Uwazi

Vietnamese police detained and assaulted family members of a jailed democracy activist and Christian pastor before and during U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink�s recent visit to their district in Thanh Hoa province, the political prisoner�s wife said Wednesday.

The house arrest and beating appears to be part of an intensifying crackdown on human rights activists and dissidents six months before the Communist Party of Vietnam�s next five-yearly party congress.

Ahead of the ambassador�s visit, local police visited the Quang Xuong district home of Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton, who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for his involvement with the Brotherhood for Democracy dissident group.

�On June 26, officers from the Quang Yen commune police department came to my house, ordering all the family members not to go out of the home for the next few days,� Nguyen�s wife Nguyen Thi Lanh told RFA�s Vietnamese Service.

They locked the gate surrounding the house Monday night, as Kritenbrink was arriving in Quang Xuong the next day.

According to a report by Thanh Hoa Radio and Television, the ambassador was leading U.S. delegation to the northern coastal province to attend an opening ceremony for a local project supported by the embassy�s Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Nguyen Thi Lanh said that on Tuesday morning, she used pliers to break the locks so she could sell goods in the market. Police arrested her there and took her to the Quang Yen police station.

At 4:00 p.m. that day her son Nguyen Trung Trong Nghia left the home to meet his mother at the station.

She said that when her son was on his way there he was attacked by two people, believed to be plainclothes police officers.

�My son was ambushed. They blindfolded and bludgeoned my son�s head with an electric baton, causing him injury,� said Nguyen Thi Lanh.

�A police officer took my son to a health clinic for treatment then brought him back to the Quang Yen police office for booking,� she said.

�This morning, my son returned to the health clinic for more treatment. His face was swollen, and he has broken teeth,� she added.

An official at the Quang Yen police station told the family that the reason for the house arrest was because Ambassador Kritenbrink was visiting their district. The ambassador left Quang Xuong at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, after which the police left their position at the family�s house.

RFA attempted to contact the Quang Xuong district police office for comment, but nobody answered the phone.

Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was arrested in July 2017 on charges of �attempting to overthrow the people�s government� and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and three years of probation in April 2018.

Vietnamese authorities have in the past taken interest in the family of political prisoners with Christian affiliations meeting with U.S. diplomats.

In 2016, local police subjected Tran Thi Hong, wife of imprisoned Mennonite pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh to an intense interrogation two months after she met with U.S. diplomats to discuss religious freedom.

Estimates of the number of prisoners of conscience now held in Vietnam�s jails vary widely. New York-based Human Rights Watch said that authorities held 138 political prisoners as of October 2019, while Defend the Defenders has suggested that at least 240 are in detention, with 36 convicted last year alone.

On 29 June 2020, at least two family members of Nguyen Trung Ton, detained political prisoner, were prevented from leaving home, beaten, and later arrested by the police in Than Hoa Province, Viet Nam.

On June 24, Vietnam�s security forces violently detained Hanoi-based four activists for their voicing to support land petitioners in Dong Tam commune, Hoai Duc district who were brutally suppressed by the communist regime in January this year.

According to a short video clip made by human rights defender Trinh Ba Phuong, a large number of uniformed and plainclothes policemen gathered near his private residence in the early hours of Wednesday. At around 5.30 am, police cut Internet connection in the area and used pliers to cut his house�s lock to break in and arrest him in the front of his wife who gave the birth of their second child four days ago.

Phuong�s mother, former prisoner of conscience Can Thi Theu and his younger brother Trinh Ba Tu were also detained by the police. Theu, who was imprisoned twice a total 35 months for objecting land grabbing, was arrested while staying in her daughter�s house in the northern province of Hoa Binh while Tu was detained in their agricultural field in the province.

Land petitioner and human rights defender Nguyen Thi Tam was the fourth victim of Vietnam�s persecution today. She was kidnaped by security forces while going to a local wet market. She was taken away while the police came to her private residence in Duong Noi village for house searching.

According to their families, the detainees as well as some of their relatives were beaten by police officers during their detention and house search, during which police confiscated a computer set and four cell phones from Mrs. Tam�s house and cell phones from Mrs. Theu and her sons. Police also informed that they also found some books printed by the unsanctioned publisher Liberal Publishing House led by prominent human rights defender and political blogger Pham Doan Trang in Mrs. Theu�s family houses.

All of them from Duong Noi village, Ha Dong district, Hanoi where the city�s authorities seized their agricultural land without paying adequate compensation. Theu and her husband Trinh Ba Khiem as well as Phuong, Tu, and Tam were active fighters for their land although they failed.

Later, the state-controlled media reported that all of them were charged with �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with the imprisonment of between seven and 12 years in prison but maybe up to 20 years in jail. While Mr. Phuong and Mrs. Tam are held in the Temporary detention center No. 1 (Hoa Lo) under the authority of the Hanoi Police Department, Mrs. Theu and her son Mr. Tu are kept in the temporary detention center under the authority of Hoa Binh province�s Police Department. All of them will be held incommunicado during the investigation period which will last four months at least and may be extended to more than two years.

The detentions are likely related to the brutal massacre on January 9 when the Ministry of Public Security deployed thousands of riot policemen to Dong Tam commune to attack Hoanh villagers. Police killed 84-year-old communist member Le Dinh Kinh, the spiritual leader of the local land petitioners, and arrested nearly 30 people, including his two sons and two grandchildren.

Police said during the attack, three police officers were killed and blamed the local petitioners for their death although there are no solid shreds of evidence for their deaths and even no traces of their bodies.

In its investigation report released recently, the Hanoi Police Department proposed 25 detainees be prosecuted of murders and four others of �resisting on-duty state officials.�

Since the land dispute in Dong Tam commune started in 2017, the four activists have provided strong support for the local petitioners. Right after the massacre in early January this year, Phuong and Tam kept updating their posts about the case on their Facebook accounts. Phuong also met with US diplomat in Hanoi to report the case.

Two days after detaining the four activists, authorities in Hanoi publicized the indictments against 29 Dong Tam land petitioners, paving the way for the city�s People�s Court to hold the first-trial against them. Hard sentences are expected for them. Some sources that they have a plan to impose the death penalty for four of the defendants and lengthy sentences for the remaining.

Tam is a well-known strong woman in Duong Noi. She often criticized Hanoi police for persecuting her. In recent weeks, she made a number of online surveys about the communist regime�s policies and its senior officials.

It is worth noting that Facebooker Chung Hoang Chuong has convicted of �abusing democratic freedom� and sentenced to 18 months in prison for disseminating information about the police�s massacre in Dong Tam.

Along with recent detentions across the country, the arrests on Wednesday prove that the communist regime will apply all measures to crack down on the local dissent in a bid to ensure a �stable environment� for preparation of the 13th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. It is likely that the police generals want to show their power after dozens of police and army generals have been imprisoned for fired for economic wrongdoings.

On 24 June 2020, four land righs defenders were beaten and detained by the police, one of them was kidnapped, and their houses raided in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

On June 23, the People�s Court of Vietnam�s northern province of Hoa Binh convicted local resident Nguyen Van Nghiem of �Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam� under Article 117 of the country�s Criminal Code.

At the end of the first-instance hearing which lasted a few hours, the court sentenced the 57-year-old barber to six years in prison, Defend the Defenders has learned.

In an open trial, only the defendant�s wife was permitted to enter the courtroom while his friends and supporters were barred from observing the trial inside.

The defendant had no legal assistance although his wife had signed a contract with Hanoi-based attorney Ha Huy Son. It is likely Nghiem got pressured from the police to deny legal counseling.

Nghiem was arrested on November 5 last year over his posts on Facebook regarding issues such as human rights violations, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution and China�s violations of the country�s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the weak response of Vietnam�s communist regime. He also conducted many live streams on his Facebook account Nghiem Nguyen on which criticized the communist regime and its leaders for their failure to deal with these problems.

So far this year, Vietnam has tried activists, four of them were convicted between nine months and six years for their posts on Facebook. In addition, hundreds of Facebookers have been fined up to VND15 million ($680) for their Facebook posts which were considered fake or untrue by the communist authorities, especially about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam�s communist regime is holding at least 280 prisoners of conscience, according to the latest statistics of Defend the Defenders. More arrests are expected by the end of this year as the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam is preparing its 13th National Congress slated in January 2021.

On 23 June 2020, Nguyen Van Nghiem, detained blogger, was handed down harsh sentence over social media posting by a court in Hoa Binh Province, Viet Nam.

Vietnam�s communist regime has arrested the third journalist named Le Huu Minh Tuan in an effort to demolish the unregistered group Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), Defend the Defenders has learned.

Local activists reported that on June 12, the security forces of Ho Chi Minh City�s Police Department arrested Mr. Tuan, who is a member of IJAVN, and has a number of articles under penname Le Tuan. It is unclear what the charge he is facing, but his arrest is likely related to the previous detentions of IJAVN�s President Ph?m Chi Dung and Vice President Nguyen Tuong Thuy, who were accused of �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between seven and 12 years if are convicted.

Tuan was said to be taken to Chi Hoa temporary detention center under the authority of HCM City�s Police Department, where Mr. Dung and Mr. Thuy are held incommunicado since their arrest in November 2019 and May 23 this year, respectively.

Mr. Tuan, 31, joined IJAVN in 2014. He graduated from Da Nang University, majoring in history. He is currently working on a second degree at Hanoi Law University.

In the months after the arrest of Mr. Dung, Tuan was repeatedly summoned by security forces for interrogation about the association. Tuan�s friends advised him to go into hiding to avoid being harassed or detained, however, he refused, saying he didn�t want his studies interrupted. He also acquiesced to these questionings because he believed he hadn�t done anything wrong.

In order to keep the country under a one-party regime, the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam is striving not to allow the formation of opposition groups and civil society organizations. After arresting a dozen of key members of the unsanctioned group Brotherhood for Democracy, Vietnam�s security forces are targeting IJAVN which has more than 50 independent journalists and dissidents who have produced thousands of unbiased articles regarding hot issues of the country such as human rights violations, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution, China�s violations of the country�s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the weak response of the communist regime in Hanoi, failures of socio-economic policies of the ruling Communist Party, etc.

Under the communist regime�s provision, IJAVN is a thorny group that should not exist. Since its establishment in 2014, it and its members have been under constant persecution of security forces who strive not to allow its members to gather or meet with foreign diplomats. In November last year, the security forces started their campaign to crack down on the association by arresting its President Dung and a half year later, they detained Acting President Thuy.

A number of its members are under threat and may be arrested at any moment as the security forces want to eradicate the association ahead of the upcoming 13th National Congress scheduled in January 2021.

Vietnam is among the world�s biggest enemies of the press. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Hanoi held 12 journalists under the bar for their journalism activities as of 2019�s end while the Reporters Without Border (RSF) has placed Vietnam at the bottom of its annual free press indexes in recent years.

So far this year, Vietnam has arrested at least 12 activists, nine of them for their writings. Vietnam is also among the biggest prisons of prisoners of conscience in Southeast Asia, with more than 250 activists being kept behind bars.

On 12 June 2020, Le Huu Minh Tuan, media worker, was arrested by the police likely as member of an independent unregistered media group critical of the Government in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Vietnamese police on Saturday (May 22) detained the acting president of the unsanctioned Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) six months after the arrest of its president, a rights group and his family said.

Nguyen Tuong Thuy (pic), 68, was arrested on Saturday morning at his house in Hanoi on the charge of "conducting anti-state propaganda," Defend the Defenders, a non-profit NGO working for the promotion of human rights and democracy as well as assisting local activists at risk in Vietnam, reported.

Thuy, a retired veteran and an active blogger, is renowned for commenting on the government's policies and criticizing them for social injustice and corruption.

His family said a group of security officers blocked his private residence in Hanoi, confiscating the mobile phones of all members of the family, and started to search their house. Police seized his computers and other personal items and took him away.

"The recent arrests, including those of Mr Pham Thanh and Mr Nguyen Tuong Thuy, are part of the ongoing crackdown on local dissent prior to the party's 13th National Congress slated in January 2021," Vu Quoc Ngu, director of Defend the Defenders, said.

On Thursday, police arrested Pham Thanh, a former journalist for the Voice of Vietnam, on the same charge as Thuy.

Thanh, 68, has written several books and essays criticizing Vietnam's communist government and leaders, including a book self-published in 2019 harshly criticizing Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Vietnam, a single party state, broadly bans dissent in its penal code.

The 88 Project, a US-based rights monitoring group, lists more than 200 political prisoners in Vietnam.

The country denies holding political prisoners.

On 23 May 2020, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, blogger, was detained by the police for allegedly conducting anti-state propaganda, personal belongings of him and his family were seized in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Police officers from the Ministry of Public Security detained young activist Nguyen Anh Tuan on Friday when he was in a cafeteria in Hanoi.

Police took him to a police station and questioned about his legal writing about the land dispute in Dong Tam commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi and the brutal assault by thousands of riot policemen in Hoanh village on January 9 in which police barbarically killed 84-year-old Le Dinh Kinh and arrested around 30 local residents.

Mr. Tuan was released in the late afternoon of the same day.

Mr. Tuan, born in 1990 from the central city of Danang, is a talented young man. He has just completed a master degree in Public Policy at the Vietnam-Japan University of Hanoi National University. He also attended many overseas-based training sessions about campaigning for democracy and human rights. He actively supported victims of the Formosa environmental disaster. He has been illegally detained many times, having a passport confiscated for many months before being returned thanks to pressure from the EU.

After the Dong Tam massacre, Tuan and many individuals as well as independent civil society groups have provided support and legal guidance to Dong Tam villagers, and helped them draft letters to foreign governments and international rights organizations.

On 22 May 2020, Nguyen Anh Tuan, pro-democracy defender, was interrogated, temporarily detained by the police for writing on a deadly police assault against civilians in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Police in Vietnam�s capital Hanoi arrested a dissident writer and blogger on Thursday on charges of producing and distributing information opposing the government amid a deepening crackdown on freedom of expression in the one-party communist state.

Pham Chi Thanh, also called Pham Thanh, was taken into custody at 8:00 a.m. by a large group of police who burst through the door of his home, his wife Nguyen Thi Nghiem told RFA�s Vietnamese Service by phone.

�While my son was opening the door, many police came into the house, and I heard the noise and came downstairs,� Nguyen said.

�They asked me where my husband was, and I said he was on the fifth floor watering [bonsai] trees. Then they brought my husband downstairs, and the police said they had warrants to arrest him and to search the house.�

After the police read out their warrants, they seized two computers, a printer, and some documents, arrested Pham, and left the house at 10:00 a.m., Nguyen said, adding that she was so weakened and overwhelmed by anxiety during the arrest that she couldn�t hear clearly what Pham had been charged with.

Writing later on his Facebook page, another dissident writer said however that Pham had been arrested under Article 117 of Vietnam�s penal code for �producing, storing, and disseminating information and documents against the Vietnamese state.�

RFA has not been able yet to independently confirm the charge.

Critical books, essays

Born in 1952, Pham Thanh has written a number of books and essays critical of Vietnam�s communist government and leaders, including a book self-published in 2019 harshly criticizing Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Dissent is not tolerated in Vietnam, and authorities routinely use a set of vague provisions in the penal code to detain dozens of writers, bloggers, and activists calling for greater freedoms in the one-party communist state.

Estimates of the number of prisoners of conscience now held in Vietnam�s jails vary widely.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that authorities held 138 political prisoners as of October 2019, while Defend the Defenders has suggested that at least 240 are in detention, with 36 convicted last year alone.

On 21 May 2020, Pham Chi Thanh, pro-democracy defender, was arrested by the police, his house searched for allegedly disseminating information critical of the Government in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

On May 8, the People�s Court of Soc Son district in Vietnam�s capital city of Hanoi convicted two anti-corruption activists named Dang Thi Hue and Bui Manh Tien on allegation of �causing public disorders� under Article 318 of the country�s Criminal Code.

Specifically, they were sentenced to 15 months in prison each. Due to her 24-month probation sentence earlier, Ms. Hue has to serve her 42-month imprisonment in the coming years.

They were arrested in mid-October last year when they were trying to block the Bac Thang Long-Noi Bai BOT (build-operating-transfer) toll booth to protest its illegal fee collection. Their acts were simply civil but considered as criminal since the BOT toll booths belong to companies backed by senior state officials.

In May last year, Ms. Hue was beaten by plainclothes policemen of Soc Son district. Due to the assault, she suffered a birth miscarriage.

Hue is among dozens of activists speaking up against fee collecting of wrongly-placed BOT toll booths in many places in Vietnam, including the Bac Thang Long-Noi Bai BOT.

Many anti-BOT activists have been persecuted by plainclothes agents and thugs in recent months. Mr. Ha Van Nam and six others were convicted and sentenced to between 18 months and 36 months on the allegation of �disturbing public orders.�

So far this year, Vietnam�s communist regime has convicted four activists with a total of 11 years and three months of imprisonment and three years of probation. In addition, the regime has arrested seven activists, mostly on allegations in the national security provisions of the Criminal Code, raising the number of prisoners of conscience to 247 at least, according to Defend the Defenders� latest statistics.

On 8 May 2020, Dang Thi Hue and Bui Manh Tien, detained defenders, were convicted to 15-month imprisonment for an anti-corruption protest staged in 2019 by a district court in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Vietnamese authorities on Tuesday sentenced a young Facebook user to a five-year prison term on charges of spreading propaganda against the state for his online postings amid a deepening crackdown on freedom of expression in the one-party communist state.

Phan Cong Hai, 25, was convicted in the People�s Court of the central province of Nghe An under Article 117 of Vietnam�s 2015 Penal Code following a two-hour trial unattended by lawyers. He was the second Facebook user to be jailed in Vietnam this week and the latest in a heavy-handed campaign to censor what the 65 million users of the social platform can write or read.

Speaking to RFA�s Vietnamese Service following the trial, Phan�s father Phan Cong Binh said that he had seen his son only once following Phan�s Nov. 19 arrest after evading capture by police for almost six months.

�I was able to meet my son briefly on Dec. 24, 2019, but we couldn�t speak freely because the police were standing right next to us,� he said, adding that travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult to see Phan more frequently.

�Now, our family really doesn�t know what to do,� he said.

According to the indictment filed against him, Phan was identified by Nghe An police as the user of a Facebook account set up under the name Hung Manh which described efforts by Vietnamese youth to �offend the image� of the government and of Vietnamese Communist Party founder Ho Chi Minh.

The Facebook page came to the attention of the province�s Do Thanh High School in late 2018, and school authorities contacted police who issued a warrant for Phan�s arrest and began a nationwide search in May last year which ended when Phan returned to his native Ha Tinh province in November after taking refuge in Thailand.

Meanwhile, Vietnam�s Ninh Kieu District Court in Can Tho City on Monday handed another Facebook user an 18-month prison term for sharing a story on Facebook in January about a deadly government crackdown during a politically sensitive land dispute at the Dong Tam commune outside Hanoi.

Chung Hoang Chuong, better known by his nickname Lucky, was found guilty of �abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens� in violation of Article 331 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.

Facebook under fire

Facebook has come under fire from Vietnamese and international rights activists after the social media giant publicly admitted it has agreed to help communist authorities censor posts critical of the government.

On April 21, two Facebook employees told the Reuters news agency that the company�s servers in Vietnam were taken offline for about seven weeks earlier in the year until Facebook agreed to government demands to remove posts considered by authorities to have criticized the communist state.

In a statement condemning Facebook�s decision to comply with government demands, Amnesty International Human Rights Advisor William Nee warned that �governments around the world will see this as an open invitation to enlist Facebook in the service of state censorship.�

�The Vietnamese authorities� ruthless suppression of freedom of expression is nothing new, but Facebook�s shift in policy makes them complicit,� he added.

In an emailed statement to RFA on April 22, Facebook spokesperson Amy Sawitta Lefevre defended her company�s action, saying that though freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, Facebook risked being blocked by authorities in Vietnam if the company refused to comply.

�We have taken this action to ensure our services remain available and usable for millions of people in Vietnam, who rely on them every day,� Lefevre said.

Vietnamese activist Tran Bang said that Facebook�s decision to bow to government demands �will block the ears, mouths, and eyes of Vietnam�s people, just as if there was no Facebook here at all.�

�Tens of millions of Facebook users have posted news from many different sources, helping people access truthful information about politics, society, and the economy," he told RFA on April 27.

"By blocking and removing stories in accordance with the authorities� requirements, [Facebook] is complicit with the dictatorship in violating human rights and freedom of expression in Vietnam."

�This means that Facebook is no different from the communist police,� he said.

Refining repression

In a report this year, the media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that �as Vietnam�s citizens become increasingly engaged online, the authorities have been refining their digital repressive methods.�

The NGO said Vietnam�s army has created �a 10,000-strong military cyber-warfare department called �Force 47,� which is tasked with defending the Party and targeting dissident bloggers.�

�Under a new cyber-crime law that took effect in 2019, foreign online platforms are required to store their Vietnamese user data on servers in Vietnam and surrender it to the authorities when required,� RSF added.

Facebook user Dinh Van Hai told RFA that Facebook had been forced to cooperate with authorities to avoid being blocked behind a firewall. �But for me, Facebook must continue to prioritize freedom of the news as its top goal,� he said.

