Today the Hanoi court of appeal upheld the conviction of Ms Pham Doan Trang on vague charges of alleged “anti-state propaganda”. During the month of August, the convictions of other human rights and civil society activists have been similarly upheld, including those of Mr Dang Dinh Bach and Mr Mai Phan Loi for alleged tax-evasion.

The numerous arbitrary arrests and convictions of peaceful activists and journalists are in direct contradiction to international human rights law. The European Union continues to call on the Vietnamese authorities to release all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained. We also call on the authorities to allow trial observation and to guarantee the right to a fair trial for all individuals.

The European Union will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Vietnam, and actively work towards its improvement.