[Vnbiz] US presses Vietnam over jailed journalists

[Tai Phan]

US presses Vietnam over jailed journalists

By BEN STOCKING – 3 days ago

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The U.S. has expressed concern about the case of two
Vietnamese journalists arrested because of their aggressive reporting on a
major government corruption case, a State Department official said Friday.

"Journalists need to be able to report, write and broadcast without concern
for their safety and without concern for their being arrested every time
they report on a sensitive matter," said David J. Kramer, assistant
secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.

Kramer raised the case during an annual human rights dialogue Thursday
between the United States and Vietnam, which has come under frequent
criticism for its treatment of political dissidents and religious
minorities.

Vietnam's Communist government has said that fighting corruption is one of
its top priorities. But on May 12, government security agents jailed two
journalists because of unspecified "inaccuracies" in their reporting on a
2006 Transportation Ministry scandal.

Charged with "abuse of power" were Nguyen Viet Chien of Thanh Nien (Young
People) newspaper and Nguyen Van Hai of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The scandal, which erupted in 2005, led to the conviction of nine people who
were accused of illegally betting millions of dollars on European football
matches and trying to bribe people to cover up their crime.

Authorities suspected they embezzled the money from a unit of the ministry
that managed major road and bridge building projects. The unit received
substantial funding from the World Bank and Japan.

The case prompted the transportation minister to resign and led to the
arrest of the deputy minister, Nguyen Viet Tien.

The charges against Tien, the highest official charged in the case, were
suddenly dropped in late March, six weeks before the journalists' arrests.

Immediately after their detention, Vietnam's state-controlled media demanded
their release and condemned the government for its handling of the case.

But since then, with the government clamping down, news of the case has been
completely muzzled.

The case has stirred deep concern among Vietnamese journalists and bloggers,
who say it will discourage reporters from aggressively reporting on
corruption, one of Vietnam's most serious problems.

During a media briefing Friday, Kramer said the U.S. would continue
following the case.

"A free press is very important for exposing corruption," he said. "We do
hope for a more elastic and flexible approach toward handling the media from
the government."
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