Though smaller social media networks have recently been set up in Vietnam, these typically block content widely shared on Facebook and are not widely used, Ha Hoang Hop�a researcher at Singapore�s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies�told RFA in a text message sent on April 27.

�Vietnamese social networks have not attracted as many users as Facebook, and they can�t compete,� he said.

No room for dissent

Vietnam, whose ruling Communist Party controls all media and tolerates no dissent, ranks 175th of 180 countries on the 2020 RSF�s World Press Freedom Index.

�As Vietnam�s media all follow the Communist Party�s orders, the only sources of independently-reported information are bloggers and independent journalists, who are being subjected to ever-harsher harsh forms of persecution,� said RSF.

�To justify jailing them, the Party resorts increasingly to articles 79, 88 and 258 of the criminal code, under which �activities aimed at overthrowing the government,� �anti-state propaganda� and �abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state� are punishable by long prison terms,� it said.

Vietnam has also been consistently rated �not free� in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group.

On 28 April 2020, Phan Cong Hai, blogger, was handed down a 5-year jail term over Facebook posts critical of the Government by the court ofCourt of Nghe An, Viet Nam.

The People�s Court of Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho City on April 27 convicted local resident Chung Hoang Chuong of �abusing democratic freedom� under Article 331 of the country�s Criminal Code for his post on Facebook, Defend the Defenders has learned.

The court sentenced him to 18 months in prison in the trial the defendant has not been protected by his own lawyer while his wife was informed about the first-instance hearing just 20 minutes before it started.

Mr. Chuong, 43, was detained on January 11 this year. According to the indictment, Mr. Chuong has conducted online activities on his Facebook account Ch??ng May M?n where he wrote or shared numerous statuses regarding hot issues Vietnam, including human rights abuse, serious nationwide environmental pollution, systemic corruption and the government�s weak response to China�s violations of the country�s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). His latest statuses on his Facebook page were about the military attack in Dong Tam commune carried out by the Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi Police Department in the early morning of January 9 in which police killed at least two civilians.

His wife reported on her Facebook page that during the trial, the procuracy representative said Chuong should not write about the Dong Tam assault, because it is the issue of Hanoi and the capital city�s authorities are responsible for settle it.

Mr. Chuong has been the second Facebooker being detained for their online activities amid increasing crackdown on the local dissent. After him, Vietnam�s security forces arrested three others on different allegations. Ms. Ma Phung Ngoc Phu was charged with the same allegation while Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Thuy and Dinh Van Phu were alleged with �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 117 while former prisoner of conscience Tran Duc Thach was charged with subversion.

Since the Cyber Security Law become effective in early 2019, Vietnam has arrested more than two dozens of Facebookers on allegations of �conducting anti-state propaganda� and �abusing democratic freedom� in the National Security provisions of the Criminal Code, and sentenced 17 of them to between one and 11 years in prison, according to Defend the Defenders� statistics.

Along with arresting Facebookers and charging them with controversial criminal offenses in the national security provisions of the Criminal Code, security forces in different localities have summoned hundreds of local Facebookers for interrogation about their Facebook posts.

Regarding Covid-19 alone, around 300 Facebookers have been fined between VND5 million ($220) and VND15 million for disseminating news on the pandemic which are considered fake news by the communist regime. They were forced to delete their posts and promised not to repeat �wrongdoings,� according to the state-controlled media.

Vietnams� regime has also pressured on Facebook, reducing its local traffic by switching off their serves in the country so the American firm has been agreed to censor political posts in a bid to protect its economic interests in the market with over 65 million accounts, according to the recent report of Reuters.

On 27 April 2020, Chung Hoang Chuong, detained blogger, was sentenced to 18-month jail term over social media posts omn several human rights issues by the court of Can Tho City, Vietnam.

While the whole country is focusing on dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnam�s communist regime does not forget to cement its political monopoly by intensifying its crackdown on local dissent, arresting the third activist within two weeks.

This time, its prey is former prisoner of conscience Tran Duc Thach, 68, from the central province of Nghe An, the home of late communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Thach is a founding member of the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy.

On April 23, security forces arrested Mr. Thach on allegation of conducting �Activities against the people�s government� under Article 109 of the country�s Criminal Code, with the highest punishment of 20 years in prison or even death penalty. Police conducted searching for his house, confiscating a laptop, cell phones, a camera as well as VND9 million ($380) and $400, according to his family.

According to the state-controlled media, Mr. Thach has been continuously posting and sharing numerous articles on Facebook with content to distort the regime�s policies with the aim to trigger social disorders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.�

He was arrested for the first time in 2009 and sentenced to three years in jail and three years of probation on a charge of �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 88 of the same Penal Code for claiming Vietnam�s Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratlys), the two archipelagos also claimed by China, and demanding human rights improvement in the communist nation. Particularly, Thach, together with activists Vu Van Hung and Nguyen Xuan Nghia hang out a banner which states �Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam� at Mai Dich Bridge in the capital city of Hanoi. His fellows were also jailed with lengthy sentences.

After leaving the army in 1975, Thach wrote a memoir named �Obsessive mass grave� to describe how communist soldiers assaulted innocent civil people while invading South Vietnam during the Vietnam War in which the communist soldiers with the support of China and the Soviet Unions as well as the communist bloc in Eastern Europe defeated South Vietnam backed by the US and its allies and unified the country in 1975. In 1976, he self-immolated to protest unfair policies of authorities in Nghe An province and Dien Chau district. Due to the act, his face was deformed.

The arrest of Thach was made three days after the communist regime rejected the appeal of human rights activist and environmental campaigner Nguyen Nang Tinh, upholding his sentence of 11 years in prison and five years of probation. Both Thach and Tinh are strongly protesting China�s invasions of Vietnam�s sovereignty in the East Sea.

Last week, China sent a diplomatic note to the UN Secretary-General to reaffirm its illegal claim of nearly entire East Sea, including the two archipelagos Paracels and Spratlys that Vietnam has controlled since the 18th century, and demand Vietnam to withdraw its crews and facilities in the resource-rich sea which is also very important for international trade.

Thach is the third activist being arrested within two weeks. On April 10, authorities in Can Tho arrested Ma Phung Ngoc Phu on allegation of �abusing democratic freedom� and eight days later, Dinh Thi Thu Thuy from Hau Giang province was detained and charged with �conducting anti-state propaganda,� both were arrested for their online posts which are considered harmful for the regime. The arrests were made after the call of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to release prisoners of conscience in a bid to protect their health amid increasing COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 20, the Higher People�s Court in Hanoi upheld the sentence of 11 years in prison and five years of probation against human rights activist Nguyen Nang Tinh, who is also strongly protesting China�s expansionism in the East Sea.

Vietnam�s communist regime has intensified its crackdown on local dissent from late 2015 when the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam prepared for its 12th National Congress. More than 100 activists have been arrested and charged with controversial allegations in the National Security provisions of the Penal Code or the Criminal Code, many of them were sentenced to lengthy imprisonments of between five and 20 years.

BFD is the group that suffered the most from the ongoing persecution campaign of the communist regime. Its nine key members were sentenced to between seven and 15 years in prison, and only two of them, human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha were freed but forced to live in exile in Germany. It is unknown Thach�s latest arrest related to BFD. In 2017, when Vietnam�s police arrested six key members of the group, he was summoned to a police station and interrogated for days about his activities in it.

With the new arrests, Vietnam is holding at least 245 prisoners of conscience, according to Defend the Defenders�s statistics. More arrests are expected in the coming months as the ruling party is preparing for its 13th five-year congress slated in early 2021.

On 23 April 2020, Tran Duc Thach, pro-democracy defender, was arrested, his house searched by security forces for allegedly triggering social disorder via social media posts on COVID-19 in Nghe An, Viet Nam.

An appeals court in Vietnam on Monday upheld a lower court�s verdict in sentencing a Catholic music teacher to 11 years in jail for posting online criticisms of the one-party communist state and the government, the convicted man�s lawyer told RFA�s Vietnamese Service.

Nguyen Nang Tinh, 45, who teaches at a provincial arts and cultural college, was arrested in May 2019 after he was found writing and sharing what authorities deemed anti-state posts and videos on his Facebook account for seven years.

The posts included protests against Vietnam�s law on special economic zones that many citizens fear will favor Chinese investment in the country, and demonstrations against a Taiwanese company that dumped toxic waste into the ocean that caused an environmental disaster off the nation�s central coast in April 2016.

The Council of Judges of the People�s Court in north-central Vietnam�s Nghe An province upheld the 11-year sentence, plus five years of probation with restricted movement, that teacher Nguyen Nang Tinh was handed for the series of Facebook posts published between 2011 and 2018.

The presiding judge said the sentence served as a warning to those who wanted to capitalize on the rights to democracy and freedom by opposing the state, contradicting achievements in Vietnam�s progress with reform.

�At the appeals trial, Nguyen admitted to using Facebook accounts to share stories but affirmed that those stories were not aimed at opposing Vietnam�s government,� said defense attorney Dang Dinh Manh.

�I think this is an unfair sentence to give Nguyen, based on the defendant�s right to freedom of expression and on guarantees provided in the U.N.�s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that say everyone is entitled to express their own points of view,� he said.

Vietnam is a signatory to the multilateral treaty that commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights, and rights to due process and a fair trial.

Dang noted that in writing the online posts, Nguyen had exercised his right to free speech guaranteed under Vietnam�s constitution and had contributed to improving state policies.

Hunger strike to resume

The teacher had been on a hunger strike while in prison between March 13 and April 17, during which time he was not allowed to pray, read religious books, or meeting with Catholic priests, Dang said.

Thought the music teacher ended the hunger strike when he was informed about his appeals trial, he now will resume it because that process is over, the attorney said.

Dang said that he and another attorney, Nguyen Van Mieng, spent two days traveling by private car from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An to take part in the trial.

Nguyen�s wife, Nguyen Thi Tinh, could not attend her husband�s trial on account of lockdowns in Vietnam to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which on Monday registered 268 confirmed cases but no fatalities.

On April 18, Vietnamese police arrested another social media user, Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, on charges of �smearing leaders,� state media reported.

The resident of Nga Bay in the southern province of Hau Giang has been charged under Section 117 of Vietnam�s Penal Code for making and spreading anti-state information and materials.

Dinh had created many Facebook accounts since 2018 to edit and share hundreds of posts and other materials opposing the state and smearing the Communist Party�s leaders, state media said.

Vietnam police reported in June 2018 that Dinh was also present at a demonstration outside Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica in Ho Chi Minh City to protest against proposed laws on the creation of special economic zones and on cybersecurity, the latter of which called for restrictions on the internet that would give the state greater surveillance and censorship powers.

Another Dong Tam arrest

Police also have arrested another resident of Hoanh village in the rural commune Dong Tam, where about 3,000 security forces conducted a violent early morning assault on residents during a land protest in early 2019 outside Vietnam�s capital Hanoi, an activist said.

On April 19, authorities picked up Nguyen Van Chung, son of Bui Thi Duc, a woman who is among 28 other villagers arrested during the bloody clash on Jan. 9, activist Trinh Ba Phuong told RFA on Monday.

The villagers apprehended following the incident have been charged with committing murder, illegally possessing weapons, and opposing officers on duty.

Nguyen was not arrested at his home in Dong Tam, but in Ho Chi Minh City, also called Saigon, where he was working as an assistant truck driver, Trinh said.

�Last night, he was arrested and cruelly beaten in Saigon,� Trinh said. �Those who witnessed the arrest questioned police about it, but they said that Nguyen was a dangerous person and had to be arrested.�

During a meeting with Hanoi authorities on the same day as the arrest, Vietnam�s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told officials to resolve the Dong Tam issue, consolidate the political system and develop new rural policies.

The Dong Tam clash was the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute over a military airport construction site about 25 miles south of Vietnam�s capital Hanoi.

A report drawn from witness accounts and released seven days after the Jan. 9 clash with security forces said that police had attacked first during the deadly incident that claimed the lives of the Dong Tam village chief and three police officers.

Though all land in Vietnam is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint with residents accusing the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects and of paying too little in compensation.

On 20 April 2020, Nguyen Nang Tinh, pro-democracy defender, was confirmed a 11-year prison sentence for online criticising the Government by the second instance court in Nghe An Province, Viet Nam.

Vietnam�s communist regime has not stopped its crackdown on the local dissent amid increasing threat of COVID-19 outbreak nationwide, arresting the 7th activist so far this year.

On April 18, authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang arrested female activist Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, charging her with �Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam� under Article 117 of the country�s Criminal Code.

Ms. Thuy will be held incommunicado for at least four months during the investigation period and faces imprisonment of between seven and 12 years in prison if she is convicted, according to the current Vietnamese law.

Citing information from police, the state-controlled media reported that Ms. Thuy has created a number of Facebook accounts to disseminate numerous articles to distort the communist regime�s policies and defame its leadership. She was also accused of criticizing the communist regime�s measures in dealing with COVID-19.

Thuy is an activist participating in the mass peaceful demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018 which aimed to protest two bills on Special Economic Zone and Cyber Security. The first seeks to favor Chinese investors while the two countries are disputing over the East Sea (South China Sea) while the second bill which became law from 2019 strives to silence online government critics. She was detained, beaten and interrogated, and fined with money before being released.

In recent years, she has been under constant persecution of the local police who often summoned her to their station for interrogation about her posts on Facebook.

Thuy is the seventh detained activist and the second Facebooker being arrested since the beginning of 2020 on the allegation of �conducting anti-state propaganda.� The first was Dinh Van Phu, who is from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and was arrested on January 9.

In January-April, police in Can Tho City arrested Mr. Chung Hoang Chuong and Ms. Ma Phung Ngoc Phu on allegation of �Abusing democratic freedom� under Article 331 of the Criminal Code for their online posts.

In addition, authorities in Gia Lai detained three religious activists named Ju, Lup, and Kunh in mid-March after chasing them in the past eight years. The trio, who was forced to live in a forest during the past eight years, was likely charged with �Sabotaging implementation of solidarity policies� per Article 116 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between seven and 15 years. Vietnam�s communist regime often uses this allegation to imprison religious activists.

With the arrest of Ms. Thuy, Vietnam is holding at least 244 prisoners of conscience, 26 of them are held in pre-trial detention which may last more than two years, according to Defend the Defenders� statistics.

On 18 April 2020, Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, WHRD, was arrested by the police, held incommunicado for allegedly spreading false news on COVID-19 and tarnishing Government's reputation in Hau Giang Province, Viet Nam.

Ms. Truong Thi Ha reported that police in Quang Binh confiscated her personnel items including passport, diary and cell phone before placing her under quarantine when she returned from Thailand on a bus in late March.

Ha said she was kept by Vietnam�s security when she entered the homeland from Laos. In the past several years, Ha reportedly participated in short courses on human rights in the EU and has recently worked for a human rights group in Bangkok.

Ha said she was allowed to return to her parents� house without having the items confiscated by police. She expects to be summoned by security forces in the coming days for interrogation for her activities in recent years.

Ha is a young activist, participating in peaceful demonstrations in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018 to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. She was reportedly beaten by police after being detained and held for several days.

Graduated law in HCM City Law University, Ha has pledged to be a lawyer to assist vulnerable groups. She has done an internship with prominent human rights attorneys Le Cong Dinh and Tran Vu Hai.

On 16 April 2020, Truong Thi Ha, pro-democracy defender, was arbitrarily placed under quarantine and questionedby the police, his phone and Fecebook credentials were seized in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.

Two prisoners of conscience Ngo Van Dung and Le Quy Loc have reportedly been beaten by police in Phan Dang Luu temporary detention facility under the authority of Ho Chi Minh City Police Department while waiting for their first-instance hearing.

The incident occurred on April 12, according to relatives of other prisoners of conscience who are held in the same facility. The information was passed after the regular visits on Friday which were resumed after months of suspension due to applied measures during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Accordingly, many prisoners of conscience held in the facility said that they saw dozens of policemen brutally assaulted the two men who were arrested in early September 2018 on allegation of �disruption of security� under Article 118 of the country�s Criminal Code for their plan to hold peaceful demonstrations.

In response, the prisoners of conscience and their cellmates protested the attacks by using their personal items and hands to knock their cell doors.

After that, the police took the two men out of the facility. One week later, they returned Loc to his cell and he told them that he suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized for treatment.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dung was transferred to Chi Hoa, another temporary detention facility also under the authority of HCM City Police Department. His relatives have yet to be permitted to visit him since late January.

Mr. Dung, 51, and Mr. Loc, 44, are members of the unregistered group Hi?n Ph�p (Constitution) which strives to educate the public about the human rights they are entitled to under Vietnam�s 2013 Constitution by disseminating the country�s 2013 Constitution among citizens. Its members were active during the mass demonstration in HCM City on June 10, 2018 in which tens of thousands of Vietnamese rallied on streets to protest the communist regime�s plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cybersecurity

They were arrested in early September 2018 together with 6 members of the group named Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh, Mrs. Hoang Thi Thu Vang, Mr. Do The Hoa, Mr. Ho Dinh Cuong, Mr. Tran Thanh Phuong, and Ms. Doan Thi Hong. While Hanh and Vang were charged with the allegation of �disruption of security� under Clause 1 of Article 118 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between five and 15 years in prison, the other six are subjected to the allegation under Clause 2 of the same article with imprisonment of between two and seven years if are convicted.

All of them were kidnapped by HCM City�s police on September 2-4, 2018, and held incommunicado for months. Their families had not been informed about their detentions and charges for months after they went to different state agencies and police stations to ask for their status and found out that they were kept by the city�s police.

In order to prevent similar protests in early September 2018, Vietnam�s security forces launched a big campaign to persecute local dissent and all members of the Hi?n Ph�p group became their targets. Two other members of the group named Huynh Truong Ca and Le Minh The were arrested and convicted of �conducting anti-state propaganda� and �abusing democratic freedom,� respectively while three others were forced to relocate in Thailand to avoid being arrested.

The People�s Court of HCM City set up the first-instance hearing on their cases in late 2019 and early 2020 but postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak and other unclear reasons.

It is expected that the activists would be convicted and sentenced to lengthy sentences after Vietnam�s communist regime got all it wants, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). On February 12, the European Parliament approved the pact, ignoring the call for postponing the agreement by numerous international and Vietnamese human rights groups. Although the EU says the pact may be postponed or terminated if Vietnam�s human rights record gets worsened, it is unlikely Hien Phap activists will be freed or receive light sentences.

Vietnam continues to be among the world�s biggest prisons for activists, holding at least 247 prisoners of conscience, including ten members of Hi?n Ph�p group, according to Defend the Defenders� latest statistics.

Meanwhile, torture and inhumane treatment is still systemic in Vietnam although the country ratified the UN Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2014. Every year, dozens of suspects and inmates die in police custody and the authorities say their deaths were caused by illness, suicide or attacks of other inmates while their families and activists suspect that the real cause is police torture.

On 12 April 2020, Ngo Van Dung and Le Quy Loc, pro-democracy defenders and prisoners of coscience, were beaten by the police while in temporary detention in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

On February 21, the People’s Court of Khanh Hoa province upheld the one year of non-custodial reform on human rights attorney Tran Vu Hai and his wife Ngo Tuyet Phuong on tax evasion charge under Article 161 of the 1999 Penal Code.

After one week, the court issued its final decision to keep the sentences given by the lower court, the People’s Court of Nha Trang City. Accordingly, Mr. Hai and his wife have to pay an administrative fine of VND20 million ($850) each for the crime they have not committed, according to the lawyers providing legal assistance for the experienced couple attorneys.

According to the indictment against them, they were accused of committing a tax evasion worth VND276 million in a property deal in 2014. Mr. Hai and his wife reportedly bought a land parcel from Khanh Hoa province-based citizenNgo Van Lam and Vietnamese Norwegian Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh. The deal value was about VND16 billion but the sellers reported to the local authorities just VND1.8 billion, by that way the sellers paid less tax for the deal. The province’s tax authorities had approved the deal.

Nearly two dozens lawyers took part in the appeal to protect Mr. Hai. Like in the first-instance hearing on November 15 last year, Khanh Hoa province’s authorities deployed a large number of police officers to block all the roads leading to the court areas and the lawyers were under strict security check-up before entering the courtroom. They were requested to leave all electrical devices, including laptops and cell phones outside. A few reporters of the state-run newspapers were allowed to enter the courtroom to cover the trial.

The defense lawyers said as buyers, Mr. Hai and his wife are not subjects for tax payment for the deal, and they are innocent since the province’s tax authorities approved the deal. Ms. Hanh is a citizen of Norway and the house she sold to Mr. Hai was the only house she owned so she is not required to pay tax for the deal, according to current Vietnam’s law.

Mr. Hai reported on his Facebook page that the judge ordered the representative of the Nha Trang tax authorities and the representative of the province’s Procuracy not to answer the questions of lawers.

Authorities in Khanh Hoa probed the case in early July last year and placed the four under restricted travel, including travel abroad. In addition, Khanh Hoa police also conducted searching Mr. Hai’s law office and private residence in Hanoi, in which they allegedly took away a large sum of money and documents from other cases.

It is clear that the allegation and convictions against Mr. Hai and his wife are political as recently the Ministry of Public Security denied Mr. Hai’s request for representing former prisoner of conscience Truong Duy Nhat who is accused of “power abuse” after being kidnapped in Bangkok and taken to Vietnam in late January.

Lawyer Hai is well-known for his participation in sensitive cases to represent victims of injustice, victims of forced land appropriation and political dissidents.

