UN rights experts condemn Viet Nam for incommunicado detention of blogger ‘Mother Mushroom’

John Knox joined Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on freedom of association, David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, and Baskut Tuncak, Special Rapporteur on toxic substances, in issuing a joint statement urging the Government of Viet Nam to immediately release a popular blogger known as Mother Mushroom, who has been detained incommunicado since October last year.  Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, a 37-year-old environmental human rights defender, is accused of spreading propaganda against the Government, on the basis of her writing posts online about, among other issues, the dumping of toxic chemicals in April 2016 in Vietnamese waters.

The experts stated:  “We are deeply concerned that Ms. Quynh is being detained because of the exercise of her right to freedom of opinion and expression on a matter of public interest.  We fear for her physical and psychological integrity, and denounce the violations of her fundamental right to due process, in particular her being detained incommunicado, the denial of her right to legal counsel and the banning of visits from her family.”

For the full text of the statement, click here.