Nguyen Van Hai
| Nguyễn Văn Hải | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1952 |
| Nationality | Vietnamese |
| Other names | Nguyen Hoang Hai, Dieu Cay |
| Occupation | blogger |
| Organization | Club for Free Journalists |
| Known for | 2008 imprisonment |
| Spouse(s) | Duong Thi Tan |
Nguyễn Văn Hải (born c. 1952; also known as Nguyen Hoang Hai), better known by his pen name Điếu Cày, is a Vietnamese blogger who has been prosecuted by the government of Vietnam for tax evasion and "disseminating anti-state information and materials". His imprisonment was protested by several international human rights organizations, and Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience. On 21 October 2014, he was released.
Nguyen Van Hai publishes his reporting through a blog, Dieu Cay ("Peasant's Pipe"), which also serves as his pen name. He is a founding member of the Club for Free Journalists, created in September 2007. In 2008, he participated in as well as reported on Vietnamese protests against the Beijing Olympics following a China-Vietnam maritime dispute.
Hai was arrested on 20 April 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City, and his computers and files were confiscated. He was then charged with tax evasion and sentenced to thirty months' imprisonment.
He was scheduled for release in October 2010, but on the day of his release, his sentence was extended "pending further investigation". His home was allegedly also raided and his wife Duong Thi Tan beaten. On 5 July 2011, Duong Thi Tan was informed that Nguyen Van Hai had lost one of his arms due to an injury sustained in prison.
In April 2012, he was brought to an additional trial for "spreading anti-government propaganda" along with bloggers Ta Phong Tan and Phan Thanh Hai. Nguyen Van Hai pleaded not guilty. According to the state newspaper Thanh Nien, Nguyen Van Hai and Phan Thanh Hai were also believed to have attended a training seminar sponsored by the overseas opposition party Viet Tan.
Human Rights Watch condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of the three bloggers. In 2009, the group awarded Nguyen Van Hai its Hellman-Hammett Award "for writers who have suffered persecution as a result of their writings".Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience, expressing concern at reports of his weight loss and deteriorating health.
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