On 21 February 2020, Tran Vu Hai, human rights lawyer, and his wife Ngo Tuyet Phuong Khanh were sentenced to one-year jail term and fined over a false accusation by the court of Hoa province, Viet Nam.

Police officers from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security have kidnapped Hanoi-based activist Nguyen Thuy Hanh for interrogation for hours about their assistance given to land petitioners in Dong Tam commune, My Duc district.

On the afternoon of January 20, Mrs. Hanh and her husband Huynh Ngoc Chenh went to the Vietnam Bank for Commerce (Vietcombank)’s branch in Ba Dinh district to question the bank for freezing her account with around VND528 million ($22,500) of donations for the family of Mr. Le Dinh Kinh, a 84-year-old resident of Dong Tam who was killed by police during the raid on January 9.

During a meeting with the bank’s representatives, Mr. Chenh recognized that plainclothes policemen were deployed in the office, probably the bank branch informed police for the presence of the couple.

After receiving unsatisfied answers from the bank’s representatives, the couple left the office to return home with their motorbike. Not far from the bank, they were stopped by police officers in plainclothes who said Hanh must to go with them to their office for “working.” Hanh was forced to go in their car and the vehicle went to the Security Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Public Security at Nguyen Gia Thieu street, Hanoi where many activists were interrogated and beaten.

During the three-hour interrogation, five police officers questioned about the 50K Fund she established last year for assisting prisoners of conscience and activist-at-risks, and the donations from Vietnamese in the country and abroad for Mr. Kinh’s family after the bloody police raid on January 9.

During the interrogation, police officers said they would arrest some other activists, including land petitioner and human rights defender Trinh Ba Phuong for his covering news on the brutal police attack in Dong Tam on January 9, Hanh said.

The abduction and the interrogation against Mrs. Hanh were made few days after her account in Vietcombank was suspended. On January 13, the Ministry of Public Security said on its website that the ministry had ordered local banks to freeze accounts of some activists, including Mrs. Hanh who have been receiving donations for persecuted Dong Tam residents. The ministry said the financial aids from people can help Dong Tam citizens purchase weaponry to deal with the government.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese activists continue to call for a boycott of Vietcombank’s service and ask the Japanese Mizuho to reconsider its investment in the Vietnamese bank. Currently, the Japanese side owns 15% stake in Vietcombank.

On 20 January 2020, Nguyen Thuy Hanh, WHRD, was temporarily kidnapped interrogated and threatened by police officers from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security for organisign a crowdfunding activity in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), the largest commercial bank in communist-ruled Vietnam, has frozen a bank account of Hanoi-based activist Nguyen Thuy Hanh after she receives a large sum of donations for deceased elderly leader Le Dinh Kinh, who was killed by police in Hanoi on January 9.

On January 17, Mrs. Hanh went to the bank to withdraw the money gift for the family of the Dong Tam commune’s moral leader, the bank told her this account has been frozen. Asked for the reason, the bank refused the answer. It only gave her a copied document, showing VND525.45 million ($22,000) have been frozen.

Hanh, who is managing the 50K Fund for assisting prisoners of conscience and activists-at-risks, called on Vietnamese in the country and abroad to make donations for the family of Mr. Kinh after the deadly raid of Vietnam’s police on January 9 in which they killed him and destroyed his house. In addition, police arrested his two sons and two grandsons as well as his adopted daughter and charged them with “murder.”

After the call, Hanh has received more than thousands of small donations from Vietnamese across the globe. She had been placed in de facto house arrest for more than a week and plainclothes agents were deployed near her private residence in Hanoi until Friday.

Meanwhile, prominent dissident and political writer Pham Doan Trang has alerted that Vietnam’s security forces have been pressuring those people who had sent money support to Dong Tam villagers to admit that they are members of a certain political party when they provided “financial support” to Dong Tam villagers.

The police’s sinister goal is to try with all their might to create the existence of a group of terrorists in Dong Tam, and use that as an excuse to “attack, destroy the terrorists,” with aim to cover up their crime of having mounted a large-scale, organised attack against Dong Tam residents on January 9, said Trang, who has been among activists who established the “Dong Tam taskforce” to compile, verify and announce publicly all information relating to the police brutal attack in the location.

After Mrs. Hanh announced Vietcombank’s act, hundreds of activists have called for a boycott of the bank’s services and urged people to withdraw their money from the bank. They urged the bank to reconsider its decision in Mrs. Hanh’s case otherwise it will face a widespread boycott.

This is the second case of freezing activists’ accounts of Vietcombank. In 2015, it made the same act against prominent political dissident Nguyen Thanh Giang. However, it reopened his account after receiving a threat of boycotts of activists in the capital city at that time.

In response to the call for the boycott against Vietcombank, Deputy Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang said the bank’s move was requested by the ministry in a bid to deal with terrorism. He said many contributors to Mr. Kinh’s family have admitted that their donations are for purchasing weapons against Vietnam’s police.

On its website, the ministry has requested people not to send donations for Mr. Kinh’s family. It also admitted that it ordered Vietcombank to freeze the bank account of Mrs. Hanh.

On 17 January 2020, Nguyen Thuy Hanh, WHRD, got her bank account frozen upon order of Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, after being held under de facto house arrest for over a week by the police in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Vietnam’s communist regime has postponed the first-instance hearing to try eight members of the unregistered group Hiến Pháp (Constitution) on the allegation “disruption of security” under Article 118 of the country’s Criminal Code” for their intention to participate in a peaceful demonstration in early September last year, Defend the Defenders has learned.

The People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City made the decision to delay the trial on January 13, one day prior to the scheduled date, saying the postpone was due to the request of Mr. Le Quy Loc, one of the defendants, for summoning witness(es).

The court has not set the new date for the trial but it would be within 30 days from the day of canceling.

Some observers have linked the delay with the bloody attack of police in Dong Tam in which land rights activist Le Dinh Kinh was killed by riot police. The communist regime is willing to reduce social dissatisfaction which rose to its peak in the recent day so they don’t want people to get more anger from lengthy sentences which would be given for the group members.

According to the court’s announcement, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh and Mrs. Hoang Thi Thu Vang are charged with the allegation of “disruption of security” under Clause 1 of Article 118 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between five and 15 years in prison. Six others named Mr. Do The Hoa, Mr. Ho Dinh Cuong, Mr. Tran Thanh Phuong, Mr. Ngo Van Dung, Mr. Le Quy Loc and Ms. Doan Thi Hong are subjected to the allegation under Clause 2 of the same article with imprisonment of between two and seven years if are convicted.

All of them were kidnapped by HCM City’s police on September 2-4, 2018 and held incommunicado for months. Their families had not been informed about their detentions and charges for months after they went to different state agencies and police stations to ask for their status and found out that they were kept by the city’s police.

Hiến Pháp (Constitution) is a group of activists working to educate the public about the human rights they are entitled to under Vietnam’s 2013 Constitution by disseminating the country’s 2013 Constitution among citizens. Its members were active during the mass demonstration in HCM City on June 10, 2018 in which tens of thousands of Vietnamese rallied on streets to protest the communist regime’s plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cybersecurity.

In order to prevent similar protests in early September 2018, Vietnam’s security forces launched a big campaign to persecute local dissent and all members of the Hiến Pháp group became their targets. Two other members of the group named Huynh Truong Ca and Le Minh The were arrested and convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and “abusing democratic freedom,” respectively while three others were forced to relocate in Thailand to avoid being arrested.

Defend the Defenders considers eight jailed members of the group as prisoners of conscience and the accusations against them are groundless.

On 13 January 2020, eight HRDs detained for a peaceful protest held in Semptember 2018 got their trial postponed by the Court of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Vietnam’s authorities have freed prisoner of conscience Tran Thi Nga but forced her to live in exile in the US.

Ms. Nga, who was arrested in February 2017 and sentenced to nine years in prison and five years of probation on charge of “conducting anti-state propaganda,” was taken from Gia Trung prison camp in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai to Noi Bai International Airport during the midnight of January 10 where she and her two sons and husband were taking a flight to Atlanta (Georgia, the US). The United States had granted her asylum.

She has always refused to recognize her guilt so she was being subjected to psychological torture, death threats and physical violence by fellow inmates and prison guards.

On 10 January 2020, Tran Thi Nga, WHRD, was released from prison but taken to the airport by the police upon court order and forced to leave to the US in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Vietnam’s communist regime has detained the second Facebooker so far this year, accusing him of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the country’s Criminal Code.

On January 11, authorities in the Mekong Delta’s economic hub of Can Tho detained a local resident named Chung Hoang Chuong, 43, for his online activities. He will be held incommunicado in next three days for preliminary investigation and the pre-trial detention would be kept longer for months.

According to a notice of Ninh Kieu district’s police, Mr. Chuong has conducted online activities which “Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens.”

His family told Defend the Defenders that he was detained at his cell phone shop in Ninh Kieu commune. Police also came to his private residence to confiscate his wife’s laptop and camera set.

Chuong’s detention came after he wrote and shared a number of articles on his Facebook account Chương May Mắn regarding numerous issues of Vietnam, including human rights abuse, serious nationwide environmental pollution, systemic corruption and the government’s weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). His latest statuses on his Facebook page were about the military attack in Dong Tam commune carried out by the Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi Police Department in the early morning of January 9 in which police killed at least two civilians.

Mr. Chuong has been the second Facebooker being detained for their online activities amid increasing crackdown on the local dissent.

On January 9, authorities in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong arrested Mr. Dinh Van Phu on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code. Mr. Phu, 47, will be held incommunicado in the next three months and face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years if is convicted.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s government reportedly has pressured Facebook to remove articles criticizing the communist regime.

Since the Cyber Security Law become effective in early 2019, Vietnam has arrested nearly two dozens of Facebookers on allegations of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and “abusing democratic freedom” in the National Security provisions of the Criminal Code, and sentenced 17 of them to between one and 11 years in prison, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics.

On 11 January 2020, Chung Hoang Chuong, blogger, was arrested by the police as result of his online activities in Can Tho, Viet Nam.

Vietnam’s authorities continue its crackdown on Facebookers for the second year after implementation of the Cyber Security law, arresting the first activist on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code.

State media has reported that on January 9, police in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong arrested local resident Dinh Van Phu for his online activities and will keep him for at least three months for investigation. He will likely be held incommunicado during the pre-trial detention similar to other political cases.

According to the police, Mr. Phu, 47, was used several Facebook accounts such as “Jimy Nguyễn,” “Vinh Nguyễn Jimy,” and “Nguyễn Vinh” to disseminate articles and conduct live streams with content to distort policies of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its government as well as defaming its leaders.

He is accused of triggering social dissatisfaction and calling for street demonstrations to protest the communist government regarding human rights violations, environmental pollution, systemic corruption as well as a weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).

Police also mentioned that Mr. Phu participated in the peaceful demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018 to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The first was considered to provide privileges for Chinese investors amid Beijing’s increasing aggressiveness in the East Sea while the second aims to silence the local dissent. He was reportedly arrested, beaten and fined with VND750,000 for “causing public disorders.”

Along with targeting groups in order to prevent the formation of political parties and civil society organizations, Vietnam’s communist regime is striving to crack down on online activists. Last year, it arrested 21 Facebookers, 14 of them were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” and five of them with “abusing democratic freedom” in the National Security provisions of the Criminal Code. As many as 12 Facebookers were sentenced to between five and 11 years in prison on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda,” significant lengthier sentences compared to the same allegation in other cases in the previous decade.

The ruling communist party is preparing its 13th National Congress scheduled in early 2021 and it will tighten social life. It is expected more arrest and harassment against local dissent in coming months.

On 9 January 2020, Dinh Van Phu, blogger, was arrested and detained as result of his online sharing by the police in Dak Nong Province, Viet Nam.

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have rejected to grant a passport for former prisoner of conscience Le Cong Dinh, denying his right to freely travel abroad.

Mr. Dinh, who was imprisoned five years in 2009-2013 on the charge of subversion, applied for a new passport in the Immigration Management Division of HCM City’s Police Department on December 4. Two weeks later, on December 16, he received a denial announcement from an officer from the division who refused to point out the reason for the refusal.

In August last year, the city’s police also rejected his application.

The US-educated lawyer is among the leading pro-democracy activists in Vietnam. He was arrested in 2009 and initially charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” and later changed into “subversion” in the same case of prominent activist and entrepreneur Tran Huynh Duy Thuc and Nguyen Tien Trung.

He continues to work for promoting human rights and multi-party democracy in Vietnam after being released in 203. This year, he is among the three activists winning annual prizes of the US-based Vietnam Human Rights Network.

Dinh is among more than 100 Vietnamese activists being barred from international travel. The Ministry of Public Security often uses government decree No. 136 to prevent political dissidents and human rights activists from going abroad with the common controversial reason “national security.” The communist regime has used a number of ways to halt their international travel by denial of granting passports, blocking at national border gates or confiscating their passports.

On 16 December 2019, Le Cong Dinh pro-democracy activist, was denied of being granted with a new passport by the Immigration Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Vietnamese authorities are blocking defense lawyers from speaking with a journalist detained for criticizing Vietnam’s government, saying that their investigation into the writer’s case has not yet finished, one of the two attorneys told RFA on Thursday.

Independent journalist Pham Chi Dung was detained on Nov. 11 by security officers at his home in Ho Chi Minh City and charged with conducting “anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code.

According to police, Pham wrote anti-state articles and cooperated with foreign media to deliver “distorted information,” with rights group Defend the Defenders saying that Pham had contributed to Voice of America and the BBC, using different pen names.

Pham will be held in detention for at least the next four months as police finish their investigation, and if convicted could face a sentence of seven to 12 years.

Speaking on Thursday to RFA’s Vietnamese Service, defense attorney Manh Dinh Dang said that prosecutors informed him and fellow lawyer Mieng Van Nguyen on Dec. 16 that they can confer with their client only when investigators have finished their work.

“This limits lawyers’ ability to get involved,” Manh said, adding that lawyers’ access to their clients is typically restricted under Vietnamese law in cases of “national security,” with some cases dragging on for years.

Also speaking to RFA, former political prisoner Dai Van Nguyen, who was arrested on Dec. 16, 2015 on identical charges, said that he had immediately asked for a lawyer’s help when police officers invaded his home to conduct a search.

“But a representative from the prosecutor’s office presented a document saying this would not allowed until the police investigation was completed,” Dai said.

“This practice is stipulated in the Criminal Code, but it violates Vietnam’s constitution, which makes no distinction between ‘national security’ violations and ordinary [criminal] ones."

According to Vietnam’s constitution, detainees have the right to meet with lawyers, and lawyers have the right to defend their clients, Dai said.

“However, the Criminal Code doesn’t allow for this,” he said.

Pressured to admit guilt

Speaking to RFA, activist Kha Nguyen Dinh, who was freed from prison in October 2018 after serving a six-year term for handing out leaflets criticizing government policy over disputed islands in the South China Sea, said he too had been denied the right to see a lawyer following his arrest.

“I was not allowed to contact anyone, and I had no legal consultation,” Kha said.

“Only after I had been led to say things they wanted to hear was I allowed to see a lawyer,” Kha said, adding that barring access to lawyers during police investigations makes it easier for officials to pressure detainees to admit their “guilt” or make other statements against their interests.

Vietnam has been consistently rated “Not Free” in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group.

Dissent is not tolerated in the communist nation, and authorities routinely use a set of vague provisions in the penal code to detain dozens of writers and bloggers.

Estimates of the number of prisoners of conscience now held in Vietnam’s jails vary widely, with Human Rights Watch putting the number in October at 138. The rights group Defend the Defenders meanwhile puts the number as at least 240, with 36 convicted this year alone.

Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen. Written in English by Richard Finney.

On 26 December 2019, Vietnamese authorities are blocking defense lawyers from speaking with a journalist detained for criticizing Vietnam’s government, saying that their investigation into the writer’s case has not yet finished, one of the two attorneys told RFA on Thursday.

Authorities in Vietnam Sunday clashed with citizens over a Christmas nativity scene display in a part of Ho Chi Minh City that has been embroiled in a land dispute.

A group of Catholic residents of the Loc Hung Vegetable Garden settlement in Ward 6, the city’s Tan Binh district, were attempting to set up the nativity scene over the weekend, but police, plainclothes security agents and militia were dispatched to the area to prevent the display.

The residents then began to object, saying that authorities were violating their rights to religious freedom.

According to the Facebook account account ‘Vườn rau Lộc Hưng’ (Loc Hung Vegetable Garden’), the incident occurred at 9 a.m. Sunday when the local authorities pulled down a wooden frame that would have been a part of the display.

The Loc Hung residents resumed building their nativity scene in the afternoon, so the authorities came back to stop them.

This caused the residents to resist and authorities arrested Cao Thi Thu, Pham Trung Hieu and Pham Duy Quang for protesting.

The three were released by 10 p.m. that evening.

The nativity display’s statues of Christian religious figures Mary and Joseph were destroyed in the clash.

“Yesterday’s suppression was so brutal,” Pham Duy Quang told RFA’s Vietnamese Service Monday.

“By 3:30 p.m., we had gathered to pray and prepare to set up the nativity scene. After praying, a large force consisting of various Ward 6 agencies showed up to destroy [it],” He said, adding, “They beat us, drove [us] into corners.”

Pham said that the three were accused of inciting a ‘mass gathering to disrupt social order’ and were asked to cooperate in police reports at the Ward 4 police station.

Cao discussed how she was physically assaulted by authorities prior to her arrest.

“We only gathered there to protect the nativity scene,” she said.

“I stood behind to set up, but then a large force came along. I am 58 years old and I have really weak hearing. But I was beaten in the face and trampled,” said Cao.

“I felt a brick from somewhere hit my foot. It was so painful so I picked up the brick and threw it away and began to flee. That’s when they arrested me and accused me of throwing the brick [at them] which is an administrative violation,” she said.

She added that the police asked her to accept either detention or a 750,000 dong (U.S. $32.35) fine, but she refused.

“I replied ‘Absolutely not, I won’t pay even or you detain me, so I signed the report without any fear. I threw the brick because I was in pain from being beaten by them,” she said.

Pham Trung Hieu told RFA that while in detention the three had been threatened.

“Prior to letting us go, they told us that from that time on we should not follow Cao Ha Chanh (a longtime resident of the settlement) or anyone else [from there],” said Pham.

“In my opinion, they were only threatening us because we have been lodging complaints over the past 20 years [because of the land dispute],” he added.

RFA attempted to contact the Ward 6 People’s Committee and the Tan Binh district police Monday but received no reply.

Early this year, the area was a flashpoint in a controversial two-day operation in which authorities demolished at least 112 houses in the settlement claimed by the Catholic Church, displacing hundreds of residents, who sources say are political dissidents. Meanwhile, veterans of the former Army of South Vietnam made their homes in the settlement.

While all land in Vietnam is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a point of contention as residents accuse the government of pushing small landowners aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects, and of paying too little in compensation to those whose land is taken.

On 8 December 2019, three community-based HRDs were beaten and detained by the police for setting up a Christmas Nativity scene in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Police in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi on Sunday blocked access to a piano recital held in the city’s Opera House, roughing up a group of environmental activists who had hoped to attend and preventing them from entering, sources said.

The concert, titled “Awake” and performed by pianist Pho An My, featured an environmental theme, the civil society group Green Trees said in a Facebook posting after its members were turned away.

“A large crowd of security forces had gathered outside, just as if they were preparing to disperse a protest, and scores of people were roughed up,” the environmental advocacy group said, adding that paintings about the environment were forbidden from display in the concert hall.

“Security men were stationed every five meters [15 feet] surrounding the theater, and were stopping people from live-streaming or taking pictures. Only the security people were allowed cameras, and they pointed them at concertgoers like they were monitoring criminals,” Green Trees said.

“All gates to the theater were locked right after the concert started, so nobody could leave or enter, and no one could give the artist flowers.”

In its Facebook posting, Green Trees said that police may have thought that concert organizers had received funding from “foreign sources” by way of the environmental group, which also advocates for human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly in the one-party communist state.

'They were brutal to us'

Speaking to RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Nov. 15, Green Trees member Cao Vinh Thinh said that she and her husband had arrived at the Opera House at about 7:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert.

“As soon as we stopped our motorbike next to the theater, we were approached by a group of about 10 people, two of whom I recognized because they have followed me around for years,” Thinh said, adding that the group ordered her to return home, later forcing her and her husband into a car and driving them home themselves.

“I’m very upset,” Thinh said. “We had bought two tickets, but the money doesn’t matter. What matters most is how they treated us.”

“They were brutal to us, and they deprived us of our rights as citizens. We hadn’t broken any law or rule,” she said.

Also speaking to RFA, pianist Pho An My said that she had only focused on her performance and was unaware of what was happening outside.

“I’m just an artist, and I want to express my thoughts. I’m not an environmental activist,” she said.

Calls seeking comment from police in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem district rang unanswered on Monday.

Civil society groups restricted

Independent civil society organizations are severely restricted by Vietnam’s communist government, which also controls all media, censors the internet, and restricts basic freedoms of expression.

On Oct. 25, Vietnamese authorities detained environmental activist and filmmaker Thinh Nguyen, a member of Green Trees, in what was thought to be the government’s response to a film, “Do Not be Afraid,” about other environmental activists who were detained for their advocacy.

