Defend the Defenders’ Latest Statistics: Vietnam Holds 258 Prisoners of Conscience as of July 7, 2021

Defend the Defenders, Press Release, July 7, 2021

According to Defend the Defenders’ statistics, as of July 7, 2021, Vietnam’s communist regime is holding at least 258 prisoners of conscience in prisons or similar forms of detention. The number does not include blogger Le Anh Hung(m) who has been held in a mental clinic for enforced treatment since April last year.

The above number includes 218 who have been convicted – mostly of political crimes such as subversion, “propaganda against the state,” “abusing democratic freedom,” “disruption of security,” and “undermining the national unity” of the Criminal Code– and 40 others held in pre-trial detention. The list does include Vietnamese Australian Chau Van Kham(m) who was found guilty of terrorism under Article 113 of the code.

Bloggers, lawyers, unionists, land rights activists, political dissidents, and followers of non-registered minority religions have been arrested and detained for peacefully exercising their internationally and constitutionally protected rights, principally the right to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of religion or belief. The list does not include individuals who have engaged in or advocated violence.

Vietnam still holds 40 activists in pre-trial detention, six of them were arrested in 2018-2019, 15 others in 2020, and the remaining 19 were arrested this year. Among them is prominent political dissident and world-recognized human rights defender Pham Doan Trang.

Twenty two of the prisoners of conscience identified by Defend the Defenders are female. All of these women come from the majority Kinh ethnic group. In total, 188 people, or 72.9% of the list, are ethnic Kinh. The second-largest ethnic grouping on the list is Montagnards, a loose set of religious and ethnic minorities who live in the mountains of the Central Highlands. They account for 62 people or 24% of those on the list. Six from Hmong and two on the list are Khmer Krom.

Most prisoners of conscience have been charged with or convicted of allegations under Articles 79, 87 and 88 of the1999 Penal Code or Article 109, 117 and 331 in the 2015 Criminal Code:

– 48 activists convicted or charged with subversion (Article 79 of 1999 Penal Code or Article 109 in the 2015 Criminal Code);

– 56 activists convicted and five charged with anti-state propaganda (Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code or Article 117 of the 2015 Criminal Code);

– 56 people from ethnic minorities were convicted of undermining the national unity policy (Article 87 of the 1999 Penal Code or 116 of the 2015 Criminal Code);

– 25 activists were convicted or charged with “abusing democratic freedom” (Article 258 of the 1999 Penal Code or Article 331 of the 2015 Criminal Code);

– 13 activists were charged with “disruption of security” under Article 118 of the 2015 Criminal Code;

– 20 individuals were convicted of or charged with “disrupting public orders” (under Article 245 of the 1999 Penal Code or Article 318 of the 2015 Criminal Code) for their peaceful activities.

– Two activists Nguyen Van Vien (m) and Chan Van Quyen (m) were convicted of “terrorism” under Article 113 of the 2015 Criminal Code.

– The charges for 13 individuals are unknown, including three Montagaards followers of the Ha Mon sect arrested on March 19 last year.

Background

After arresting more than 40 activists and bloggers and convicted around 40 political dissidents last year, Vietnam’s communist regime continues its crackdown on the local political dissidents and social activists in a bid to ensure “social stability” before the ruling Comminist Party of Vietnam conducted its 13th National Congress in late January this year and after the formal elections of the country’s rubber-stamped parliament named National Assembly and People’s Councils in localities on May 23.

During the congress, many conservative senior leaders such as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc who took the state president post in April, and Minister of Public Security To Lam, were re-elected to the party’s most powerful body Politburo and they will continue to hold high-ranking positions of the regime in the next five year. More arrests and severe imprisonments are expected in coming years as the international community is focusing on dealing with deadly Covid-19 pandemics which started in late 2019 and may continue to cause widespread infection worldwide in the next few years.

Arrest in January 1-July 6

Between January 1 and July 6, Vietnam arrested 18 activists and Facebookers. Seven of them were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 while ten others were alleged with “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331.

On April 7, authorities in Hanoi detained prominent human rights advocate Nguyen Thuy Hanh, who established the 50K Fund two years ago and ran it until her arrest to assist families of prisoners of conscience and defenders-at-risks. She was alleged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” and may face lengthy imprisonment up to 20 years due to her charity activities, especially her support for Dong Tam land petitioners after the bloody police raid in the commune in early January last year.

It is worth noting that Mr. Le Trong Hung from Hanoi and Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh from Ninh Binh were taken into police custody after announcing their plans to run for the country’s highest legislative body National Assembly in the elections in late May. Medical doctor Nguyen Duy Huong from the central province of Nghe An was arrested after criticizing Vietnamese leaders on human rights violations, including the severe human rights abuse against Dong Tam land petitioners. Meanwhile, state newspaper journalist Phan Bui Bao Thy and his partner Le Anh Dung were arrested and charged with “abusing democratic freedom” after denouncing state officials’ corruption.

