Entries by kayleedolen

Freedom of Expression Recap: April 2015

As April gives way to May, we celebrated World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd) and prepare to celebrate Vietnam Human Rights Day (May 11th). We also remember the one-year anniversary of the death of Dinh Dang Dinh, an environmental activist and blogger who died of stomach cancer on April 3, 2014, only a month after […]

Profile of Ta Phong Tan

Birthdate: 1968 Occupation: Former police officer, blogger Arrest Date: September 5, 2011 Trial Date: September 24, 2012 Sentence: Ten years in prison and five years of probationary detention Ta Phong Tan is a former policewoman, a well-known blogger, and co-founder of the Free Journalist Club. She often blogged about corruption within the one party state. […]

Freedom of Expression Recap: March 2015

Vietnam has received a lot of media attention this month, especially in regards to the South China Sea, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and its increasing relations with major world powers. Reports about the state of rights in Vietnam have also made the news. For example, in Freedom House’s 2015 Freedom Report, Vietnam has been rated as […]

Freedom of Expression Recap: February 2015

January ended on a low note for freedom of expression and the state of human rights in Vietnam. On January 30, two anonymous men broke into the home of human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and threatened him. This news comes after several dissidents were assaulted after visiting ex-political prisoner Tran Anh Kim earlier in […]

Freedom of Expression Recap: January 2015

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been a hot topic in recent months. As Vietnam finishes up TPP negotiations this year, the human rights implications of the TPP have become even more important to discuss. This month, US Representative Loretta Sanchez of California, the co-chair of the Congressional caucus on Vietnam, spoke with Ted Osius, new […]

Human Rights Recap November 8th-December 20th

These past six weeks have been a whirlwind for us here at The 88 Project! We celebrated Tran Huynh Duy Thuc’s birthday on November 29th and raised awareness for his unjust imprisonment, we took part in Human Rights Day on December 10th, we also began planning for 2015. We also launched the beta version of […]

Defining December 10th: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Remembering the Challenges That Lie Ahead

Each year on December 10th, the world celebrates Human Rights Day in honor of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Declaration begins in its preamble with this statement:”Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the […]

Happy Birthday, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc!

Tran Huynh Duy Thuc is a successful Vietnamese entrepreneur who often blogged about economic and social conditions in Vietnam. He was arrested in 2009, at first on charges involving theft of telephone wires, and then later under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code for “attempting to overthrow the government.” His one-day trial was held in […]