Green Trees had called on Vietnam’s government just two years before to let it help monitor the payment of compensation to citizens affected by a massive toxic-waste spill in 2016 that left thousands jobless in four central coastal provinces.

On 24 November 2019, Ms Cao Vinh Thinh together with other environmental HRDs, were prevented by attending a public event on the environment by the police of Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Vietnam’s communist regime has convicted Mr. Huynh Minh Tam, 41, and his younger sister Huynh Thi To Nga, 36, of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for their online postings critical to the regime, Defend the Defenders has learned.

In the first-instance hearing on November 28, the People’s Court of Dong Nai found Mr. Tam and Ms. Nga guilty of “Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” sentencing him to nine years and giving her to five years in prison.

According to their relatives, both Tam and Nga had no their own lawyers.

The indictment said they were posting numerous articles on their Facebook accounts criticizing the communist government for failing to deal with the country’s problems such as human rights abuse, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).

Ms. Nga, a technician in the Saigon-based Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital, reportedly to participate in the mass demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018 to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security.

Mr. Tam was arrested on February 28 this year while his younger sister was kidnapped in her working place two days later. Police had not informed their families about the allegations against them and kept them incommunicado until their trial. Police also threatened their families, not allowing their relatives to contact with other activists.

Mr. Tam and Ms. Nga are among 21 activists being arrested this year for online activities, 14 of them were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” and five were alleged with “abusing democratic freedom” in the National Security provisions of the Criminal Code.

Vietnam’s communist regime has arrested 33 political dissidents, social activists and Facebookers so far this year, including prominent dissident journalist Pham Chi Dung. Hanoi has also convicted 39 activists, mostly on controversial allegations in the National Security provisions of the Criminal Code, sentencing them to a total 199.5 years in jail and 47 years of probation.

Vietnam is holding at least 240 prisoners of conscience, according to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics. Hanoi always denies of holding any prisoners of conscience, saying it imprisons only law violators.

On 28 November 2019, Huynh Minh Tam and his younger sister Huynh Thi To Nga, bloggers, were sentenced to 9 and 5 years jail term respectively, as result of their online posting by the Court of Dong Nai, Viet Nam.

Vietnamese courts on Thursday sentenced six dissident bloggers and activists to long terms in prison amid a continuing crackdown on online expressions of dissent in the one-party communist state that has seen dozens of people jailed this year, sources said.

In southeastern Vietnam’s Dong Nai province, four men—Doan Viet Hoan, Vo Thuong Trung, Ngo Xuan Thanh, and Nguyen Dinh Khue—were handed prison terms of from 2.5 to three years each on charges of plotting to set explosives, for which no proof was shown in court, a defense attorney said.

“[Prosecutors] had no evidence to prove that the defendants were preparing explosions to go off on April 28, 2019," Nguyen Van Mieng—the lawyer for Nguyen Dinh Khue—told RFA’s Vietnamese Service after the trial.

“If they had wanted to cause explosions, they would have to have had wires, detonators, and material like that. But they had none of those things,” he said, adding, “The police only confiscated their cell phones and messages on the phones.”

Quoted by state media, a report prepared by prosecutors said the four men had gone online to read posts with “anti-state” content and had called for street protests on April 30, but Mieng said the men had wanted only to protest a price hike in electricity and gas and a law on special economic zones that many Vietnamese fear will favor Chinese investment in the country.

“They know nothing about how to make explosive devices,” Mieng said.

Unwarranted, unfair

In a separate case, a court in central Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa province sentenced Facebook user Pham Van Diep to a nine-year prison term for criticizing Vietnam’s government online for its handling of a 2016 toxic-waste spill that devastated the coastal areas of four Vietnamese provinces, leaving thousands jobless.

Speaking to RFA after the trial, attorney Ha Huy Son called Pham’s sentence unwarranted and unfair.

“He only expressed his opinion, and he did nothing to oppose the state,” he said. “He admitted what he did. He is critical of Marxism-Leninism and communism, but [the court] considers that a crime against the state of Vietnam.”

In another case, Facebook user Nguyen Chi Vung was handed a six-year prison term on Thursday by a court in southern Vietnam’s Bac Lieu province on charges of live-streaming anti-state content on his Facebook page and encouraging others to join in protests.

Call to delay trade talks

Meanwhile, prominent independent journalist Pham Chi Dung, who was detained at his home in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 21 for his criticism of the communist government, awaits investigation and trial on charges of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s penal code.

In a Nov. 22 statement, European Parliament envoy for trade talks with Vietnam Saskia Bricmont voiced shock at the news of the arrest of the former communist party member, noting that Pham had written earlier to the parliament’s president and to EU trade officials to alert them to Vietnam’s deteriorating human rights situation.

Saskia is now asking for a delay in the ratification of European trade and investment agreements with Vietnam “until a certain number of conditions are fulfilled,” she said.

“The essential condition is a reform of the criminal code and its implementation with United Nations standards,” Saskia said, adding, “To show its good faith, we also demand that Vietnam release [its] political prisoners without delay.”

Writing on Nov. 21, the day of Pham’s arrest, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson called on the EU to “speak up for independent journalist Pham Chi Dung who simply called for Europe to demand real improvements in the human rights situation before ratifying the Europe-Vietnam [Free Trade Agreement].”

“By arresting Pham Chi Dung, Vietnam is showing its repressive intolerance of any dissenting voices and its determination to suppress efforts to foster an independent press in the country,” Robertson said.

“The EU, US and other like-minded countries should demand the immediate and unconditional release of Pham Chi Dung and the dropping of all charges against him.”

'Not Free'

Vietnam has been consistently rated “Not Free” in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group.

Dissent is not tolerated in the communist nation, and authorities routinely use a set of vague provisions in the penal code to detain dozens of writers and bloggers.

Estimates of the number of prisoners of conscience now held in Vietnam’s jails vary widely, with Human Rights Watch putting the number in October at 138. The rights group Defend the Defenders meanwhile puts the number as at least 240, with 36 convicted this year alone.

On 21 November 2019, four bloggers were convicted to jaoil terms of from 2.5 to three years each on fabricated charges by the Court of Dong Nai, Viet Nam.

A court in Vietnam sentenced a Facebook user to six years in prison on Tuesday for a series of posts he made on the social media platform that the Southeast Asian country's government said were "anti-state".

Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam's ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism, and its dissent crackdown has shown signs of intensifying recently.

Nguyen Chi Vung, 38, was accused of "making and spreading anti-state information and materials" at the one-day trial at the People's Court of Bac Lieu province, in the Mekong Delta, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

It said Vung had held 33 livestream sessions on Facebook "to share distorted information" and "encourage people to participate in protests during national holidays".

Reuters could not reach Vung's lawyers for comment.

Vung will be placed under house arrest for two years after serving his jail term, the statement said.

The court's Tuesday decision came days after a music teacher in the central province of Nghe An was convicted of the same offences and jailed for 11 years.

Facebook is widely used in the country and serves as the main platform for both e-commerce and dissent. Facebook said in May it increased the amount of content it restricted access to in Vietnam by more than 500% in the last half of 2018.

The ministry said in a separate statement on Tuesday that police in Nghe An have arrested a 23-year-old man accused of smearing the image of Ho Chi Minh and spreading anti-state propaganda on Facebook.

Last week, police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested freelance journalist and government critic Pham Chi Dung, accused of "anti-state" propaganda.

On 26 November 2019, Nguyen Chi Vung, blogger, was entenced to 6 years imprisonment term as result of his social media activity by the court on Bac Lieu, Viet Nam.

On November 26, Vietnam’s communist regime convicted five political dissidents and sentenced them to a total 20 years in prison and five years of probation in two separate trials which failed to meet international standards for a fair trial.

In the central province of Thanh Hoa, the provincial People’s Court found local Facebooker Pham Van Diep guilty of “Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under the country’s 2015 Criminal Code. The court sentenced him to nine years in jail and five years of probation for online postings which were considered as “distortion of the communist regime” and “defamation of communist leaders” which led to social dissatisfaction.

Mr. Diep, 54, was arrested on June 29 this year. He has voiced against the communist regime for its socio-political policies and human rights abuse in the last 17 years.

On 26 November 2019, Pham Van Diep, blogger, was sentenced to nine years of jail for his online posting by the provincial Court of Thanh Hoa, Viet Nam.

Vietnam’s authorities have barred Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc from leaving the country to Japan where he would participate in welcoming Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) during the Vatican leader’s visit to Tokyo this week.

Speaking with Defend the Defenders, priest Thuc said security officers in Noi Bai International Airport blocked him from taking a flight from Hanoi to Tokyo at midnight on Wednesday [November 20]. Police officers said the blockage is based on the national security concerns under Decree 136 of the communist government.

Security officers in Noi Bai International Airport’s station also wrote in a working minute that the priest can appeal the police’s decision to the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security.

Priest Thuc is from Song Ngoc parish in Vinh diocese. He has been assisting local Catholic followers in demanding the Taiwanese chemical giant Formosa to pay adequate compensation for the consequences caused by its toxic discharge into Vietnam’s central coastal region in 2016 which had devastating negative impacts on the local fishing industry and tourism.

He is among brave priests criticizing the Vietnamese communist regime’s human rights abuses.

He is among many Catholic priests being barred from going abroad for pastoral missions. Last year, Catholic priest Nguyen Ngoc Nam Phong was also not permitted to leave to Australia where he was invited to take a lengthy course on religion.

Along with imprisoning and harassing local activists, Vietnam’s communist regime has also been blocking hundreds of local activists from going abroad for meeting with their international partners and doing international advocacy in the human rights field.

On 20 November 2019, Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc, community-based HRD, was prevented from travelling abroad due to his criticism against the governemnt, by the police of Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport.

Authorities in Vietnam arrested a prominent independent journalist Thursday for his criticism of the communist government.

State media reported that Pham Chi Dung was detained by security officers at his home in Ho Chi Minh City and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code.

According to police, Pham wrote anti-state articles and cooperated with foreign media, to deliver “distorted information.”

The human rights group Defend the Defenders said he contributed to Voice of America and the BBC, under several different pen names.

Pham will be in detention for the next four months as the police investigate, and if convicted could face a sentence of seven to 12 years.

Pham had been arrested once before in 2012 on the same charge but released six months later without being tried. In 2014 he and several other writers founded the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), an unregistered entity which “strives to fight for freedom of the press in the Southeast Asian nation,” according to local rights group Defend the Defenders.

Defend the Defenders reported that the journalists association’s website was shut down shortly after the arrest.

Prior to the arrest, he had been frequently harassed by authorities, forbidden to travel overseas in 2014 and under de-facto house arrest since 2013.

Huynh Ngoc Chenh, an IJAVN member, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service Thursday that the arrest showed Hanoi’s desire to exercise greater control over the freedom of speech.

“Pham is the president of IJAVN. He is one of the most active independent journalists. He’s written a lot and is very knowledgeable,” said Huynh.

“His reports are honest and reveal the truth, something the party does not appreciate,” said Huynh, adding, “They want to eliminate his voice.”

According to Defend the Defenders, Hanoi has arrested 29 activists, including 19 bloggers, for writing posts online, and is currently detaining 238 prisoners of conscience.

The country has been consistently rated “not free” in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group.

Dissent is not tolerated in the communist nation, and authorities routinely use a set of vague provisions in the penal code to detain dozens of writers and bloggers.

On 21 November 2019, Pham Chi Dung, journalist, was arrested by the police as a consequence of some articles he shared in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

On November 15, Vietnam’s security forces detained female activist Dinh Thao upon her landing in Noi Bai International Airport after spending the last four years abroad for international advocacy, Defend the Defenders has learned.

Mrs. Thao who has a 16-month baby returned in her home country from Bangkok where she worked for VOICE (Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience), a U.S.-based rights group working for promoting human rights and multi-party democracy in Vietnam. She was taken by a group of around ten security officers to a police station for interrogation from the morning of Friday until 5 PM on the same day.

Police confiscated her passport, telling her that they may summon her for further interrogation in the future.

According to VOICE’s press release issued when she was held in police custody, in the past four years, Mrs. Thao has been working to promote human rights in Vietnam by engaging in a number of United Nations (UN)’s human rights mechanisms, advocating the EU and other foreign governments via bilateral agreements with Vietnam.

She has worked closely with international and regional NGOs to enhance knowledge of the international community about Vietnam’s human rights situation, the press release said.

Thao graduated from the prestigious Hanoi Medical University in 2015. She was one of the prominent civil activists in Hanoi before going abroad for human rights advocacy. She was a coordinator of the unregistered environmental group Cây Xanh (Green Trees) during its campaign in 2015 which aims to protest Hanoi’s authorities plan to chop down thousands of aged trees in the capital city’s main streets. She was also among key organizers of a campaign supporting independent candidates for the country’s highest legislative body National Assembly in the general election in 2016.

Thao’s detention was condemned by a number of international rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

On 15 November 2019, Dinh Thao, WHRD and pro-democracy activis, was temporarily detained and questioned by the security forces of Hanoi Airport, Viet Nam.

On November 15, the People’s Court of Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province convicted human rights attorney Tran Vu Hai and his wife Ngo Tuyet Phuong and two local citizens of tax evasion under Article 161 of the 1999 Penal Code, Defend the Defenders has learned.

The couple was sentenced to one year of non-custodial reform and was ordered to pay an administrative fine of VND20 million ($850) each for the crime they have not committed, according to the lawyers providing legal assistance for the experienced couple attorneys.

According to the indictment against them, they were accused of committing a tax evasion worth VND276 million in a property deal in 2014. Mr. Hai and his wife reportedly bought a land parcel from Khanh Hoa province-based citizens Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh and Ngo Van Lam. The deal value was about VND16 billion but they reported to the local authorities just VND1.8 billion, by that way the sellers paid less tax for the deal. The province’s tax authorities had approved the deal.

As many as more than 60 lawyers had been registered to the court to voluntarily defense for the couple. However, many of them were denied and only around 40 were allowed to attend the trial which was treated as a political one since the local authorities deployed a large number of police officers to block all the roads leading to the court areas and the lawyers were under strict security check-up before entering the courtroom. They were requested to leave all electrical devices, including laptops and cell phones outside. A few reporters of the state-run newspapers were allowed to enter the courtroom to cover the trial.

The defense lawyers said as buyers, Mr. Hai and his wife are not subjects for tax payment for the deal, and they are innocent since the province’s tax authorities approved the deal. Ms. Hanh is a citizen of Belgium so the case should be handled by an upper court and the Nha Trang city’s People’s Court is not eligible for the case. In addition, the property Ms. Hanh sold to Mr. Hai was the only house she owned so she is not required to pay tax for the deal, according to current Vietnam’s law.

The trial lasted three days, longer than other cases with similar characters. On the first day, one of the defense attorneys, Nguyen Duy Binh was rudely expelled out of the courtroom and was taken out by two policemen after questioning Ms. Hanh about her legal representation. Binh was interrogated for hours in a local police station.

Authorities in Khanh Hoa probed the case in early July and placed the four under restricted travel, including travel abroad. In addition, Khanh Hoa police also conducted searching Mr. Hai’s law office and a private residence in Hanoi, in which they allegedly took away a large sum of money and documents from other cases.

It is clear that the allegation and convictions against Mr. Hai and his wife are political as recently the Ministry of Public Security denied Mr. Hai’s request for representing former prisoner of conscience Truong Duy Nhat who is accused of “power abuse” after being kidnapped in Bangkok and taken to Vietnam in late January.

Lawyer Hai is well-known for his participation in sensitive cases to represent victims of injustice, victims of forced land appropriation and political dissidents.

On 15 November 2019, Tran Vu Hai, human rights lawyer, was sentenced to imprisonment and to pay a fine over an alleged false claim by the Court of Nha Trang, Viet Nam.

On November 11, the People’s Court of Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An found local pro-democracy college lecturer Nguyen Nang Tinh guilty of “Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Clause 1, Article 117 of the country’s 2015 Criminal Code.

After a few hours in Friday morning, the court sentenced him to 11 years in jail and five years of probation, the toughest imprisonment given for anti-state propaganda allegation for decades.

Three lawyers Dang Dinh Manh, Trinh Vinh Phuc, and Nguyen Van Mieng went to the courtroom without documentation for Mr. Tinh’s case since they had not been permitted to get access to the documents, including the indictment as Nghe An province’s authorities said the case’s documents are among top national secret. The attorneys were reportedly requested to leave their laptops and cell phones outside of the courtroom.

In his last words in the trial, before the judge announced the court’s decision, Mr. Tinh said he would repeat his actions to protect the country and promote human rights and democracy even he will be punished severely.

Mr. Tinh was arrested by Nghe An province’s security forces on May 29 who later charged him with “conducting anti-state propaganda.” Authorities in Nghe An said Mr. Tinh has used his Facebook account Nguyễn Năng Tĩnh to post and share articles and videos as well as images with content defaming state leaders and distort the ruling communist party’s policies.

According to his family, his indictment was based on the information on the Facebook account Nguyễn Năng Tĩnh, however, he reportedly denied to have this account.

Local activists said Mr. Tinh, who is a lecturer of Nghe An College of Cultural and Art, is very active in promoting human rights and multi-party democracy, and speak out about the country’s issues such as systemic corruption, human rights abuse, widespread environmental pollution, and China’s violations to Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the weak response of the communist government in Hanoi.

There are some videoclips on Youtube in which Mr. Tinh tough students to sing a number of patriotic songs composed by dissidents in which the government is criticized for suppressing anti-China activists.

Vietnam continues its political crackdown on local dissent, arresting more than two dozens human rights defenders, bloggers, and social activists so far this year with different allegations, from “disturbing public orders” to subversion and even terrorism. Hanoi has also convicted 31 activists on trumped-up allegations with a total 153.5 years in prison and 35 years of probation.

The communist regime is holding at least 237 prisoners of conscience as of November 15, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics. It is a worrying trend that the communist regime has been ging much longer sentences in recent years for the same allegations in the national security provisions of the Criminal Code compared to a decade ago, noted Vu Quoc Ngu, director of Vietnam’s non-profit organization.

On 11 November 2019, , pro-democracy activist, was sentenced to 11 years in jail and five years of probation by the Court of Nghe An, Viet Nam, as result of his anti-state propaganda activity.

A court in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on Monday convicted three men, one of them an Australian citizen, on charges of engaging in terrorist activities, sentencing them to prison terms of from 10 to 12 years, Vietnamese sources said.

Chau Van Kham, Nguyen Van Vien, and Tran Van Quyen were arrested in January and initially charged with “activities attempting to overthrow the state,” charges that were later changed to involvement in “terrorism that aims to oppose the people’s administration.”

Kham, a resident of Sydney, Australia, and member of the banned U.S.-based Viet Tan opposition party, received the heaviest sentence, attorney Trinh Vinh Phuc—who represented Kham in court—told RFA’s Vietnamese Service following the trial.

“The verdict was very harsh, and the sentence was too heavy,” Phuc said, adding that the defendants’ case could have been tried under terms that would have provided for sentences of less than 10 years on conviction.

“But [the court] still proceeded without paying attention to details that would have allowed for this,” he said.

“The verdict was handed down on the grounds that Viet Tan is a terrorist organization,” though no evidence ever was offered that the defendants’ activities and motivations had shown a terrorist intent, Phuc said.

Criminalizing rights advocacy

In a statement Monday, Viet Tan chairman Hoang Diem slammed the convictions and sentences imposed on the defendants, saying Kham had “traveled to Vietnam [only] to gain first-hand insight into the human rights situation in the country.”

”Nguyen Van Vien and Tran Van Quyen are peaceful activists,” Diem added.

“We challenge the Vietnamese government to provide any evidence linking them to ‘terrorism.’ The Vietnamese authorities are criminalizing human rights advocacy,” Diem said.

Born in 1971 in central Vietnam’s Quang Nam province, Vien had been active in environmental protection work following a massive spill in 2016 of toxic waste by the Taiwan-owned Formosa firm, the Brotherhood for Democracy said in a Jan. 25 statement.

The environmental disaster destroyed livelihoods across Vietnam’s central coast and led to widespread protests and arrests in affected provinces.

Tran Van Quyen, a social activist who also took part in the Formosa protests, was taken into custody ten days later in southeastern Vietnam’s Binh Duong province.

Politically motivated charges

In a statement on Monday, Phil Robertson—deputy Asia director for the international rights group Human Rights Watch—said that by sentencing the 70-year-old Kham to 12 years in prison, Vietnam has essentially condemned him to death.

“Given the harsh and unforgiving conditions in Vietnam’s prisons, he will face huge challenges to survive his entire sentence,” Robertson said, adding that Vietnam has now jailed Kham on “bogus, politically motivated charges that demonstrate just how fearful Vietnam is about people exercising their rights and demanding genuine democracy.”

“He should be released immediately and unconditionally, and allowed to return to his family in Australia,” Robertson said.

According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam’s one-party communist government currently holds an estimated 138 political prisoners, including rights advocates and bloggers deemed threats to national security.

It also controls all media, censors the internet, and restricts basic freedoms of expression.

On 11 Noveber 2019, Chau Van Kham, pro-democracy activist, was convicted to 12-year jail term over a trumped up terrorism charge by a court in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, as result of his human rights work.

