On June 6, the People’s Court of Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Dak Lak convicted local music lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for his online posting with the content advocating for human rights and the country’s sovereignty as well as denouncing systemic corruption among state cadres.
After the hearing which lasted around six hours, the court gave the 60-year-old activist eight years in prison and four years of probation.
Phuoc, who was arrested in early September last year, has campaigned against corruption and advocated for better protections for civil and political rights in the past decade. He has signed several pro-democracy petitions and called for changes to Vietnam’s Constitution, which grants the Communist Party a monopoly on power.
He has been the fifth activist being convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” so far this year. Last month, veteran of China’s invasion in 1980s Tran Van Bang was also given a heavy sentence of eight years in prison and three years of probation for online posting.
Climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong arrested for tax evasion
On June 2, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City detained climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong and her husband on allegation of tax evasion.
Hong, 51, is a well-known environmentalist. She is the founder and executive director of CHANGE – a non-profit organization with the mission of inspiring the community and raising environmental awareness with the aim of protecting nature and wild animals, combating climate change, and promoting sustainable development.
Based on her activism, climateheroes.org included her in their 2015 “Climate Heroes” list. Four years later, in 2019, she was voted among the Top 5 Ambassadors of Inspiration at the 2019 We Choice Awards and was named the Green Warrior of the Year at the Elle Style Awards.
Two staff of CHANGE were reportedly arrested and charged with the same allegation.
Hong is the 5th environmentalist being charged with tax evasion. Last year, four activists named Nguy Thi Khanh, Dang Dinh Bach, Mai Phan Loi, and Bach Hung Duong were convicted and sentenced to between 20 months and five years in prison.
Ms. Nguy Thi Khanh, recipient of the Goldman prize in 2018, was released in April this year, five months earlier before her imprisonment ended.
The arrest of Hong met international condemnation including the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, the governments of the US and Germany as well as international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Meanwhile, lawyer and environmentalist Dang Dinh Bach, 44, who is serving his five-year imprisonment in Prison camp No. 6 in Nghe An province, started his hunger strike on June 9 to demand for being released immediately and unconditionally.
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June 11, 2023
Vietnam Defend the Defenders’ Weekly Report for June 5-11, 2023: Music lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc sentenced to eight years in prison for online posting
by Defend the Defenders • [Human Rights], DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | June 11, 2023
On June 6, the People’s Court of Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Dak Lak convicted local music lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for his online posting with the content advocating for human rights and the country’s sovereignty as well as denouncing systemic corruption among state cadres.
After the hearing which lasted around six hours, the court gave the 60-year-old activist eight years in prison and four years of probation.
Phuoc, who was arrested in early September last year, has campaigned against corruption and advocated for better protections for civil and political rights in the past decade. He has signed several pro-democracy petitions and called for changes to Vietnam’s Constitution, which grants the Communist Party a monopoly on power.
He has been the fifth activist being convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” so far this year. Last month, veteran of China’s invasion in 1980s Tran Van Bang was also given a heavy sentence of eight years in prison and three years of probation for online posting.
For details of the hearing: Vietnam court sentences music teacher to 8 years in prison, RFA, June 6
Climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong arrested for tax evasion
On June 2, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City detained climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong and her husband on allegation of tax evasion.
Hong, 51, is a well-known environmentalist. She is the founder and executive director of CHANGE – a non-profit organization with the mission of inspiring the community and raising environmental awareness with the aim of protecting nature and wild animals, combating climate change, and promoting sustainable development.
Based on her activism, climateheroes.org included her in their 2015 “Climate Heroes” list. Four years later, in 2019, she was voted among the Top 5 Ambassadors of Inspiration at the 2019 We Choice Awards and was named the Green Warrior of the Year at the Elle Style Awards.
Two staff of CHANGE were reportedly arrested and charged with the same allegation.
Hong is the 5th environmentalist being charged with tax evasion. Last year, four activists named Nguy Thi Khanh, Dang Dinh Bach, Mai Phan Loi, and Bach Hung Duong were convicted and sentenced to between 20 months and five years in prison.
Ms. Nguy Thi Khanh, recipient of the Goldman prize in 2018, was released in April this year, five months earlier before her imprisonment ended.
The arrest of Hong met international condemnation including the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, the governments of the US and Germany as well as international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Meanwhile, lawyer and environmentalist Dang Dinh Bach, 44, who is serving his five-year imprisonment in Prison camp No. 6 in Nghe An province, started his hunger strike on June 9 to demand for being released immediately and unconditionally.
For more details:
Jailed Vietnamese climate activist to start hunger strike on Friday, RFA, June 8, 2023
Vietnamese climate activist arrested for ‘tax evasion’, RFA, June 2, 2023