On June 30, security forces of Hanoi Police Department arrested local Facebooker Le Van Dung (aka Le Dung Vova) one month after the issuance of a special nationwide arrest warrant. One week later, pro-democracy activist Do Nam Trung was detained on his way to work. Trung, who is a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy once being imprisoned for 14 months in prison in 2014-2015 for monitoring the mass protest in southern provinces against China’s expansionism in the East Sea (South China Sea). Both were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda.”

On July 2, authorities in Hanoi detained well-known journalist Mai Phan Loi and charged him with tax evasion under Article 200 of the Criminal Code. The allegation is likely a political case as a revenge for his brave writing about the country’s issues. A number of political dissidents, including blogger Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay) and lawyer Le Quoc Quan were imprisoned after being convicted of trumped-up tax evasion.

Convictions in January-June

In the first half of this year, Vietnam’s communist regime convicted 16 activists and Facebookers, and sentenced them to a combined total 122 years in prison and 26 years of probation.

On January 5, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City convicted three members of the unregistered professional group Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), President PhD. Pham Chi Dung, Vice President Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and young editor Le Huu Minh Tuan of “conducting anti-state propaganda” for their online posts. Mr. Dung was sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of probation, the most severe sentence given for the charge for decades. Mr. Thuy and Mr. Tuan were given 11 years in prison followed by three years of probation each. After the first-instance hearing, Mr. Dung did not appeal the court’s decision because he does not have belief in Vietnam’s judicial system while Mr. Thuy also did not submit his appeal after security officers wanted him to write the petition under their direction. Only Mr. Tuan appealed but it is unclear where the appeal hearing will be held.

Two weeks later, on January 20, the People’s Court of Hau Giang convicted local environmental activist and human rights defender Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, also of “conducting anti-state propaganda” for her online activities which aim to address the country’s issues. She was sentenced to seven years in prison.

On May 5, the People’s Court of Hoa Binh province convicted former prisoner of conscience  Can Thi Theu and her younger son Trinh Ba Tu of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and each of them was sentenced to eight years in prison and three years of probation. Her oldest child Trinh Ba Phuong, who was arrested on the same day of the arrest of the mother and the younger brother on the same allegation, is still held in pre-trial detention in Hanoi and is expected to be taken to a court soon.

On March 30, in two separate trials, four Facebookers were also convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and sentenced to a combined total 31 years in prison and six years of probation. The People’s Court of Lam Dong province sentenced Mr. Vu Tien Chi to ten years in prison followed by three years of probation while the People’s Court of Khanh Hoa province gave Ms. Nguyen Thi Cam Thuy nine years in prison and three years of probation, Ms. Ngo Thi Ha Phuong- seven years in prison, and Mr. Le Viet Hoa- five years in prison. They were alleged of posting articles and livestreams on their Facebook accounts with content to distort the regime’s policies and defame the regime’s leaders.

The four hearings failed to meet international standards for a fair trial as the sentences were pre-determined before the hearing started, the defense of the activists’ lawyers and themselves was ignored and the hearings lasted only one day. Like other political cases, the presence in a courtroom was limited to a few relatives of the defendants-activists.

On March 24, the Higher People’s Court in Hanoi rejected the appeal of poet dissident and human rights defender Tran Duc Thach who was convicted of subversion and sentenced to 12 years in prison and three years of probation by the People’s Court of Nghe An province in the first-instance hearing on December 15 last year due to his participation in the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy whose ten members were arrested and convicted of subversion in recent years.

Two days earlier, the People’s Court of Phu Yen province suddenly canceled the first-instance hearing against local freelance journalist Tran Thi Tuyet Dieu who was arrested on August 21 last year on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” for her online posts on various issues the country is facing.

In early June, two Facebookers Dang Hoang Minh and Cao Van Dung were suddenly convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” for their Facebook posts. Mr. Minh was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Hau Giang province’s People’s Court while Mr. Dung was given nine years in prison by a court in the central province of Quang Ngai. It is unclear when the two Facebookers were arrested.

After two days of working out of scheduled three days, in the evening of March 9, the Higher People’s Court in Hanoi announced its final decision regarding appeal of six Dong Tam land petitioners who were accused of murder or “resisting on-duty state officials” during the bloody raid of around 3,000 riot policemen to the commune on January 9 last year. The court upheld the severe sentences given by the People’s Court of Hanoi in the first-instance hearing in mid-September 2020 despite defense lawyers showing strong evidence for the investigation’s wrongdoings and the six land petitioners’ claims of their innocence. The death sentences of two brothers Mr. Le Dinh Cong and Mr. Le Dinh Chuc and the life imprisonment of Mr. Le Dinh Danh as well as severe imprisonment sentences of three others were upheld. According to lawyers’ report, the appeal hearing failed to meet the international standards for a fair trial, like the first-instance hearing.