In two separate appeal hearings on November 6-7, the Higher People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City upheld the jail sentences for Vietnamese American Michael Minh Phuong Nguyen and two local political activists named Nguyen Ngoc Anh and Huynh Duc Thinh, sending them back to prison, Defend the Defenders has learned.

On the appeal hearing on November 6, the court rejected the appeals of Mr. Michael Minh Phuong Nguyen who was sentenced to 12 years in jail on the allegation of subversion and Mr. Huynh Duc Thinh, who was given one year in prison on the allegation of misprision by the People’s Court of HCM City on June 24 this year. Meanwhile, on November 7, the same court denied the appeal of Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh who was sentenced to six years in prison and five years of probation by the People’s Court of Ben Tre province in the first-instance hearing on June 6.

In both appeal hearings, the judges reportedly said the final decisions were based on lack of new evidence proving the defendants’ defense. Both hearings lasted just a few hours in the mornings of Tuesday and Wednesday, observers said.

Mr. Michael Minh Phuong Nguyen visited his home country in late June and went to the central regions together with young activists Huynh Duc Thanh Binh and Tran Long Phi who participated in the mass demonstrations in HCM City on June 6, 2018 in which tens of thousands of residents rallied on streets to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The trio was arrested and charged with subversion upon their return to HCM City on July 7 while Mr. Huynh Duc Thinh, a former political prisoner, and father of Mr. Huynh Duc Thanh Binh, was detained one day later.

Huynh Duc Thanh Binh and Tran Long Phi, who were given ten and eight years in jail by the trial on June 24, respectively, did not appeal for their sentences.

Observers said in the appeal hearing on November 6, relatives of Mr. Michael Minh Phuong Nguyen and Mr. Huynh Duc Thinh were not permitted to enter the courtroom. There were a number of the diplomats from the US’s Embassy in Hanoi and General Consulate in HCM City attended the hearing.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, 39, is a shrimp grower in Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province. He was arrested on August 30 last year. He was accused of posting numerous articles and live streams on his Facebook account Nguyễn Ngọc Ánh in which he speaks out about human rights violations, systemic environmental pollution, bad economic management of Vietnam’s communist government, China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and Vietnam’s weak response.

In late September, he was beaten by a criminal inmate who was likely acting on behalf of the authorities of Ben Tre province. Due to the assault, Mr. Anh suffered serious injuries in his right leg, left arm and head, and he feels difficulty in moving. Later, he was placed in an isolated cell where he has no support from other prisoners but serves himself.

Two days prior to his appeal, Human Rights Watch issued a press release calling on Vietnam’s communist regime to immediately and unconditionally release him because he has conducted no crime but exercised his right of freedom of expression on Facebook.

Facing increasing social dissatisfaction, Vietnam’s communist regime has intensified its crackdown on human rights defenders, political dissidents, social activists, and Facebookers in order to keep their political monopoly. So far this year, the regime has arrested at least 28 activists and sentenced 27 to a total 115.5 years in prison and 20 years of probation.

The regime has a plan to try seven others in the coming days and its victims are human rights lawyer Tran Vu Hai and his wife on allegation of tax evasion, pro-democracy activist Nguyen Nang Tinh on accusation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and four individuals named Vo Thuong Trung, Doan Viet Hoan, Nguyen Dinh Khue and Ngo Xuan Thanh who were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” for their plan to participate in peaceful demonstration in late April this year when the country marked the fall of the US-backed Saigon regime.

On November 5, authorities in the northern province of Hoa Binh arrested local resident named Nguyen Van Nghiem on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” for his online postings and live streams on Facebook which were considered harmful for the regime.

Vietnam is holding at least 237 prisoners of conscience in critical conditions, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics. Hanoi always denies holding prisoners of conscience, saying it imprisons only law violators.

On 6 Novemner 2019, Huynh Duc Thinh, pro-democracy activist, got the first instance conviction to one-year jail term upheld by the High Court of Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam.

On November 7, the Higher People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City rejected the appeal of human rights defender and environmentalist Nguyen Ngoc Anh, sending him back to prison in the hearing failed to meet the international standards for a fair trial.

Mr. Anh, 39, will have to serve his 6-year imprisonment on the allegation of “Making, storing, disseminating, or propagandizing information, materials, and products that aim to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for his online posting on his Facebook account. In addition, his imprisonment is followed by five years of probation.

In the hearing which lasted a few hours on the morning of Thursday, his wife, relatives, and friends were not permitted to enter the courtroom to observe it but watched its development via a TV screen in another room, typical for political cases.

Observers said the judge undermined the defense statement of Mr. Anh’s lawyer and from himself. The judge even questioned him why he attended anti-Formosa demonstrations in May 2016 since the Formosa’s spill did not directly affect Ben Tre province where Anh has a shrimp farm. In response, Anh said he wants to speak out to protect the environment everywhere on the earth. He claims that he is innocent.

Mr. Anh was arrested on August 30, 2018 by the authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre due to his postings and live streams on Facebook which are about prototypical issues of concern to social activists in Vietnam, including the environmental destruction wrought by the Formosa’s toxic waste spill in April 2016, the lack of free choice in elections in 2016, and the welfare of political prisoners. However, Vietnam’s communist regime sees them as harmful and defamation of the regime.

Since being arrested, he has been a subject of inhumane treatment by Ben Tre province’s authorities. He was brutally beaten by an inmate in September who mostly acted under the instruction of the local police as they want him not to appeal the sentence given by the province’s court on June 6.

Authorities in Ben Tre have also persecuted his wife who has to take care of their six-year-old child. They have been placing her under close surveillance and several times summoned her to a police station for questioning.

Two days prior to his appeal, Human Rights Watch issued a press release calling on Vietnam’s communist regime to drop the charge against him and free him immediately and unconditionally. By convicting him, Vietnam clearly violates his right to freedom of speech, said the New York-based rights group.

Mr. Anh is among 237 prisoners of conscience being held by the regime in severe living conditions.

On 7 November 2019, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, community-based HRD, was rejected the appeal against the first instance prison conviction by the Higher Court in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An have decided to re-schedule the first-instance hearing on November 15 to try local pro-democracy activist Nguyen Nang Tinh on allegation of “Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Clause 1, Article 117 of the country’s 2015 Criminal Code.

The trial will be carried out by the People’s Court of Nghe An province in its headquarters in Vinh city, according to the court’s notice sent to Mr. Tinh’s lawyer Dang Dinh Manh.

The trial, set on October 17 for the first time, was postponed due to the absence of some witnesses, said the court’s announcement on the scheduled day.

It is unclear whether lawyer Manh and other his colleagues have been permitted to have access to the case’s documentation to prepare for his defense. In mid-October, a few days before the scheduled trial, Mr. Tinh’s lawyers asked the court to postpone the trial as they complained that they had a very short time for his defense preparation. One week before the scheduled trial, his lawyers were allowed to meet with him in police custody and got access to his case’s documents, however, they had not permitted to make copies of the indictment and other documents, making their preparation impossible for the serious charge against him.

Mr. Tinh was arrested by Nghe An province’s security forces on May 29 who later charged him with “conducting anti-state propaganda.” Authorities in Nghe An said Mr. Tinh has used his Facebook account Nguyễn Năng Tĩnh to post and share articles and videos as well as images with content defaming state leaders and distort the ruling communist party’s policies.

According to his family, his indictment was based on the information on the Facebook account Nguyễn Năng Tĩnh, however, he reportedly denied to have this account.

Local activists said Mr. Tinh, who is a college lecturer, is very active in promoting human rights and multi-party democracy, and speak out about the country’s issues such as systemic corruption, human rights abuse, widespread environmental pollution and China’s violations to Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the weak response of the communist government in Hanoi.

There are some videoclips on Youtube in which Mr. Tinh tough students to sing a number of patriotic songs composed by dissidents in which the government is criticized for suppressing anti-China activists.

Vietnam continues its political crackdown on local dissent, arresting more than two dozens of human rights defenders, bloggers, and social activists so far this year with different allegations, from “disturbing public orders” to subversion. Hanoi has also convicted 27 activists on trumped-up allegations with a total 115.5 years in prison and 20 years of probation.

The communist regime is holding at least 237 prisoners of conscience as of November 6, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics.

On 6 November 2019, the proceeding against Nguyen Van Nghiem, pro-democracy activist, was postponed by the local court in Nghe An, Viet Nam.

Authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Hoa Binh have arrested Mr. Nguyen Van Nghiem on allegation of “Making, storing, disseminating, or propagandizing information, materials, and products that aim to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for his online posting on his Facebook account Nghiêm Nguyễn.

On November 5, officers from the Security Investigation Agency under Hoa Binh province’s Police Department carried out his detention and the search of his private residence in Hoa Binh city. They confiscated a number of his items, including two computers, two printers, cameras, and cell phones.

He will be held for 120 days for investigation and face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years if is convicted, according to current Vietnam’s law.

Mr. Nghiem, 56, has posted numerous statuses and conducted many live streams on his Facebook account on which he spoke out about the country’s issues such as systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution, serious human rights abuse, and China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). He has also criticized the communist regime and its leaders for failure to deal with these problems.

His live streams programs on Facebook have thousands of viewers thanks to his outspoken activities.

Mr. Nghiem has been the 18th Facebooker being arrested so far this year amid Vietnam’s increasing crackdown on local dissent which started in late 2015 with the arrests of prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Ms. Le Thu Ha.

Since the beginning of 2019, Vietnam’s communist regime has arrested at least 28 human rights defenders, political dissidents, social activists, and Facebookers, mostly with allegations in the national security provisions in the Criminal Code. It has also sentenced 27 activists with a total of 115.5 years in jail and 20 years of probation.

Vietnam is holding at least 237 prisoners of conscience, including 28 in pre-trial detention which lasts up to 14 months.

Trials of many activists are scheduled in the coming two weeks.

On 5 November 2019, Nguyen Van Nghiem, blogger, was arrested, his house searched and some of his belongings seized by the police in Hoa Binh, Viet Nam, due to his online activities.

On October 30, the People’s Court of Ninh Kieu district in the Mekong Delta’s hub Can Tho City convicted university lecturer Pham Xuan Hao of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the country’s Criminal Code, state media has reported.

Accordingly, the court sentenced Mr. Hao to one year in prison for his postings on his Facebook page. He was said to post and share many articles which distorted the communist regime’s policies and defamed the country’s leadership. It is unclear when he was arrested.

Mr. Hao, 54, is a lecturer of Can Tho University. He graduated architecture and obtained a master’s degree.

He is among a number of Facebookers in Ninh Kieu district being convicted of “abusing democratic freedom” in recent years. In June this year, Quach Nguyen Anh Khoa was sentenced to six months in prison and in September last year, Doan Khanh Vinh Quang was given 27 months in jail for the same allegation. Vietnam’s communist regime is using controversial allegations “abusing democratic freedom” and “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code to silence online dissent. As many as nine activists are being imprisoned between six months and seven years for the first charge and 37 activists are held for the second charge, 30 of them were sentenced to between two and 14 years in jail. Currently, Vietnam is holding 236 prisoners of conscience, according to the latest statistics of Defend the Defenders.

On 30 October 2019, Pham Xuan Hao, academic, was sentenced by the local court to one-year jail term for his online posting in Can Tho, Viet Nam.

Saigon-based pro-democracy activist Vu Huy Hoang has been interrogated and beaten by police in Ho Chi Minh City for his attempt to deliver books that were printed by an unregistered publisher called Liberal Publishing House.

Speaking to Defend the Defenders, the 46-year-old activist said he received an order to supply 10 copies of Đại Nghịch Bất Đạo and five copies of Ký Đinh Quang Anh Thái to a retired state official Kha Luong Ngai on October 15. When Hoang arrived at a private resident of the recipient in the morning of last Tuesday by his motorbike, plainclothes agents detained him and took him to a police station in Ward 6, District 3 for interrogation.

Hoang said that in the beginning, plainclothes agents beat him brutally on his head and body in police custody, but they stopped physical torture against him after they had more information about his social activities from the city police’s record.

Hoang was interrogated from 11 AM until 9 PM of the same day by security police officers from District 3, the city’s Police Department and the Ministry of Public Security about the contents of the ordered books and their origin: who and where have printed them.

The experienced activist said he remained silent in most times before police officers escorted him to his house. However, his house was under surveillance during the night and the police said they would summon him for further interrogation in the coming days.

In the early morning of October 16, when the surveillance was loosened, Hoang took his opportunity to leave his house and went into hiding. Now he was forced to stay inside in a secret place far from his family. He said he may have to stay away from his wife and two kids for months although he can communicate with them via secret chat applications such as Whatsapp, Telegram or Signal.

Hoang started his social activities in 2012 when he joined other activists in HCM City, Hanoi and other locations on various issues, including China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and Hanoi’s weak response, human rights violations, serious environmental pollution, and charity programs. He is a member of the unregistered groups named the Vietnam Pathway Movement and the Liberal Publishing House.

In May 2016, local blogger and political writer Pham Doan Trang was invited by the US Embassy in Vietnam to participate in a meeting between local activists and then-President Barack Obama on the sidelines of his official visit to the communist nation. Hoang escorted Trang from HCM City to Hanoi but they were traced and detained by security forces in their midway. Police kept them for several days in a remote motel in the central province of Ninh Binh so Trang was not able to take part in the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Independent Publishing House is trying to produce unique books of political dissidents and writers considered as harmful for the communist regime which strives to halt the house’s works and suppress its staff.

Dozens of unofficial books have been printed by the Liberal Publishing House and their authors include political writers Pham Doan Trang, Pham Thanh and others from foreign countries.

Ký Đinh Quang Anh Thái is a book of the US-based veteran writer Dinh Quang Anh Thai, who is the incumbent editor-in-chief of the Nguoi Viet Daily News (or Người Việt). In this book, he wrote about prominent Vietnamese political dissidents and their activities which aim to promote human rights and multi-party democracy in Vietnam.

On the other hand, Đại Nghịch Bất Đạo is a book of Hanoi-based veteran journalist Pham Thanh about Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also the general secretary of the ruling Communist of Vietnam. In his book, Thanh described Trong as the biggest traitor of the Vietnamese nation.

Vietnam’s security forces are striving to demolish the Independent Publishing House and persecute its staff.

On 15 October 2019, Vu Huy Hoang, a pro-democracy activist, was beaten, interrogated and temporarily detained by the police for attempting to distributed prohibited books in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Vietnamese environmental activist and filmmaker Thinh Nguyen, a member of the independent civil group Green Trees, was detained on Friday in Hanoi in what was thought to be the government’s response to a film on other environmental activists who were detained for their advocacy.

Cao Vinh Thinh, a fellow member of Green Trees group, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that Nguyen, who was later released, had been outspoken about the government’s rights abuses.

“I know Mr. [Nguyen] is a brave artist, he specializes in making videos on [about his story] to let people know about the tortuous circumstances of injustice and death row inmates … as well as the right to speak up against the government’s wrong doing in causing people to lose their land unjustly,” she said.

“We heard that he had been arrested, beaten and handcuffed by the police at his own home. Since he has no relatives, no one witnessed the arrest," she added.

Cao said she was upset that the police arrested Nguyen without any prior notice or any search warrant.

“Before [Nguyen], other members of Green Trees like myself and Dang Vu Luong had the same [thing happen to us]. They [came with] no announcements or orders at all. They can just come and arrest people, just like they can ban people from traveling aboard, just like that," she said.

She said she thought that Nguyen got arrested because of his movie “Do Not Be Afraid,” which was released by Green Trees.

According to her, the film "has the sole purpose of protecting the environment, contributing to the voice and light, the truth about people like Hoang Duc Binh, who for standing up to protect the environment was arrested and imprisoned for 14 years".

Hoang was arrested in 2017 and handed the lengthy sentence for his involvement in protests regarding the Formosa disaster, a major toxic spill in central Vietnam’s by a steel plant owned by Formosa Plastics Group, a large Taiwan-owned industrial conglomerate, that devastated more than a hundred miles of coastline in four central provinces of Vietnam.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in an email that Nguyen’s arrest should never have happened.

"Vietnam has no good reason to arrest photographer and film-maker Thinh Nguyen for his peaceful advocacy for the environment and human rights,” said Robertson

“Sending squads of police to grab him from his house this morning shows the authorities' incredible intolerance for any sort of criticism. Vietnam should immediately and unconditionally release Thinh Nguyen and end its abusive surveillance and harassment of people exercising their rights," he said.

RFA contacted the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Tay Ho District Police in Hanoi by telephone to inquire about the arrest several times but did not receive a response.

In Taiwan, meanwhile, a resolution expressing concern over the human rights situation in Vietnam was unanimously adopted Friday by organizations affiliated with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) submitted the resolution to the 40th FIDH Congress, which met this week in Taipei. The annual congress, held for the first time in Asia this year, was attended by 400 human rights leaders, academics and civil society representatives.

VCHR’s resolution drew attention to the Vietnamese government’s suppression of criticism and peaceful protests, pointing out that activists are routinely detained for long periods of time. It also spoke out against the criminalization of free expression though legislation designed to “create a climate of fear among all those seeking to participate in public affairs.”

The resolution also called upon the European Union to postpone signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) “until it ensures the agreement guarantees the Vietnamese people’s fundamental rights.”

The FTA was signed in June this year, but has yet to be approved in the European Parliament.

“This resolution is deeply meaningful for human rights defenders in Vietnam,” said VCHR representative Võ Trần Nhật in a statement released by the organization.

“While the government deploys its vast machinery of repression, censorship, intimidation and imprisonment to suppress their voices, this statement shows that international civil society stands with them in their struggle, and will not be silenced,” he said.

Another resolution on Vietnamese environmental justice was also submitted by the Taiwanese Association for Human Rights at the congress.

The resolution, also unanimously adopted by the FIDH, drew attention to the environmental damage caused by the Formosa toxic spill.

It was critical of Vietnam’s failure in supporting victims and urged them to address human rights concerns including “the right to a clean environment, the right to food and health, the right to work, the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, the right to information and the right to an effective remedy.”

On 25 October 2019, Thinh Nguyen, environmental activist and filmmaker, was beaten, interrogated and temporarily arrested by the police likely in response to a documentary he relased in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A court in northern Vietnam’s Bac Ninh province on Friday rejected the appeal of a local activist and toll-booth protester, sending him back to jail to serve his 30-month term.

Ha Van Nam was convicted on July 30 on a charge of “causing public disorder” at a toll-booth set up under Vietnam’s controversial Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme, which has drawn protests around the country.

At Nam’s trial, the sentencing court said he had gone to the Pha Lai toll station on Vietnam’s Hwy. 18 with a large crowd on Dec. 29, 2018 to block traffic, causing losses of revenue to the station when station managers were forced to let vehicles pass through free of charge to relieve congestion.

Also sentenced by the court were Nguyen Quynh Phong, Le Van Khiem, Nguyen Tuan Quan, Vu Van Ha, Ngo Quang Hung, and Tran Quang Hai, who drew jail terms of from 18 to 36 months on the same charge.

Speaking to RFA’s Vietnamese Service, another local activist who was present in the courtroom Friday said prosecutors and judges did not allow Nam to speak in his own defense at the hearing.

“When Ha Van Nam tried to speak up for himself, the procuracy and the judges would not let him present his case,” Tran Thi Thu Thuy, a longtime friend and supporter, said.

“The judges said that Nam’s protest was a deliberate act of instigation, even though he had not encouraged others [to block traffic] but had only encouraged them to assert their rights,” she said, adding that Vietnamese law guarantees the people’s rights to protest wrongdoing.

Defense motions rejected

Prosecutors rejected defense motions to explain the cause of Nam’s protest, insisting that his appeal be judged only against the facts established during his first trial, Thuy said. And after about two hours of court hearing and deliberation, the court ruled to uphold Nam’s sentence.

“This sentence is very unfair. It is unjust for the government to accuse people of causing public disorder simply for insisting on their interests and legal rights,” she said.

Vietnamese citizens have long suspected station operators of falsifying collection records at BOT projects across the country, with citizen volunteers sometimes camping nearby to count cars passing through and ensure that tolls are not collected outside the times allowed.

One form of protest has involved truck drivers paying their tolls with small-denomination coins, slowing down collection and creating huge traffic jams.

Under the BOT model, investors transfer their projects to state ownership after building and operating them for a period of time.

On 18 October 2019, Ha Van Nam, RTI activist, had his appeal rejected by the court of Bac Ninh Province, Viet Nam.

On October 17, the People’s Court of Ia Grai district, Gia Lai province, convicted local Facebooker Nguyen Thi Hue on the charge of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the country’s Criminal Code for her online posting.

Ms. Hue, 51, was arrested in early March this year. She was accused of using Facebook accounts named “Nguyễn Thị Huệ,” “Công Lý Về Tôi,” “Nguyễn Huệ,” “Vũ Quỳnh Hương,” and “Den Quang” to disseminate “wrong information” in the period between July 2017 and March 2019 to distort state leaders and local state officials who were dealing with her case.

She was also alleged of insulting local police officers and prosecutors when she came to their offices to file petitions for her case. However, the state media did not disclose what she had petitioned for.

The state media also reported that Ms. Hue was warned of causing public disorders in the Gia Lai province’s Office of Citizens’ handling” in late December 2016. On January 20, 2017, she was fined VND200,000 ($9) for the same accusation.

Meanwhile, Facebooker Duong Thi Lanh, who was sentenced to eight years in jail earlier this year on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code, has refused to appeal the decision of the Dak Nong province’s People’s Court since she feels there are no fair hearings as the court system is controlled by the ruling communists.

