Vietnam: NGO leader arrested on trumped up charges
Event- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Dec 16, 2022
- Event Description
On December 20, the investigation agency of the Hanoi Police Department officially indicted Hoang Ngoc Giao, a Vietnamese NGO leader and a legal expert, on charges of “committing tax evasion” under Article 200 of the Penal Code, State media reported. But earlier, three anonymous sources told RFA Vietnamese that Giao was arrested on December 16 for “providing classified information to foreign entities.” The Hanoi People’s Procuracy reportedly approved the arrest of Giao. Hoang Ngoc Giao is also the director of the Institute for Policies on Law and Development (PLD), a locally registered NGO that carries out research on Vietnam’s development policy. The organization remains under the management of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology (VUSTA), a government-controlled agency. The investigation agency of the Hanoi Police Department has not provided preliminary investigation results regarding Giao’s alleged “tax evasion.” The NGO leader is also an advisor who regularly assists the government in improving the country’s legal framework. Last month, Giao chaired a workshop proposing amendments to Vietnam’s Land Law at the Government Guest House in Hanoi. In early 2020, he demanded an independent investigation into the police raid of Dong Tam Village, a land conflict hotspot. Last October, Giao was elected chairman of the Vietnam - China International Trade Arbitration Center (VCITAC). The director of PLD is the latest NGO leader indicted on “tax evasion” charges. Previously, four directors from different Vietnamese nonprofit organizations were charged and imprisoned on similar charges. They include the prominent environmental activist Nguy Thi Khanh, who won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018 for her anti-coal advocacy. Convicted tax evaders face up to seven years of imprisonment in Vietnam.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- Right to liberty and security
- Freedom of expression
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 21.029959141053727
Longitude: 105.8611871783127
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 16 December 2022, Hoang Ngoc Giao, director of the NGO Institute for Policies on Law and Development, was arrested by the police on false tax evasion charges likely in relation t his comments to the Government policies in Hanoi, Viet Nam.