Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Vietnamese counterpart for the release of Nguyen Bac Truyen from detention in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is concerned by restrictions on freedom of expression in Vietnam. We regularly raise these issues in international fora and in bilateral contacts with the Government of Vietnam. We are concerned by prison conditions, which are affecting many inmates, including prisoners of conscience.
We raised concerns about freedom of expression and assembly, the treatment of prisoners, and the protection of civil society, during Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2019. We also expressed our concern about restrictions on freedoms of expression and assembly in Vietnam in a UN Human Rights Council Item 2 Statement in September 2020. In January, the British Embassy in Hanoi met the Inter-faith Council of Vietnam to understand the restrictions religious groups in Vietnam have faced. Also in January, the former Minister for Asia and the Pacific raised the UK's concerns about human rights with the Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister during her visit to Vietnam.
We also raise individual cases of concern, including members of the Hoa Hao Buddhist movement who have faced repression. We have raised and will continue to raise our concerns in relation to Vietnam's UPR implementation plan.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Vietnamese Government on prisoners of conscience Nguyen Bac Truyen, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Van Hoa , Bui Van Trung and Phan Van Thu in light of the risk of covid-19 to detainees in overcrowded prison.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is concerned by restrictions on freedom of expression in Vietnam. We regularly raise these issues at the United Nations and in bilateral contacts with the Government of Vietnam. We are concerned by prison conditions, which are affecting many inmates, including prisoners of conscience.
We raised concerns about freedom of expression and assembly, the treatment of prisoners and the protection of civil society in Vietnam during Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review in January 2019, and again in a UN Human Rights Council Item 2 Statement in March 2019.
Bilaterally, the former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, raised the UK's concerns about human rights with the Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister during her visit to Vietnam in January 2020.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the upcoming trials of Vietnamese human rights activists, (1) lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, (2) Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton, and (3) activist Nguyen Bac Truyen, who face prison sentences of between 12 and 20 years, life imprisonment or capital punishment if convicted.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister of State, Harriett Baldwin MP, has issued a public statement to underline that we are deeply concerned by the conviction of the six members of the Brotherhood for Democracy and the draconian sentences they received. We do not accept that the peaceful expression of views on Vietnam’s own political system, or promotion of basic and universal human rights, should constitute a criminal offence.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Vietnam on the arrest in July 2017 of human rights defender, Nguyen Bac Truyen.
Answered by Mark Field
I am aware of and concerned by the arrest of human rights defender Nguyen Bac Truyen in Vietnam. Officials from the British Embassy in Hanoi met members of his family in November to discuss his case. We have raised our wider concerns about increased restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human rights defenders in Vietnam most recently at the UN Human Rights Council in September; and we continue to call for the release of all prisoners of conscience. I shall be travelling to Vietnam in January to co-chair the next UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue, when I shall raise our concerns over this and other cases.