There is an increasing tendency in which authorities in many Vietnamese localities are using allegations in the National Security provisions in the Criminal Code such as subversion, “conducting anti-state propaganda” and “abusing democratic freedom” to silence local activists and Facebookers.

So far this year, Vietnam’s communist regime has arrested 25 activists and Facebookers, and convicted 24 for online activists with imprisonment between one and 12 years in prison.

Vietnam is holding 234 prisoners of conscience, according to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics. Hanoi always denies of holding prisoners of conscience but only law violators.

On 17 October 2019, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, blogger, was sentenced to 30-month jail term by the local court in Gia Lai Province, Vietnam, for online posting critical of the Government.

Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Binh have kidnapped local pro-democracy activist and tried to charge him with “rape of a person under 16 years old” under Article 142 of the country’s 2015 Criminal Code in a case that many dissidents consider as a trumped-up allegation in a bid to silence him.

Businessman Thanh, 29, was reported missing in the afternoon of October 10 after he informed his family that he went outside to meet with a client for his house repair business. His family couldn’t contact him from early evening of the same day, fearing he may get trouble. One day later, the police in Ba Don town announced that they arrested him and publicized the arrest warrant on allegation of raping dated October 11.

It is likely Thanh will be held for months and no wonder if authorities in Quang Binh will change their charge against him into one of the allegations in the National Security provisions in the Criminal Code, like in other trumped-up cases in the past such as with political dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu and environmentalist Nguyen Nam Phong.

Thanh is a member of the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy which is suffering seriously from Vietnam’s ongoing crackdown on the local dissent with ten members being imprisoned for their peaceful activities.

In recent years, Thanh has reportedly worked against local corruption and high unofficial fees imposed by local schools. He has also voiced against the Taiwan-invested Formosa Steel Plant which discharged its industrial waste into the sea and caused the environmental disaster in Vietnam’s central coast in 2016 with hundreds of tons of fisheries died along the 200-kilometer line.

Due to his peaceful activities, he has been harassed by the local authorities who try to block his economic activities. He was detained several times for questioning.

Vietnam is intensifying its crackdown on the local dissent, arresting two dozens of activists so far this year. The communist regime has also convicted 23 bloggers, Facebookers and anti-corruption activists for their peaceful activities to a total 106.5 years in prison and 20 years of probation. A number of activists are held in pre-trial detention.

On 11 October 2019, Nguyen Van Thanh , a pro-democracy activist, was arrested and charged under fase allegations as result of his peaceful work in Quảng Bình, Viet Nam.

Detained Vietnamese environmental activist Nguyen Ngoc Anh has been placed in solitary confinement after being beaten unconscious at the hands of his cellmate and refused treatment for his injuries, his wife said Friday, adding that he “fears for his life” in jail.

After visiting Anh at the Binh Phu Detention Center in Ben Tre’s Thanh Phu district on Friday morning, his wife, Nguyen Thi Chau, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that her husband was left with a limp following the attack.

“When I sat down, I saw my husband come out, but he could barely walk,” she said, adding that she had to hold back tears to ask him what had happened.

“My husband told me that last Friday, [prison authorities] invited [his cellmate], a convicted criminal, for a talk. When the [talk] was finished, he walked up to [my husband] pointing his finger at him and said, ‘I can kill you and I won’t have to [answer for it]. I will kill you this time.’”

Chau detailed her husband’s account of the fight that ensued.

“He jumped into the cell and threw a punch, but my husband was able to dodge,” she said.

“[My husband] turned around to grab a bath towel, but the criminal kicked him from behind. My husband fell and hit his head on the [concrete] bunk and he lost consciousness,” she said.

Chau said that after the fight, Anh requested medical attention, but prison authorities refused to help him.

“He was turned down [for medical attention]. They also didn’t arrest the guy that beat my husband, and escorted my husband to a separate cell, like for solitary confinement,” she said.

Anh, a shrimp farming engineer, was arrested in August 2018 in Ben Tre province for making politically charged posts on Facebook.

He was convicted in June 2019 on charges of “making, storing, spreading, and declaring transmitted information and documents to combat the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” according to Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Criminal Code. Anh has rejected the sentence and launched an appeal.

The environmental activist has reported trouble with his cellmate over the past few months, according to his wife.

Last month, Chau told RFA that Anh had detailed physical and mental abuse by his cellmate during an earlier visit, and that he had also been threatened with death.

She also claimed that prison authorities are pressuring her husband to plead guilty and give up his appeal, and that the abuse becomes increasingly severe each time he refuses.

Difficult conditions

Chau described the conditions of Anh’s cell in solitary confinement as extremely difficult, and said guards refuse him basic necessities.

“While he’s in there he doesn’t have [access to] boiled water, he can’t read newspapers, he isn’t allowed to watch TV, or listen to the radio,” she said, adding that the injuries he sustained in the recent attack made the situation nearly intolerable.

“While he was in pain, he was unable to walk or even clean himself. Today he was barely able to walk when we visited him. He said he could not eat, or sleep.”

Chau said that Anh “dare not speak out” about his treatment in prison, because “the more he said, the more difficult it will be for him.”

“He fears for his life,” she said. “I just want the international community and human rights organizations to protect and help save my husband. I need nothing more than that.”

No date has been set for Anh’s appeal trial, and authorities have so far refused him permission to meet with a lawyer.

On 11 October 2019, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, an environmental activist, was brutally beaten by his cell mate, allegedly upon order of the prison guards, and then put into solitary confinement in Ben Tre Province, Viet Nam.

Anti-corruption reporter Kieu Dinh Lieu of Vietnam Lawyers journal, was brutally beaten by a group of three thugs in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on September 26.

Due to the assault, he fell into inconscious, suffering from cerebral hemorrhage and traumatic brain injury. Currently, he is under special medical treatment.

He was reported to be stopped and beaten by a group of three thugs when he was in Truong Chinh street in Pleiku city, immediately after he informed the Gia Lai province’s Forest Ranger Department about three trucks full of illegal wood from Duc Co district.

The attackers also destroyed his car in a bid to search for videoclips and other documents regarding illegal forest lodging and trade of illegal timber in Gia Lai province. He was sent to the Central Highlands to investigate the illegal forest lodging in recent weeks.

On 26 September 2019, Kieu Dinh Lieu, anti-corruption reporter was brutally beaten and got his car destroyed by a group of thugs in the Vietnamese province of Gia Lai, due to his recent investigative work.

Authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Yen Bai have convicted a local anti-corruption activist named Tran Dinh Sang of “Resisting a law enforcement officer in performance of his/her official duties” under Article 330 in the country’s 2015 Penal Code in a trumped-up case, state media has reported.

In the first-instance hearing on September 18, the People’s Court of Yen Bai City found the 39-year-old anti-corruption fighter guilty and sentenced him to two years in jail for his attempt to unveil local traffic police’s bribery case.

Mr. Sang was arrested in his private residence in Yen Bai city in early morning of April 9. Police also conducted search of his house. Three weeks earlier, in the evening of March 23, when a patrol unit of the Yen Bai city’s Mobile police was carrying out regular traffic check and imposing administrative fine on traffic violators, Sang stopped his car and filmed the police’s activities because he suspected that the police team took bribery from traffic violators. The two sides held quarrel as the policemen requested Sang to stop filming while Sang insisted that he has a right to observe and witness the police’s activities as a citizen.

The police patrol unit reported that Sang tried to attack one of police officers, however, no solid evidence was shown by the police side.

According to Sang’s post on his Facebook, he wanted to supervise the activities of the mobile police’s unit as a citizen. The policemen tried to take his camera and he resisted. Later, police took him to a police station where he was beaten brutally by police officers. He was left to go home in mid night with broken ribs and other severe injuries on his body.

Mr. Sang is one of Facebookers covering bribery of traffic police and activities against corruption related to the arbitrary placement of toll booths on national highways on his account “Tran Dinh Sang and his friends.”

A number of his fellows have been harassed and persecuted in recent months amid increasing public disatisfaction on systemic corruption, especially in traffic police forces, and the arbitrary placement of tens of toll booths on national highways across the nation.

In early March, Ha Van Nam, one of the most active figures against the fee collection of wrongly-placed toll booths, was arrested and charged with “causing public disorders,” two weeks after being kidnapped and brutally beaten by undercove policemen. In July, he and six others fellows were sentenced to between 18 months and 36 months in prison.

Vietnam’s communist regime verbally encourages citizens to take part in anti-corruption campaign, however, numerous activists have been imprisoned or intimidated after denouncing state officials of taking bribery or stealing state properties.

Sang has been the 8th Vietnamese Facebooker being arrested and charged with criminal offenses so far this year, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics.

Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam’s communist regime has jailed 23 activists with a total 106 years and six months. Currently, the regime is holding 233 prisoners of conscience, said Defend the Defenders.

On 18 September 2019, local anti-corruption activist Tran Dinh Sang was sentenced to two-year jail term by the People’s Court of Yen Bai City, Vietnam, for his attempt to unveil local traffic police’s bribery case.

On September 27, 2019, authorities in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Lam Dong confirmed the arrest of a local resident named Nguyen Quoc Duc Vuong with the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Penal Code.

The confirmation was made by the Don Duong district police on Friday, three days after authorities in Lam Dong deployed dozens of police and militia to detain him from his parents’ private residence in Hai Duong village, Lac Lam commune. The arrest was conducted by the police from the Security Investigation Agency of the Lam Dong province’s Police Department.

Police also conducted a search of his parent’s house and confiscated his personal computer and cell phones.

Police said he will be held incommunicado for at least four months for investigation. He will face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years in prison if is convicted, according to the current Vietnamese law.

Local media cited police’s information as saying that Mr. Vuong, 28, has used his Facebook account Vượng Nguyễn in the past two years to produce and disseminate information defaming the communist regime and its late leader Ho Chi Minh.

Vuong reportedly participated in the mass demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018 which aimed to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. He was detained by police from Tan Tao ward, Binh Tan district who imposed a fine of VND750,000 ($32) before releasing him.

Vuong has been among more than a dozen of Facebookers being arrested for their posts on Facebook critical for the communist regime since the beginning of 2018 when Cyber Security Law became effective, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics. Vietnam’s communist regime has targetted Facebookers in provinces instead of other online activists in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other big cities, noted Defend the Defenders’ Director Vu Quoc Ngu.

So far this year, Vietnam has convicted 23 human rights defenders, online critics, and anti-corruption activists and sentenced them to a total 106 years and six months in prison, said Mr. Vu Quoc Ngu, adding the communist nation is holding at least 234 prisoners of conscience.

On 23 September 2019, Nguyen Quoc Duc Vuong, local blogger was beaten and arrested by the police in Vietnamese province of Lam Dong, allegedly for his online posting. His house was searched and some belongings seized.

A Vietnamese engineer imprisoned for his activism has been beaten, humiliated and treated like a "slave" in jail after refusing to wear prisoner uniform, his brother and a former inmate said, calling for pressure on the authorities to bring him out of "hell." Dang Xuan Dieu, jailed for 13 years in 2013 on charges of plotting to overthrow the authoritarian government in Hanoi, has also been refused family visits after he sent a letter to the police minister complaining about the mistreatment. "They treated him very badly," Catholic activist Dieu's brother Dang Xuan Ha told RFA's Vietnamese Service. "Dieu said he is innocent so he did not wear the uniform bearing the word "criminal," Ha said. "Dieu protested the fact that his letters sent to the authorities, including the police minister, have not been answered. That was why they did not let him meet his family." Dieu got the biggest jail term among a group of Catholic activists, students, and bloggers convicted for their involvement with Viet Tan, a U.S.-based Vietnamese political group outlawed and considered a terrorist organization in Vietnam. Dieu was incarcerated in No. B4 prison in Hanoi, but was later moved to No. 5 prison in Thanh Hoa province. Prison authorities allowed Dieu's family to visit him only once while the he was in the Hanoi prison, but have not permitted them to see him in the other detention center, Ha said. Truong Minh Tam, a former prisoner who was confined in a cell next to Dieu's told RFA that prison staff humiliated him for several months last year by letting other prisoners beat him and forcing him to serve as a "slave." "He was living in hell because they[prison staff] humiliated him," Tam said. Dieu was not given access to a fan or clean drinking water, said Tam, who had served one-year jail term after he participated in protests against China whose territorial disputes with Vietnam have led to riots and a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations. Prison authorities also forced Dieu to pose as a "model" for other prisoners who were asked to paint him as a "half-human/half-beast figure," Tam said. Dieu had also staged a hunger strike in a campaign for prisoners' rights, Truong said. Dieu's family said that news of his hunger strike in June had been mentioned in petitions sent to foreign embassies in Vietnam and to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. "I would like people from different religions backgrounds to raise their voices in pressing the government to stop the ill treatment of Dieu," Tam said. He added that Dieu's 70-year-old mother was not in good health and dispirited by her son's incarceration. Relatives of Dieu and the other jailed activists had staged a protest march and candlelight vigil outside government offices in 2012 after they were first detained a year earlier. They wanted to submit a petition demanding the activists' releases, but were blocked by police.

In 2013, activist Dang Xuan Dieu, was imprisoned for 13 years on charges of plotting to overthrow the authoritarian government in Hanoi. Since his imprisonment, he has been subjected to beatings and degrading treatment, and has been denied visits from his family.

A Vietnamese Catholic activist was freed Thursday after serving more than three years in prison, where he said he had nearly died from a beating and had suffered repeated humiliation by guards who denied him access to the Bible. Dau Van Duong, 26, was among four Catholic youths convicted in May 2012 of "conducting propaganda against the state" following distribution of pro-democracy leaflets. They were punished under Article 88 of Vietnam's penal code-a controversial provision rights groups say is often used arbitrarily to imprison bloggers, legal advocates, and other critics of the state. Duong was ordered jailed for three and a half years but was given an early release Thursday on condition that he serve an additional 18 months of probation. Speaking with RFA's Vietnamese Service shortly after he returned home to Nghe An province's Nam Dan district, Duong said he was lucky to be alive after being subjected to a vicious beating in the Nghi Kim Detention Center, where he was first incarcerated. "When I first came to Nghi Kim[in Nghe An's Vinh city], they let other prisoners beat me-two inmates brutally beat me from 10:00 p.m. to almost 4:00 a.m.," he said. "I thank God that I'm still standing here today. I might have died at that time. My body hurt terribly, but I kept praying and recovered." Later, Duong was transferred to Prison No. 5 in neighboring Thanh Hoa province, where he served the remainder of his jail term. Duong said he was placed in a cell along with "drug dealers, robbers, and murderers," though he also briefly kept quarters with other political prisoners, including members of a group convicted in January 2013 for their involvement with Viet Tan, a U.S.-based pro-democracy organization banned by the Vietnamese government. "They were less restrictive in Prison No. 5," he said. "However, there were some prison guards who humiliated me. I protested and they were changed." But despite the relative leniency of Prison no. 5, devoutly-Catholic Duong said his Bible was confiscated by authorities and not returned to him until after he had held a week-long hunger strike and threatened to continue his protest. A prison officer who confiscated my Bible "told me that all religious books were forbidden and that I could only get it back after I was freed." "He told me that even if I brought the issue to the attention of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, he couldn't do anything about it," Duong said, naming the officer as Dinh Cong Chien. "I told him that he had violated my right to religious freedom-a basic right for everyone-and that I would continue my hunger strike until he returned my Bible. One day after that, the management board convened and they returned my book, so I stopped my strike." Duong had been in detention since August 2011, when he was arrested for passing out flyers urging the public to boycott the Nghe An People's Council elections three months earlier, saying the electoral process did not represent the will of the people.

On 2nd October 2014, Dau Van Duong, a Vietnamese Catholic activist, was released from prison after serving over three years for "conducting propaganda against the state" following distribution of pro-democracy leaflets.

A Vietnamese court has ordered seven farmers jailed for up to 22 months on charges of disturbing public order after they resisted land grabs to make way for urban development projects in their village. They were arrested in March and April in Duong Noi village, about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) southwest of the capital Hanoi, for preventing police from enforcing the land seizures. The court on Tuesday sentenced two of them -- Tran Van Mien and Tran Van Sang --- to 22 months and 20 months in prison, respectively, while the other five were sentenced to between six and 18 months in jail last week. Tran Thu Nam, the lawyer who defended Mien and Sang, told RFA's Vietnamese Service that there were no legal grounds on which to charge them. "The evidence in the file is the testimony of witnesses, but their words were all contradictory," he said, adding that the jury did not accept his arguments when he pointed out the discrepancies. "I think this is a case of injustice," he said. No leniency After the trial, Mien's wife, Tran Van Nhan, told RFA that the prosecutor's office said the court was not lenient towards the two farmers because they did not plead guilty or cooperate with the office. She added that both men were in poor health because of beatings they had received while in custody. Trinh Ba Phuong, the son of two of the five farmers sentenced last week, told RFA that 100 people, including democracy activists, had gathered Tuesday ahead of the court verdict to protest the arrest of "innocent people" and seek justice for Mien and Sang. They were later transported by bus to a police station and confined there for several hours. "The trial is supposed to be open to the public, but[authorities] dispersed us," Phuong said. During their trial, police blocked the road to the courthouse, sources told RFA. A very limited number of people, such as relatives of the defendants, were allowed into the courtroom. The government started taking land in Duong Noi several years ago after farmers there refused to transfer their land rights to Nam Cuong Group, a Vietnamese company developing the area for a complex of residential and office buildings, hotels and schools. The farmers say the land seizures were illegal and they weren't compensated fairly.

On 23 September 2014, Tran Van Mien and Tran Van Sang, a farmer and land rights defender, were sentenced to 22 months and 20 months in prison while the other five were sentenced to between 6 and 18 months in jail. They were against the land seizures enforced by police in March and April in Duong Noi village and arrested for their action. Farmers have refused to give their land rights to Nam Cuong Group, a Vietnamese company developing the area.

