Vietnamese Musicians Jailed For Anti-State Songs

Two prominent Vietnamese musicians Vo Minh Tri, who records and performs under the name Viet Khang, and Tran Vu Anh Binh were jailed last week after their music, which criticised the Chinese government, was said to be “propaganda against the state”.

Two of Khang's songs, Anh La Ai? (Who Are You?) and NuocToi Dau? (Where Is My Country?) went viral after Khang uploaded them to YouTube late last year following police crackdowns on anti-China protesters.

Viet Khang's Anh La Ai

Binh is alleged to have composed or edited 11 songs with anti-state content which he posted to his blog, according to reports from Bloomberg.

The pair were arrested in December last year, charged with conducting propaganda against the state under Article 88 of the penal code. They faced court last week where Khang was sentenced to four years in jail and two under house arrest, while Binh was jailed for six years, also with two years house arrest.

Speaking with the International Business Times last week, Amnesty International's Vietnam researcher Rupert Abbott slammed the sentence.

"This is a ludicrous way to treat people just for writing songs. These men are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression through their songs and non-violent activities and should be freed," he said.

The US State Department's Mark C. Toner also expressed great concern about the sentences passed down.

“This latest example of the Vietnamese authorities restricting freedom of expression is inconsistent with international standards,” he said “Given the recent worsening of the human rights situation in Vietnam, we urge the Vietnamese government to acknowledge and remedy this situation, including through the release of these musicians, and all prisoners of conscience, as well as adherence to its international obligations immediately.”

Closer to home, the Australian Labor Party's member for Oxley, Bernie Ripoll, expressed his issue with the sentences.

“It seems almost incredible to us here in Australia that anyone could be arrested and jailed for doing something as simple as writing a song or voicing their view—a right that we treasure in this democracy and this parliament,” he said. “Whether it is in Vietnam, in China or in any other part of the world, people ought to have that most basic of human rights—to be able to express their own view in a peaceful, non-violent manner.”