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defending farmers whose land has been confiscated by local authorities.
He had reportedly been under close surveillance for some time prior to
his arrest. (RAN 26/07 – 24 May 2007).
Under house arrest
DANG Phuc Tue (religious name: Thich Quang Do)
D.o.b.: 1928 Profession: Buddhist monk, writer, scholar. Secretary
General of the outlawed Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma,
United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). Date of arrest: 9 October
2003 Details of arrest: Part of a delegation of nine UBCV leaders who
were all arrested on 9 October 2003 (see Thich Huyen Quang above).
The delegation had left Binh Dinh at 5.00 a.m. on 8 October 2003 en
route for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) when security services blocked
their departure. After a protest in which over two hundred monks formed
a human shield around their vehicle, the delegation was allowed to
continue its journey, only to meet another police barricade on the
following day, when all nine UBCV leaders were arrested and taken
away for interrogation. Thich Quang Do and Thich Huyen Quang were
placed under house arrest under which they remain as of June 2007.
Thich Quang Do was briefly detained on 16 February 2006 whilst
attempting to visit UBCV Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang. Place of detention:
Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City. Previous political
imprisonment/problems: On 27 June 2003 he was released from a
twenty-seven month detention order. Has spent most of the last twenty
years in detention or under residential surveillance because of his
campaign for religious freedom and free expression. Other information:
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared his
imprisonment as ‘arbitrary’ in May 2005.
Released
BUI Kim Thanh (f): Lawyer and cyber dissident. Reportedly taken by
police to a psychiatric hospital on 2 November 2006, but following a
medical examination the doctors concluded that she did not suffer any
mental illness. On the 4 November 2006, the police allegedly took her
again to a psychiatric hospital, Bien Hoa, north of Saigon, where she was
held in psychiatric detention until 16 July 2007. She continues to be
under strict surveillance.
Case closed
DO Nam Hai: Essayist. Reportedly arrested on 15 October 2006 and
charged with ‘espionage’ and ‘anti-Socialist propaganda’ for drafting the
Manifesto of the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam.
Case closed for lack of further information.
EUROPE and CENTRAL
ASIA
ARMENIA
Investigation
Murad BODJOLYAN: d.o.b. c. 1947. Former diplomat and journalist.
Arrested January 2002. Trial details: Trial started on 24 October 2002
under Article 59 of the Criminal Code (treason). Subsequently convicted
to ten years in prison on 16 December 2002. Accused of passing on military
and economic information to the Turkish military intelligence, as
well as details of Kurdish Workers’ Party exiles in Armenia. Lawyers
argue there is little evidence and suggest that his writings are the basis of
the charges. The conviction was upheld in early 2003 and is now final.
Bodjolyan has brought his case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Background: Bodjolyan is a freelance journalist for the Turkish NTV
television network. Until 1998 worked in the Armenian foreign ministry
and acted as interpreter for former president Ter-Petrosian. Suggestions
that the conviction may be linked to February 2003 presidential elections
and is aimed at undermining Ter-Petrosian who is standing for re-election.
Married with children. In December 2006, PEN learned that
Bodjolyan’s case has been taken to the European Court of Human Rights
Arman BABADZHANIAN: journalist and editor for the newspaper
Zhamanak-Yerevan (Yerevan Times). D.o.b c. 1947. Sentenced to four
years in prison on 9 September 2006, subsequently reduced to 3.5 years,
on charges of avoiding military service. Babadzhanian was detained on
26 June and charged with allegedly forging documents four years before
to allow him exemption from military service. Supporters claim that the
underlying cause of the case is Babadzhanian’s work on Zhamanak-
Yerevan. Shortly before his arrest, the newspaper had published an article
that had questioned the independence of the Prosecutor General’s office.
The sentence is unusually severe, as such cases usually lead to sentences
of one to three years. CPJ reports that Babadzhanian pleaded guilty to
draft evasion but added that the action was aimed at silencing “an independent
and incorruptible media outlet”. He added that the court had not
taken into account medical documents that referred to health problems
that should have excluded him from service. Appeal: an appeal against
the sentence was rejected on 11 March 2007 Background:
Babadzhanian had been living in California, USA until he moved to
Armenia in early 2006.
Attacked/briefly detained
*Shoger MATEVOSYAN, Goar VEZIRYAN, Nikol PASHINYAN:
journalists for the newspaper Chetvertaya Vlast and editor-in-chief of
Aikakan Zhamanak respectively (Pahinyan is also an opposition leader).
Set upon by police on 23 October 2007 as they came to the aid of demonstrators
who were being beaten by officers at an opposition rally.
Matgevosyan and Pahinyan were held in police custody for 4 hours
accused of obstructing police.