Vietnam's authoritarian government on Friday placed an unknown number of dissidents in its largest city under virtual house arrest or closely monitored their movements in an apparent attempt to prevent them from meeting with a visiting U.N. envoy on human rights, dissidents said. Some of the dissidents said they were prevented from leaving their homes in Ho Chi Minh city, while others said they were harassed or threatened by government security agents when they went out to do their daily chores. United Nations Special Rapporteur Heiner Bielefeldt arrived in the capital Hanoi on July 21 for an 11-day visit to the country to assess the situation regarding the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief, the U.N. said. During the trip, he will meet with various government officials and local authorities, and hold meetings with representatives of religious communities and civil society organizations, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva said. Amid reports that Bielefeldt was traveling to Ho Chi Minh city on Friday, police set up checkpoints a day earlier near the residence of prominent dissident Nguyen Dan Que, who had spoken out on the need for democracy and human rights accountability in Vietnam. Que, who had spent a total of 20 years in prison or under house arrest on various occasions since 1978, said he was blocked by three people on motorcycles, believed to be police in plainclothes, when he wanted to go out for his early morning exercise on Friday. "They did not let me go, but I still opened the door and got out[on my bicycle] just to see what they could do," he told RFA's Vietnamese Service. "They followed me. I went to the yard near my house for exercise; they sat opposite me." "After half an hour, I rode to the swimming pool. They followed me. I swam until 7 o'clock and then rode home. I got home, and the checkpoints were still there. The people who followed me were replaced by others." Que said that ex-political prisoner Pham Ba Hai had also called on Friday informing him that police had confined him indoors. Jailed blogger's wife The wife of prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai-also known as Dieu Cay-who has been jailed since 2008, said she was also prevented by five people, including a man in a police uniform, from leaving her home on Friday. "I told them if they did not let me leave my house, they were taking away my freedom of travel and that they needed to show me an official order," she told RFA. "Immediately one young guy pointed his finger in my face and cursed. He almost punched me in my face, but the uniformed guy stopped him and pushed him away. They continued cursing at me," Hai said. "I don't understand what kind of education they got that they could behave like that to a citizen." Que said the government was practicing a "doubled-faced" policy by telling the outside world that Vietnam allows freedom of religion and human rights, while it cracks down on those who push for freedom. "We welcome human rights dialogues with other countries. We need such dialogues. But what we are trying to do is to mobilize the strength of the people for democracy and freedom and force the regime to change," he said. Bielefeldt had said that he wanted learn more about the diversity of religions and beliefs in Vietnam during his visit. The work of the Special Rapporteur, as mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council, also requires him to identify "existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and present specific recommendations to overcome them," the U.N. statement said. He is expected to hold a media conference on his preliminary findings on July 31 at the United Nations Development program (UNDP) office in Hanoi. Vietnam-Australia dialogue Meanwhile, Vietnam will hold its human rights dialogue with Australia in Hanoi on Monday. U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called on the Australian government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott to press the Vietnamese government to make "concrete and measurable improvements in its abysmal human rights record." "Australia should make clear that if Vietnam wants to be considered a responsible international partner, it needs to meet its international human rights obligations," said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch. "The countries should use this dialogue to set clear benchmarks for improvements in key areas like freedom of expression, religion, and association." In a seven-page submission to the Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade Department, Human Rights Watch urged Canberra to press the Vietnamese government for progress in three key areas of concern: political prisoners, repression of freedom of religion, and forced labor in drug detention centers. Bloggers in prison Approximately 150 to 200 activists and bloggers are serving prison time in Vietnam simply for exercising their basic rights, it said. During the first half of 2014, the Vietnamese authorities released a number of political prisoners, including Cu Huy Ha Vu, Do Thi Minh Hanh, Lu Van Bay, Nguyen Huu Cau, Nguyen Tien Trung, and Vi Duc Hoi. However, during that same period, at least 14 other activists and critics of the government were jailed, including well-known bloggers Truong Duy Nhat and Pham Viet Dao. In May, the authorities arrested another prominent blogger, Nguyen Huu Vinh, who is also known as Anh Ba Sam, and his assistant, Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, and charged them with violating penal code Article 258 on "abusing freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state." During 2013, Vietnam prosecuted and imprisoned at least 65 peaceful bloggers and activists. "In addition to dialogues with Western governments, Vietnam should hold dialogues with its own citizens even when their opinions differ from the government, instead of silencing them with arrest and prison," Pearson said. "The Vietnamese government needs to realize it can't solve the country's huge social and political problems by throwing all its critics in jail." UPDATE: 26/ 05/ 2105 Popular Vietnamese Blogger Released From Jail After Two Years A prominent Vietnamese blogger and rights campaigner serving a two-year prison sentence for "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state" was released on Tuesday, according to the blogger. Truong Duy Nhat, 51, was sentenced in early March 2014, charged under Article 258 of Vietnam's penal code. Scores of bloggers and dissidents have been charged under Article 258 in recent years, which rights groups say is deliberately vague and used to prosecute critics of Vietnam's one-party communist government. Mainstream media accused Nhat of posting slanderous articles about Communist Party leaders on his blog "Mot Cach Nhin Khac" ("Another Viewpoint"). Following his release, Nhat told RFA's Vietnamese Service that although he now had a herniated cervical disc, "nothing can keep me down." "Now that I'm out of prison, I hope that those who try to destroy this country will be jailed instead of me," he said. "I have nothing to be afraid of," Nhat said about the possibility that Vietnamese authorities might harass or re-incarcerate him for continuing to speak out against the regime. "Even if they send me to a life in prison or execute me, I'm telling you this sentence that you might already have known: They can harass, bully and attack your behavior, but they can't harass your mind." Criticizing the government Nhat used to work for state-owned newspapers, including Dai Doan Ket and Cong An Quang Nam, run by the Danang police force, but abandoned mainstream media to begin writing "Another Viewpoint" in 2011. The blog, which became widely known for its criticism of the government, was one of the most popular blogs in Vietnam before it was taken off the Internet after police arrested Nhat in May 2013. Police had searched his home in Danang city on the south central coast of Vietnam as part of a crackdown by authorities on online dissent. Authorities accused Nhat of posting articles that "were not true[and] defamed leaders of the party and state," according to his indictment. They took him into custody for posting articles on his blog calling for the resignations of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Nhat also had conducted an online opinion poll ahead of a first-ever confidence vote on senior officials that the country's parliament held at a session in June 2013. On March 4, 2014, Nhat received a two-year jail sentence, prompting outrage from rights groups and an expression of "deep concern" from the U.S. embassy in Hanoi, which called on Vietnam to release Nhat and "allow all Vietnamese to peacefully express their political views." Overseas rights groups condemned the ruling as part of a relentless drive to squelch online dissent, with global press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders saying it was "outraged" by the conviction. Vietnam has jailed dozens of bloggers and rights advocates in recent years over their online posts, with rights groups accusing the government of using vague national security provisions against them to silence dissent. According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, approximately 150 to 200 activists and bloggers are serving prison time in Vietnam simply for exercising their basic rights.

From 21 July 2014, an unknown -but believed to be substantial- number of Vietnamese dissidents and activists have been placed under house arrest or had their movements restricted to prevent them from engaging with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief during his 11-day visit. Vietnamese civil society has labeled the authorities' strategy on dealing with international criticism on its rights record as hypocritical: inviting a Special Rapporteur to visit to maintain face while simultaneously cracking down on activists to prevent any contact with the envoy.

Authorities in Vietnam on Wednesday prevented several dissident bloggers and activists from attending a social media conference held at the Australian Embassy in the capital Hanoi, according to a former prisoner who was among those blocked. The Australian Foreign Ministry had invited an equal number of civil society and government representatives to attend Wednesday's seminar on "Modern Non-State Media in Vietnam"-the first by Australia to include participants from both sides, said Nguyen Van Dai, of the Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience group. "Recently, the Australian Embassy sent out many invitations, including to Pham Ba Hai from the Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience as well as to three members of the Brotherhood for Democracy," said Dai, who is also the founder of the Brotherhood. "Pham Ba Hai was prevented from attending. The Brotherhood for Democracy had two members blocked from attending, and only one person was able to go," he told RFA's Vietnamese Service. Dai said that the two members of The Brotherhood for Democracy who were prevented by authorities from attending the seminar were students Nguyen Van Trang and Ta Minh Thu. "Yesterday morning, a group of three to five security officers entered[Trang's] dorm room and monitored him. During the middle of the night, they pressured the landlord to kick him out. Without a place to stay, he had to return ... to his hometown[in Thanh Hoa province]," he said. "Also yesterday, security officers approached[Ta Minh Thu's] family and asked her parents to make her stay at home during the seminar." According to media reports, in addition to the members of the Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience and The Brotherhood for Democracy, representatives from other civil societies were also prevented from attending. The reports said Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known as Me Nam, and part of the network of Vietnamese Bloggers, was blocked by police, while Nguyen Thi Nga and Huynh Phuoc Ngoc from Vietnamese Women for Human Rights were surrounded by security forces at the Truc Son motel in Hanoi and prevented from leaving. According to Dai, the seminar, which was sponsored and organized by foreign diplomatic agencies, was created through funds annually put aside by the Australian government to improve the standards of law and human rights in Vietnam. He said that setting up seminars and study trips which include both government and civil society representatives had been part of his recommendations to Australia's Foreign Ministry when approached "some time ago" for suggestions on how to appropriate the budget. Activists targeted Dai said that Wednesday's seminar was not the first event organized by a foreign agency or international organization in which invited members of Vietnam's civil society groups were prevented from attending. "Just yesterday, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief planned to visit the wife of[jailed] Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh in Gia Lai, but Gia Lai officials did not allow him to visit her home," he said. Chinh, who is also an activist, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2012 for "undermining unity" by maintaining ties with dissident groups and distributing material deemed to have "slandered" government authorities. According to Dai, the Vietnamese government still maintains ties with international organizations while persecuting local activists because "the nature of Communism ... is monopoly on power." "[The authorities] stop everything and anything that they cannot oversee and manage," he said. "Civil societies exist because Vietnamese citizens see an indispensable need, so they volunteer. This lies outside the government's scope of inspection and control so the regime does not want them." He said the authorities in Vietnam also fear that civil societies will form strong bonds with international organizations, which could give them the ability to influence the country's people. "According to the nature of the Communist Party, they would never want that. Therefore, they find every way possible to prevent[foreign] influence or prevent civil societies from participating in both international and local events." Developing civil society Dai said that government methods to block civil society groups from participating in events like Wednesday's seminar are gradually losing their effectiveness because improving technologies allow people greater access to information. "The people of Vietnam and civil societies can, in one way or another, still have access to such knowledge. And they can interact and communicate with representatives of foreign governments or international organizations through social media or the Internet," he said. "To me, these blockages are becoming less and less effective every day, and at some point the government must also become aware of this and abandon these methods." Dai added that civil society groups are increasingly learning how to harness technology to promote their own information about democracy and human rights in Vietnam. "This is a revolution changing ideology and knowledge. At the same time, links are being created via websites. Originally, individuals raised their voices for action in isolation, but gradually they formed groups and organizations," Dai said. "When you have many groups and organizations,[a movement] can create the potential to spread across society, forming larger groups, larger organizations, and even forming alliances. Only when we achieve this higher level can we create change in society," he said. "Civil societies and movements have yet to meet people's expectations. But I have hope that in the days to come, they will take steps to develop faster and more powerfully to provide for a better Vietnam."

On 30 July 2014 at least six Vietnamese activists were prevented from attending a social media seminar held at the Australian Embassy. Nguyen Van Dai (Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience), Nguyen Van Trang and Ta Minh Thu (The Brotherhood for Democracy), Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Vietnamese Bloggers), and Nguyen Thi Nga and Huynh Phuoc Ngoc (Vietnamese Women for Human Rights) were prevented from attending the event by police with tactics ranging from surveillance and threats to virtual house arrest. Vietnamese authorities regularly obstruct perceived dissidents' access to international organisations and foreign contacts.

In recent weeks, well-known Vietnamese activists have found themselves suddenly unable to log in to their Facebook accounts. Their personal pages have been suspended for "abuse" even though there was no apparent violation of any Facebook policy. According to Angelina Trang Huynh, who temporarily lost access to her Facebook account earlier this month, the culprit is the Vietnamese government's online army, known as "opinion shapers" (d? lu?n vi�_n). These opinion shapers used Facebook's "report abuse" system to orchestrate an onslaught of reports that likely led Facebook to suspend the targeted accounts. With 25 million Vietnamese users, Facebook is the social network in the country. Since Facebook took off in Vietnam in 2009, authorities have tried unsuccessfully to restrict its explosive growth and role as a medium for free expression. Early attempts by authorities to block Facebook did not succeed and only encouraged netizens to learn how to circumvent and became versed in civil disobedience. In 2013, 30-year old Dinh Nhat Uy was the first Vietnamese activist known to be arrested for his activities on Facebook. He was convicted for "abusing democratic freedoms" through status updates calling for the release of his younger brother who also used social media to express dissent. Uy's arrest sparked widespread attention but did not temper enthusiasm for using the social network for political discussion and organizing. It appears that Vietnamese authorities have given up on totally blocking Facebook. The country's economy and image depend on authorities maintaining some semblance of an open Internet. However, through "opinion shapers" authorities apparently hope to achieve their goal of stifling free speech. This online army has been blamed for creating an environment of intimidation and harassment, as evidenced by their tidal wave of toxic and profanity-laden comments. By flagging an account en masse, not unlike a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, these government henchmen can quickly trigger the takedown of a Facebook profile or community page with content critical of the Hanoi government. Facebooker Trinh Huu Long posted a list of accounts taken down recently. It reads like a list of who's who in the Vietnamese online activist community: 1. Angelina Trang Huynh - an administrator of Viet Tan page 2. Ba Ngoai Xi Tin - blogger 3. Bach Hong Quyen - human rights activist. Member of the Vietnam Path Movement 4. Ch�_ T?u - blogger, writer. Real name is Nguyen Xuan Dien 5. C�_ G��i ?? Long - blogger, journalist. Real name is Le Nguyen Huong Tra 6. ?inh Nh?t Uy - former prisoner of conscience, currently serving a suspended sentence for a conviction under Article 258 of Vietnam's Penal Code for postings on Facebook objecting to the government's unfair treatment of his brother, ?inh Nguy�_n Kha, another prisoner of conscience. Mr. ?inh Nh?t Uy was the first person ever to be convicted criminally for postings on Facebook. 7. ?? Trung Qu��n - writer, poet 8. Doan Trang 9. H?i Ph? N? Nh��n Quy?n - a community organization page 10. JB Nguyen Huu Vinh - blogger 11. Lacgiua Saigon - blogger 12. Lan Tuong Thuy - blogger 13. L�_ ?? VN 14. Ng��n An - blogger 15. Nguyen L��n Th?ng - blogger 16. Nguyen Tien Trung - former prisoner of conscience, recently released on April 12, 2014 17. Nguyen Tuong Thuy - blogger 18. Nh?t K�_ Y�_u N??c - a news/media page 19. Pham Thanh Nghien - blogger, former prisoner of conscience 20. Qu�_ Choa - blogger, writer. Real name is Nguyen Quang Lap 21. T?p h?p D��n Ch? ?a Nguy�_n - a community organization page 22. Thuy Nga - blogger, human rights activist 23. Trinity Hong Thuan - an administrator of Viet Tan page 24. Vi?t T��n or Viet Tan - community organization page Expect Vietnamese netizens to strike back, says Angelina Trang Huynh: Offline, the authorities wield security police to physically abuse peaceful activists. Online, they use "opinion shapers' to silence bloggers. Does the Vietnamese government really think they can get away with this abuse?

From May to July 2014, more than 20 prominent Vietnamese activists have been targeted online by police in an attempt to silence dissent. Police monitor facebook activity closely and have successfully shut down dozens of activists' accounts by sending masses of "abuse reports" to facebook, flagging the activists' pages as containing hate speech or inappropriate content. A list of 24 victims of this tactic compiled by journalist Doan Trang reads as a "who's who" of Vietnamese dissident bloggers.

A prominent Vietnamese former political prisoner who received a presidential amnesty two weeks ago has died of cancer, according to his family, in what an international rights group said was a tragedy that should be a "wake-up call" for the country. Dinh Dang Dinh, 50, an environmental activist and blogger who had spent two years in jail on anti-state charges, died Thursday night at his home in southern Vietnam's Dak Nong province, his daughter Dinh Thi Phuong Thao said. "My father died at 9:35 p.m. We were all here-my two siblings, myself, my mother, aunts, and uncles," she told RFA's Vietnamese Service. "He passed away in peace, with no pain," she said, adding that for the past two weeks he had been too weak to speak. Dinh had been hospitalized since January, after being diagnosed with stomach cancer while serving a six-year prison term for "conducting propaganda against the state." After receiving a temporary suspension of his sentence in February, last month he was ordered permanently released in an amnesty signed by President Truong Tan Sang. But the amnesty, which his family had asked for months earlier, came too late to make much difference in his chances of survival, his wife told RFA at the time. The amnesty also followed repeated calls for his release from rights groups and foreign diplomats. Last years 'stolen' Global advocacy group Amnesty International issued a statement Friday expressing its condolences over his death and demanding the release of scores of political prisoners still held in Vietnam. "The tragedy of Dinh Dang Dinh's passing should be a wake-up call for Viet Nam," the group's Asia-Pacific director Rupert Abbott said. "It is a tragedy that the Vietnamese authorities stole the last years of Dinh Dang Dinh's life, locking him up away from his loved ones," he said. The group called on the Vietnamese government to release all of the country's political prisoners, saying that, like Dinh, all had "done no more than peacefully express their opinion" and many were held under harsh conditions. A former high school chemistry teacher and army officer, Dinh was arrested in October 2011 after starting an online petition against a politically sensitive bauxite mining project given to a Chinese developer in Vietnam's Central Highlands. He was sentenced in August 2012 under Article 88 of the penal code-a charge rights groups say Hanoi routinely uses to silence dissent. Relatives called his sentence "a serious abuse of human rights," saying he was jailed for "telling the truth" about issues of concern to Vietnam. He was diagnosed while in the An Phuoc prison in Binh Duong province, where relatives said he was denied access to proper treatment.

On 3 April 2014, anti-mining activist Dinh Dang Dinh died of stomach cancer, two weeks after having been granted presidential amnesty. Dinh was originally detained in October 2011 for having circulated a petition denouncing a bauxite mine in the central highlands and was sentenced under Article 88 to a six year term for spreading anti-state propaganda. He was hospitalized in January, but his family claims that he did not receive adequate care until he was granted amnesty soon before his death.

On 23 February 2010, Ms. Hanh was allegedly arrested because of her involvement in a strike from 28 January to 1 February 2010 at the My Phong Leather Shoes factory in Tra Vinh province. It is reported that Ms. Hanh was arrested when she went to renew her identity card at the Di Linh Public Security Office and was not initially informed of the reason for her arrest. It is alleged that upon her arrest Ms. Hanh was beaten in the head by security guards until she bled and lost hearing in one ear. Messrs. Doan Huy Chuong and Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung were also arrested on 13 February and 24 February 2010, respectively, due to their alleged role as organizers of the strike. Ms. Hanh was initially held in Prison B34 in Ho Chi Minh City. She was later transferred to a prison in Tra Vinh province. It is reported that Ms. Hanh was subject to intimidation, harassment and pressure to admit her culpability, which she resisted. She was reportedly not permitted to seek any legal counsel during her pre-trial detention. After being held for eight months without charge, Ms. Hanh was charged on 18 October 2010 for disrupting national security in violation of Article 89 of the Penal Code of Viet Nam. She was also accused of receiving funding from the Warsaw-based "Committee to Protect Vietnamese Workers' to print and distribute anti- Government leaflets and facilitate labour strikes. On 28 October 2010, Ms. Hanh, together with Messrs. Doan Huy Chuong and Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, received a one-day trial in the People's Court of Tra Vinh. Reports indicated that they were not provided with legal counsel, were interrupted when speaking in their defense, and were only permitted to answer "yes' or "no' to questions. Ms.Hanh was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. Mr. Doan was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, and Mr.Hung to nine years. Following the trial, Ms. Hanh continued to be held in Tra Vinh province. Reportedly, she continued to suffer mistreatment, intimidation and pressure to admit her guilt, including being forced to use dirty water and being prevented from using mosquito nets given to her by her family. It is alleged that during monthly visits with her family she was permitted to speak about her health, but not about seeking legal advice or appealing her case. On 31 December 2010 an appeal case was initiated on behalf of the three defendants. It is alleged that their lawyer's repeated requests to see his clients were denied by prison authorities. The initial appeal date was set for 24 January 2011 but was delayed as they had not been allowed to meet. On 5 March 2011, Ms.Hanh's lawyer was granted an audience with her. They were permitted two meetings before the appeal hearing on 18 March 2011. The Appeals Court upheld the original verdict, despite allegations that Ms.Hanh's recorded statements had been distorted. On 27 April 2011, Ms.Hanh's mother was informed that her daughter's visitation rights had been suspended for disciplinary reasons. It was alleged that Ms. Hanh had sung a song about the injustice and cruelty of the Communist Party and that 3 prison staff had instructed other prisoners to enter her cell and beat her up. Reportedly, Ms. Hanh continued to be pressured into admitting her "guilt'. At the end of April 2011, Ms. Hanh was transferred to a prison in Ben Luc, Long An province where she was allegedly placed in solitary confinement and not allowed to receive money from her family to buy food. Furthermore, she was reportedly forced to sleep on a bare floor, endure physical assault and intimidation, and was continually pressured to plead guilty to the crimes she has been convicted of. On 5 May 2011, Ms.Hanh was transferred to Prison Z30D in Binh Thuan province. It is alleged that there she was forced to perform hard labour, and when refusing to perform such work, she was assigned a space mea suring 62cm wide to live, eat and sleep. It is further reported that the prison authorities in this prison use a widespread practice of using detainees to discipline other detainees. This "discipline' reportedly involves physical abuse such as being beaten, kicked, dragged down stairs, and locked in a cage. It is alleged that in one incident in which her fellow inmates were made responsible for disciplining her that Ms. Hanh was kicked all over her body, struck on the head with a water scoop, dragged out of her cell, locked in a cart and then pushed to the entrance of the camp for others to see her. Further allegations detail discipline by prison staff,such as being tied to a post in the sun for several hours. In late April 2013, Ms. Hanh was moved to Prison Z30A in Xuan Loc, Dong Nai province. It is alleged that mistreatment of Ms. Hanh has continued there. Allegations indicate that Ms. Hanh has lost a considerable amount of weight, is covered in skin lesions, and is experiencing pain in one breast which has shrunk in size. It is believed that her breast pain may be due to cancer and that she has repeatedly asked staff to access medical treatment but that these requests have been denied. On 15 August 2013, three letters were sent by Ms. Hanh's family to authorities in Vietnam requesting that she be granted access to health treatment. No reply has been received to date.

In February 2010 labour activists Ms. Do Thi Minh Hanh, Mr. Doan Huy Chuong and Mr. Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung were arrested in February 2010 in Tra Vinh. They were held for 8 months without legal council -and for many months without charge- before finally being sentenced in October 2010 in relation to a strike they organized at a factory in Tra Vinh province from 28 January to 1 February 2010. The Appeals Court, on 18 March 2011, upheld the initial verdict. Ms. Hanh has been subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in detention. She is gravely ill -possibly with cancer- and has been denied all requests for medical attention. On 20 September 2013, a Joint Urgent Appeal was issued by Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. Vietnam has not responded to the communication.