Authorities in Hanoi have a plan to carry out the first-instance hearing on July 9 to try political blogger Pham Chi Thanh (aka Pham Thanh) on the charge of “conducting anti-state propaganda” for his criticism against many communist leaders, including late President Ho Chi Minh and the incumbent communist chief Nguyen Phu Trong. Defend the Defenders forecast that he will receive a heavy sentence, a common tendency in recent years.

Mistreatment in prison

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security continues its policy to keep prisoners, especially prisoners of conscience, under hard living conditions in a bid to punish them for their non-violent activities but harmful for the communist regime and break their mental strength. Along with sending prisoners of conscience to prisons far from their families, it allows authorities in the prisons and the temporary detention centers to apply other psychological measures to make the life of jailed activists harder, such as denying them their rights to regular meetings with their families and receiving additional food and medicines from their relatives, placing them in solitary cells or isolated areas, or forcing them to work hard without proper protective equipment. It also puts added psychological and financial trauma on the family members.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong, who was sentenced to five years in prison on charge of “conducting anti-state propaganda” last year and currently serves her sentence in An Phuoc Prison camp, is suffering from a number of severe diseases such as kidney and liver disorders but the prison authorities refuse to send her to a hospital for treatment. Her life is under a great risk if she will not be treated property on time, according to former prisoner of conscience Doan Thi Hong, who shared the same cell with Suong before being released on March 9.

Labor activist and human rights defender Nguyen Van Duc Do, who is serving his 11-year imprisonment in Xuan Loc Prison camp in the southern province of Dong Nai, has been placed in a solitary cell for more than one year and not permitted to meet with his relatives nor receive additional food from his family. He has been beaten and threatened by guard dogs while suffering from a number of severe diseases.

Since October last year, labor activist Hoang Duc Binh, who is serving his 14-year imprisonment in An Diem Prison camp in the central province of Quang Nam, has been denied of family’s visits and his right to receive additional food and stuffs from his family as the prison’s punishment for his refusal to wear the prison uniform with letters Criminal. Binh has never admitted to committing crimes but advocating for human rights and workers’ rights.

The family of brave human rights defender and democracy campaigner Can Thi Theu alarmed that she is held in a tiny cell without a fan during the hot summer in the temporary detention center operated by the Hoa Binh province’s Police Department. It is worth noting that Mr. Dao Quang Thuc was treated the same way by the same detention center and he died in 2019 shortly after being transferred to the Gia Trung prison camp in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Many former prisoners of conscience reported that most prisoners of conscience from ethnic minorities have no family visits and their lives in prisons are very hard since they rely on prison’s supply only.

Release from prison in January 1- July 6

In the first half of this year, 23 prisoners of conscience were released or expected to complete their imprisonments. Defend the Defenders has no information which would confirm the release of most of them. However, Defend the Defenders still excludes their names from this list.

On February 4, anti-corruption activist Ha Van Nam was released, seven months earlier than his imprisonment due. More than one month later, Ms. Doan Thi Hong completed her 30 months of imprisonment and returned home to unite with her daughter who was under two years of age when she was arrested in early September 2018.

Defend the Defenders is concerned that authorities in Hanoi are still keeping blogger Le Anh Hung (m) in a local mental facility after investigating him on the allegation of “abusing democratic freedom” without any judicial process. The activist was subjected to forced medication, which can constitute torture under international law. In the same situation is Mr. Trinh Ba Phuong, who was taken to a mental hospital in early March for psychological assessment. In 2020, blogger  Pham Chi Thanh was also sent to the same facility but taken back to police custody after the assessment.

Vietnam’s authorities have allowed prisoner of conscience Mr. Ngo Hao to go to live in exile in Finland after suspending his 15-year imprisonment for urgent medical treatment. He arrived in Helsinki in early April.

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The term “prisoner of conscience” (POC) was coined by Peter Benenson in the 1960s. It refers to any individual “imprisoned for his/her political, religious or conscientiously held beliefs, ethnic origin, sex, color, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth, sexual orientation or another status who have not used violence or advocated violence or hatred.”

Defend the Defenders is Vietnam’s independent non-profit organization working to promote human and civil rights in the Southeast Asian nation. It has a network of dozens of human rights defenders across the nation who report human rights abuse in their areas.

Appendix 1: List of arrested activists in January 1-July 6, 2021

Appendix 2: List of activists convicted in January-June 2021

Appendix 3: List of Prisoners of Conscience Released in January-June 2021

Appendix 4: List of Prisoners of Conscience as of July 7, 2021