An appellate court in Tra Vinh Province on May 23 rejected the appeals of Thach Cuong, 37, and To Hoang Chuong, 38, two activists who have campaigned for the rights to freedom of religion of the indigenous Khmer Krom population living in the southwestern part of Vietnam.

In a first-instance trial on March 20, Cuong was sentenced to four years, and Chuong received three years and six months in prison. Both were charged with violating Article 331 of the Penal Code, which forbids “abusing democratic freedom to infringe on the state and other individuals' interests.”

The People’s Police Newspaper, a mouthpiece of the Ministry of Public Security, reported that Thach Cuong was arrested because he “had regular interactions with overseas reactionary organizations and individuals through social networking platforms from 2021 until he was detained on July 31, 2023.”

At the same time, it added, Cuong had “posted, live streamed, and published 14 videos that reflect false facts and affect national and religious solidarity in Vietnam.” Meanwhile, Chuong was accused of sharing the information published by Thach Cuong and several foreign websites that “distorted” the religious situation in Vietnam.

According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Thach Cuong and To Hoang Chuong became targets of the government’s persecution because of their advocacy for the Khmer Krom religious adherents to practice their religion and beliefs without state interference. The USCIRF noted that the police had temporarily detained and assaulted Chuong when he visited another Khmer Krom activist in Soc Trang Province in June 2023.