Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh
(aka: Mẹ Nấm, Mother Mushroom)
| Status: | Exiled |
| Activity: | Blogger |
| Birth date: | 1979 |
| Arrest Date: | October 10, 2016 |
| Trial Date: | June 29, 2017 |
| Appeal Date: | November 30, 2017 |
| Sentence: | 10 years in prison |
| Charge: | Article 88 (Propaganda against the socialist state) |
| Location: | Prison Camp 5 |
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh is a blogger who has written on advancing human rights and promoting freedom and democracy in Vietnam. Known under the pen name Mother Mushroom, she is a co-founder of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers, an independent writers’ association. Following her arrest in October 2016, Quynh was escorted by police to her home where they carried out a search and stated they had found “anti-government material”. On 29 June 2017, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “conducting propaganda against the state”. In 2010, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh received the Hellman/Hammett Grant from Human Rights Watch. In 2015, she received the Civil Rights Defender of the Year award. In 2017, she received the International Woman of Courage award from the US Department of State.
Prison Camp 5
Activists being held at this prison:
 |
Doan Van Cu |
|
Le Duy Loc |
 |
Le Trong Cu |
 |
Nguyen Dang Minh Man |
 |
Nguyen Huu Vinh |
 |
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh |
 |
Nguyen Van Dien |
 |
Tran Anh Kim |
Note on Penal Code provisions:
A revised and expanded penal code took effect January 1, 2018 (known as the “Amended 2015 Penal Code”). While the previous provisions criminalizing political expression remained unchanged, they were renumbered. For instance, Article 79 (attempting to overthrow the government), Article 88 (anti-state propaganda), and Article 258 (abusing democratic rights) were renumbered as Article 109, Article 117, and Article 331, respectively.
For consistency with past media coverage, our database records the Article(s) that the prisoner was charged with (i.e., based on the version of the penal code applicable at the time of the sentencing).