced to four years in prison followed by two years house arrest.^[8][11] He was charged with "anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.^[1]

According to activist Duong Lam, Hai's trial was held in secret and his friends and family were not informed of the proceedings.^[8]

His detention is part of a series of arrests of several activists and bloggers, including Nguyễn Văn Hoá and Le Dinh Luong, who also wrote about the environmental disaster at the Formosa steel plant.^[12]

Ho Van Hai was detained in Chi Hoa prison in Ho Chi Minh City in harsh conditions.^[13] Reportedly, his existing health issues were exacerbated and he did not receive sufficient food or correct medications.^[13]

Hai was released on April 17, 2020.^[13] Although he was scheduled to remain under house arrest until November 2022, he was released and returned to the U.S. in May 2021.^[14]

International rsesponse

After his arrest, the UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia called on Vietnam to unconditionally release Hai.^[1]

In December 2017, the European Parliament adopted an urgent resolution which called on Vietnam to end its persecution of citizen-journalists and to free all of the bloggers that had been imprisoned.^[15]

In March 2019, human rights focused non-profit Freedom Now submitted a report detailing the case to the Office of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.^[16] This report was delivered in advance of Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review conducted by the UN in January 2019.^[16]

In October 2019, Freedom Now and international law firm Dechert LLP submitted a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Ho Van Hai.^[17] In February 2021, the Working Group determined that his detention is arbitrary and violates international law.^[13]

See also

• 2016 Vietnam marine life disaster
• Human rights in Vietnam
• Nguyễn Văn Hoá
• Lê Đình Lượng

References

1. "Four years in prison for Vietnamese blogger". Reporters Without Borders. February 2, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
2. "Vietnam jails blogger for anti-state propaganda". AP. February 1, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
3. "Vietnam: End Crackdown on Bloggers and Activists". Human Rights Watch. January 12, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
4. Murray, Bennett (November 11, 2016). "Vietnamese blogger arrested for criticizing government". Andolu Agency. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
5. Duyen, Hai (February 2, 2018). "Vietnamese Facebooker sentenced to 4 years in prison for anti-state propaganda". VnExpress International. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
6. "Ho Van Hai". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
7. "Vietnam doctor jailed for 'anti-state' posts". Yahoo!news. February 2, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
8. Lipes, Joshua (February 1, 2018). "Vietnam Hands Blogger Ho Van Hai Four-Year Jail Term For 'Anti-State Propaganda'". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
9. "Vietnam arrests blogger in latest crackdown on dissent". AP. November 3, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
10. Williams, Alison (November 2, 2016). "Vietnam police arrest anti-government blogger". Reuters. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
11. "Vietnam doctor jailed for 'anti-state' posts". Bangkok Post. February 2, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
12. "Vietnam : Why is the Party cracking down harder on bloggers?". Reporters Without Borders. August 4, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
13. United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (February 19, 2021). "Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its eighty-ninth session, 23–27 November 2020 Opinion No. 81/2020 concerning Ho Van Hai (Viet Nam)" (PDF). OHCHR. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
14. "Dissident doctor Ho Hai left Vietnam for the US". VOA Vietnamese. May 26, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
15. "MEPs call for release of all citizen-journalists held in Vietnam". Reporters Without Borders. December 14, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
16. "Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee Information on State Parties to be Examined – Vietnam 125th session" (PDF). Freedom Now. March 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
17. "Petition To: United Nations Working Group On Arbitrary Detention" (PDF). Freedom Now. October 29, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2021.