During the crackdown on the anti-China protestors across the country in June and July 2012, Mr. Le Cong Cau was prohibited from joining the demonstrations. It is reported that, on 30 June 2012, he was subjected to police interrogation for seven hours from 3:30pm to 10:30pm in Thua Thien- Hue. Throughout the night, his house was surrounded by the police. The next morning of 1 July 2012, as he was leaving his house, he was forcibly escorted home and forbidden from participating in the demonstrations.2 Sources further inform that on 12 March 2013, Mr. Le Cong Cau was summoned by the Security Police for another interrogation at the Truong An district police station. From 8.00am on 13 March 2013, he was subjected to intensive interrogations for the next two and a half days. Contrary to usual practice, the police interrogation was conducted by officials from the Provincial and Municipal-level Security Police, not by local police. During the interrogation, they presented Mr. Le Cong Cau with several articles from the Internet and accused him of "slandering the regime and spreading propaganda about an illegal organization named the UBCV". Before releasing him on 15 March 2013, the police declared that they had obtained "sufficient evidence" to prosecute him under Articles 87 and 88 of the Criminal Code, allegedly after forcing him to write a statement admitting the illegal nature of his online articles. It is further reported that while Mr. Le Cong Cau wrote the statement, he denied that writing his opinions online was a criminal act. He tried to add to the statement: "I stand by my convictions and ideals. Everything I have done is in line with the rights enshrined in the Vietnamese Constitution. All those who try to prevent me are violating our Constitution. I refuse to collaborate with those who trample on the Vietnamese Constitution". However, the Security Police deleted these lines from his statement. On 12 April 2013, a Joint Allegation Letter was sent to Vietnam by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. On 2 July 2014, Vietnam provided a substantive response to the Joint Allegation Letter, claiming that Mr. Le Cong Cau has a history of inciting inter-communal and inter-religious violence and that he was a threat to public order, national security and social stability. UPDATE 1/1/2014: Mr. Le Cong Cau was arrested at Phu Bai Airport near Hue, subjected to a 13-hour investigation, and prevented from leaving his house for one night. Police seized two laptops, two flash drives and two mobile phones. No reasons for his detention were given and no charges were laid, in contravention of international law. His arrest is likely related to his planned visit to an elderly monk under house arrest in Ho Chi Minh City.

In June and July 2012, Mr. Le Cong Cau, the head of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam's Buddhist Youth Movement Commission, was prevented from participating in anti-China demonstrations. On 30 June 2012, he was subject to a 7 hour investigation and on 1 July 2012 he was prevented from leaving his house by police. On 13-15 March 2013 he was interrogated by police for two and a half days over the publication of articles on the Communist Party's policies on China and Buddhism. On 12 April 2013, a Joint Allegation Letter was sent to Vietnam by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. On 2 July 2014, Vietnam provided a substantive response to the Joint Allegation Letter, claiming that Mr. Le Cong Cau has a history of inciting inter-communal and inter-religious violence and that he was a threat to public order, national security and social stability. UPDATE 1/1/2014: Mr. Le Cong Cau was arrested at Phu Bai Airport near Hue, subjected to a 13-hour investigation, and prevented from leaving his house for one night. Police seized two laptops, two flash drives and two mobile phones. No reasons for his detention were given and no charges were laid, in contravention of international law. His arrest is likely related to his planned visit to an elderly monk under house arrest in Ho Chi Minh City.

On 1 February 2013, the People's Court in the Phu Yen province convicted 22 members of the "Bia Son Council for Public Law and Affairs". The alleged leader of the group Mr. Phan Van Thu, 65 years old, who was arrested in February 2012, was sentenced to life in prison, and the 21 others were sentenced to between 10 and 17 years in prison. The authorities had previously charged them under article 79 of the Criminal Code ("activities aimed at subverting the people's power"), accusing them of producing documents that distorted government policies and slandering the regime. It is reported that the 22 defendants did not enjoy a fair trial as their lawyers, appointed by the Court, did not challenge the sentences proposed by the People's prosecutor. Serious concerns are expressed that the harsh sentences pronounced against the 22 members of the "Bia Son Council for Public Law and Affairs" may be linked to the exercise of their right to freedom of association. Further concerns are expressed for their physical and psychological integrity while in detention.

On 1 February 2013, 22 members of the "Bia Son Council for Public Law and Affairs," a community-based organisation involved in building an eco-tourist areas for youth, the elderly and people with disabilities, were sentenced to prison. The Council's alleged leader, Mr. Phan Van Thu, was sentenced to life, and the 21 others were sentenced to between 10 and 17 years in prison, under Article 79 of the Criminal Code ("activities aimed at subverting state power.")

At 10:15 a.m. on 24 January 2013, six security agents appeared at the workplace of Mr. Le Anh Hung in Hung Yen and informed his boss that they needed to see him on issues concerning temporary residence papers. He was subsequently forced into a car and taken to an unknown location. His friends later found out that he had been interned in Social Support Centre No. 2 in Ung Hoa, Hanoi, a mental health institution. The director of the mental health institution prevented Mr. Le Anh Hung?s friends from visiting him and stipulated that he is being interned there upon request from his mother, which she has subsequently denied. It is reported that Mr. Le Anh Hung may be detained in Support Centre No. 2 under Ordinance 44 of 2002 on Handling of Administrative Violations, which allows for the detention of individuals without trial for up to two years under house arrest (probationary detention); in reformatories; educational institutions; rehabilitation centres or medical treatment establishments, including psychiatric wards. The provisions of the Ordinance relate to those who commit acts of violating legislation on security, public order and safety, but not to the extent of penal liability (Art 1.3 of Ordinance 44). On 1 February 2013, a Joint Urgent Appeal was filed by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. UPDATE 05/02/2013: Vietnamese blogger Le Anh Hung was released on February 5, 2013, about 12 days after he was arrested and held against his will in a psychiatric institution in Hanoi, the national capital, according to news reports. Hung was initially arrested on January 24 in the northern city of Hung Yen. Security agents said they needed to question him over his "temporary residence papers" but later detained him at Social Support Center No. 2, a mental health institution. The institution's director told Hung's colleagues that he had been admitted at the request of his mother and was not allowed to see visitors. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a coalition of three international rights groups, said in a public statement that Hung's mother had made no such request. Hung told Radio Free Asia after his release that he had been treated "normally" while held in the facility. He said he believed his detention was in connection with 71 critical blog posts he had written over the past five years about government corruption. The Observatory also reported that Hung had been subjected to repeated interrogations, threats, and harassment by police before his arrest. RFA reported that Hung had faced prior harassment for his online writings, which included critical blog entries on the abuse of power inside the ruling Communist Party.

On 24 January 2013, Mr. Le Anh Hung in Hung Yen was forced into a car and taken to an unknown location by police. It was later revealed that he was detained in a mental institution under Ordinance 44 on Handling of Administrative Violations, which allows for the detention of individuals without trial for up to two years under house arrest. Mr. Le Anh Hung has in the past been subjected to repeated interrogations, threats and harassment by the police over his writings denouncing instances of corruption and power abuse among top-level ruling Communist Party and government officials. UPDATE 05/02/2013: Mr. Le Anh Hung was freed from the mental institution, and stated that he was treated "normally" over the course of his detention.

Vietnamese police have summoned bloggers for questions and accused them of holding "illegal gatherings" at the U.S. and Swedish embassies in Hanoi. The bloggers are conducting a campaign of meetings at foreign embassies to lobby against Article 258, which makes it a crime to speak or write in a way that infringes upon Vietnam's state interests. The bloggers say the law is meant to curb free speech and dissent and they want western governments to pressure Hanoi to repeal the measure. Police say the gatherings at the embassies are illegal because they did not have permits. No one has been formally detained yet. Blogger Nguyen Dinh Ha, a participant in the campaign, told VOA's Vietnamese service the questioning shows how severely human rights are violated in Vietnam. "The reason stated for the summon violates freedom of movement and the basic civil rights of the people in this country. For so long, we've been protesting against those regulations banning 'gatherings without permission' because they violate basic human rights. Those rules are nonsense and severely violate our rights," he said. The bloggers stress that their campaign will keep going with more stops at foreign embassies. The U.S. and other western governments have been critical of Vietnam's human rights record, including its suppression of free speech and dissent.

In early September, a group of bloggers was summoned by Hanoi police for having protested outside foreign embassies. They were protesting Article 258, which criminalizes criticism of the government. Police allege that the protests were illegal because organizers had not obtained permits.

Reporters Without Borders is appalled to learn that a people's court in the south-central province of Phu Yen sentenced 65-year-old dissident activist Ngo Hao to 15 years in prison on 11 September on a charge of trying to overthrow the government. Hao's harsh sentence came just weeks after appeal court in the southern province of Long An commuted the sentences of two bloggers, Nguyen Phuong Uyen and Dinh Nguyen Kha. "This long jail term has dashed the hope of less repressive policies that was raised by Uyen's release," Reporters Without Borders said. "As was the case with Uyen's and Kha's appeal, the court did not allow Hao to exercise his right to a fair defence and, except for his son, did not allow his family to attend the hearing." Reporters Without Borders added: "We call on the authorities to overturn this conviction and release Hao at once. We also reiterate our call for the release of all the cyber-dissidents currently detained in Vietnam." Arrested on 8 February, Hao was accused of writing and circulating false information about the government and defaming its leaders from 2008 to 2012. He was also accused of using peaceful means to promote a revolution similar to the Arab Spring uprisings, and of working with Bloc 8406, a dissident group formed in 2006 that wants multi-party democracy. His son, Ngo Minh Tam, has voiced concern about his father's health, which he says is critical. The hearing had to be paused for several minutes because Hao felt very tired but the judges did not agree to the request for an adjournment. Hao's wife, Nguyen Thi Kim Lan, yesterday published an open letter to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon asking the international community to help obtain her husband's release. Ranked 172nd out of 179 countries in the 2013 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, Vietnam has been criticized by the international community several times in recent months for its treatment of bloggers and dissidents. The European Union has also expressed its concern about freedom of expression in Vietnam, most recently at a meeting held in Hanoi on 11 September under a cooperation and partnership accord that the EU and Vietnam concluded in June 2012. During this meeting, the EU's representatives relayed the concerns expressed by Reporters Without Borders. A Franco-Vietnamese association is organizing a human rights march in France ahead of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit at the end of September. To draw attention to the crackdown on news providers and human rights defenders in Vietnam, they will begin their march in Nantes on 16 September and plan to reach Paris on 24 September.

On 11 September 2013, Ngo Hao, a prominent internet blogger and activist, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of attempting to overthrow the government. He was originally arrested on 8 February 2013 and accused of writing and circulating false information about the government, defaming government leaders, promoting a revolution, and of working with Bloc 8406, a dissident group calling for multiparty democracy. He is 65 years old and currently in a poor state of health.

Nguyen Cong Chinh, 43, allegedly wrote and distributed material that slandered government authorities and "distorted Vietnam's domestic situation". His sentence was made worse by ties with anti-government groups. For Human Rights Watch, his conviction is "yet another demonstration" that Vietnam violates freedom of religion. A Vietnamese court has sentenced the pastor of a banned Mennonite church to 11 years in prison for undermining national unity. State media today reported Tuesday that Nguyen Cong Chinh was found guilty of writing and spreading material that slandered government authorities and "distorted Vietnam's domestic situation." He was also accused of ties with anti-government groups. Rev Chinh's conviction is the latest case of religious repression in Vietnam but not the only one. Yesterday, Vietnamese authorities denied entry to a Vatican commission working on the cause of beatification of Card V?n Thu?n. Rev Nguyen Cong Chinh, a 43-year-old Mennonite clergyman, was accused of sending documents to anti-government organisations in Vietnam and overseas. "He distorted the domestic situation, calumniating the government, the state and the army in interviews with the foreign media," the English-language Vietnam News daily said, quoting the court. His one-day trial was held yesterday in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, where Chinh was arrested in April 2011. For Human Rights Watch, Chinh's conviction is "yet another demonstration" that Vietnam disregards freedom of religion. Government repression is especially hard on small minority groups and sects that are not affiliated with state-sanctioned religious associations. Mennonites are the largest Anabaptist group, with about 1.5 million members around the world, especially in the United States, Canada, Africa and India. In Vietnam, they have no official status. Today's conviction comes after the authorities cancelled entry visas for a Vatican commission travelling to the Southeast Asian nation to hear the cause of beatification of Card Francis Xavier Nguyen V?n Thu?n. Card Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and was due to visit Vietnam from 23 March to 9 April, was scheduled to lead the Holy See delegation.

On 27 March 2012, Rev Nguyen Cong Chinh, a Mennonite clergyman and religious rights activist, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for defaming the Vietnamese government in documents sent to organizations outside of Vietnam. 25/09/2013 - Authorities have sealed the gates of Rev. Nguyen's house, preventing his wife and sick daughter from leaving to seek care.

A group of Vietnamese dissidents and their families detailed on Thursday their harrowing experience when police broke up a dinner party at a blogger's house, violently beat them, and dragged them away on the ground in pouring rain. All eight of them have been released following the raid on blogger Nguyen Tuong Thuy's house on Wednesday night but have yet to recover from the shocking experience, accusing the police of brutality and abusing their legal authority. "They broke the door and entered the house without any notice or papers for legal order," Nguyen Thi Nhung, the mother of activist Nguyen Phuong Uyen, told RFA's Vietnamese Service. "They went upstairs where we were and held our hair and pushed us against the wall violently. It was very cruel." "It was raining very hard but they threw us on the ground and dragged us to the car," Nhung said. "We were all soaked, without shoes. It was like an abduction." Uyen, a 21-year-old student activist who was released earlier this year after her sentence for spreading "anti-state propaganda" was reversed, has gotten a fever after beatings that made her nose bleed and left her face swollen, her mother said. Farewell dinner The group had gathered at Thuy's house to have a farewell dinner for Uyen and her mother, who were about to fly back to their home in southern Vietnam's Long An province following a visit to Hanoi. Also herded away to the police station in Hanoi's Thanh Tri district were Thuy's wife and daughter as well as Duong Thi Tan - the ex-wife of jailed popular blogger Nguyen Van Hai - and Le Quoc Quyet, the brother of prominent rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan, who is set to stand trial next week on tax evasion charges. Police took Nhung and daughter Uyen to the airport and forced them on a plane home late Wednesday night. Nhung said police dragged them across the floor and assaulted them. "Her feet are still bleeding," she said of Uyen. Tan said she went to the airport with a small group of people to try to see the pair off, but police and plainclothesmen forcibly stopped her from meeting them. "[The police] pushed me down on the floor. I don't know what they used but after that I saw my hand bleeding profusely, my body ached," she said. "When I got home, I checked and saw many bruises. I don't know how they did it but I know policemen were trained very well to beat people," she said. Le Quoc Quyet injured Quyet was also beaten harshly in the raid. "They kicked him on both sides of his torso," his mother Nguyen Thi Tram told RFA, saying she was caring for his injuries and she was concerned he was severely injured. "I'm worried that he might have some internal injuries," she said. Quyet has been campaigning for the release of his brother, an outspoken blogger actively involved in a string of anti-China demonstrations last year over Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. "I saw[police] grabbing his[Quyet's] neck and throwing him out," said Tan, who was also not spared beatings. "I saw them kicking him.... They kicked him in the face a lot," she said. "I was in terrible pain myself and could not think much." Activists said they were given no legal reason for the raid and police carried no papers for the detention. Unwarranted Thuy said the raid on his house was unwarranted and that only a few of those who carried it out were police in uniform while most were in plainclothes. "According to the law, officers on duty have to wear uniforms and name badges and have to show their papers to prove they are from the government and what agency they come from," he told RFA. "It was wrong. Even a child would know that." The blogger, who has written critically of the government and been interrogated by police six times, said the incident was not the first time he had faced harassment from local authorities. "Now this time they came to destroy my house," he said. Hanoi police director Nguyen Duc Chung refused to comment when contacted by RFA on Thursday. The Thanh Tri district police chief could not be reached. Police surveillance and harassment is a common experience for dissident bloggers and dissidents in Vietnam, where dozens have been jailed for speaking out online since the one-party communist state stepped up a crackdown three years ago.

On September 24 2013, a group of 8 Vietnamese dissidents were beaten at a party at blogger Nguyen Tuong Thuy's house and briefly detained. They had been gathering privately for a goodbye party for two of the group. Police allegedly did not provide any justification for the beating and detention.

The Vietnamese government adopted the Decree on Management, Provision, and Use of Internet Services and Information Content Online (Decree 72/2013-ND-CP) on July 15, 2013; it became effective on September 1, 2013. (English translation of the Decree, Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade website (July 15, 2013) | [scroll down page to file attachment].) The Decree has been criticized as censoring the Internet. (Peter Shadbolt, Rights Groups Take Aim at Vietnam's New Internet Laws, CNN (Sept. 2, 2013).) Under the Decree, use of the Internet is subject to restrictions that vary depending on the purpose or effect of the use. The Decree prohibits use of Internet services and online information to oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; threaten the national security, social order, and safety; sabotage the "national fraternity"; arouse animosity among races and religions; or contradict national traditions, among other acts. (Decree 72/2013-ND-CP, art. 5.) The Decree classifies websites into five different types: (1) electronic newspapers in the form of websites, (2) general information websites, (3) internal information websites, (4) personal websites, and (5) specialized websites. Personal websites cannot provide general information. (Id. art. 20.) "General information is information collected from multiple sources about politics, economics, culture, or society." (Id. art. 3, item 19.) The Decree limits blogs and social websites to exchanging "personal information," which is explained in the CNN article as original material generated by the users. (Shadbolt, supra.) Foreign organizations, enterprises, and individuals that provide public information across the border that is accessed by Vietnamese people or through people in Vietnam must comply with Vietnam's law, the Decree states. (Id. art. 22.) One Hanoi-based law firm commented, "[a]ccording to some Vietnamese newspapers, this new provision would hopefully help control such organizations as Facebook, Google and other foreign suppliers of cross border public information, as they actually are not at all regulated in Vietnam." (New Decree No. 72-2013/ND-CP on Management, Supply and Use of Internet Services and Network Information, D&N INTERNATIONAL (Aug. 31, 2013).) The United States Embassy in Vietnam issued a statement on August 6, 2013, that expressed concern about "the decree's provisions that appear to limit the types of information individuals can share via personal social media accounts and on websites." (Statement: Internet Content Decree, Embassy of the United States, Hanoi, Vietnam (Aug. 6, 2013).) The Freedom Online Coalition also released a statement expressing its concern, as the Decree "impose(s) further restrictions on the way the Internet is accessed and used in Vietnam." (Press Release, Marie Harf, U.S. Department of State, Freedom Online Coalition Joint Statement on the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's Decree 72 (Aug. 26, 2013).) On 1 October 2013, a Joint Allegation Letter (JAL) was issued by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. On 10 October 2013, Vietnam briefly responded to the JAL, claiming that "the allegations on restrictions by the Decree 72 are baseless."

On September 1 2013, Decree 72, a sweeping piece of legislation regulating internet use in Vietnam, came into effect. The law grants the government wide-ranging powers in limiting internet freedoms by outlawing use of the internet to "oppose" the state, national security, or "national fraternity." Furthermore, the decree strictly delineates what material may be posted in what forum: ominously, social media may only be used for personal information. Sharing a material on politics, economics, or society derived from multiple sources (for instance some news articles) is now technically a punishable offense. On 1 October 2013, a Joint Allegation Letter (JAL) was issued by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. On 10 October 2013, Vietnam briefly responded to the JAL, claiming that "the allegations on restrictions by the Decree 72 are baseless."

Authorities in Vietnam detained for questioning a dozen young activists on their return from a training stint with a civil society organization in the Philippines amid suspicion in Hanoi that they might be involved in anti-government activities, according to friends and family. The 12 youths had attended the two-week 2013 Civil Society study program with rights organization Asian Bridge Philippines in Manila and were taken into police custody in three separate groups on their return to Vietnam, beginning late last week. "When I arrived at the airport, there were many policemen, which I already anticipated," said blogger Bui Tuan Lam, among four activists held at the Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport after deplaning on Oct. 5. "[They] took me to a room at the airport with seven or eight people in it ... and kept me there for 16 hours," Lam told RFA's Vietnamese Service. The others held with him included blogger Yeu Nuoc Viet and activist Tran Hoai Bao. "They asked me ... about the course, how many people attended, who organized it, if I knew that "hostile forces' were behind it ... I told them I didn't care about that[and that] all I cared about was that it was a good course about civil society, which is very weak in our country." The second group of five was detained on Oct. 6 at Hanoi's Noibai Airport and included Do Van Thuong, Nguyen Viet Hung and Dang Hai Di, while the third group detained two days later at Tan Son Nhat Airport comprised Pham Tran Quan, Truong Quynh Nhu and Bui Thi Dien. All nine activists detained in the first two groups were released late in the evening on Oct. 6 while the third group was released on Thursday, Lam said. He said the 12 had met with Philippine NGOs and lawmakers, and representatives of the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Asian Development Bank. He said that he decided to return home although he learned about the detention of some of his colleagues earlier "because I did not do anything wrong-I only went to learn some new things for the benefit of our country." Told to sign Lam said that his interrogators treated him well but repeatedly asked him to sign documents, including photos of people who attended the course and a letter asking for leniency. "I did not sign because it wasn't right ... I only signed to acknowledge the minutes of the meeting, but I would not sign any other document promising that I would not attend any similar courses or make public the content of our meeting," he said. "They said civil society is good, but as it develops there will be interest groups and parties which[will call for the] overthrow of the regime ... I told them that their argument is ridiculous. Nobody is against them and if they do good things the people will support them." He was finally informed he would be "summoned again when needed" before being freed. "Committed to learn' Asian Bridge Philippines had expressed concern in a statement that the Vietnamese government had decided to detain the 12, saying the group found it "unsettling" that they were held "without any explanation or notice." "To Asian Bridge Philippines, it is highly commendable that these young individuals from Vietnam are committed to learn about what civil society means and how it has developed in the Philippines," the statement said. It urged the Vietnamese authorities to respect the "basic rights" of all Vietnamese "to freely travel and learn about the development of civil society in other nations in the region." The group said that as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc of ten nations, Vietnam should "encourage their citizens to learn about other nations' history and society, instead of instilling fear, so that the mission of ASEAN can be soon achieved." Aside from Vietnam, ASEAN comprises Laos, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

On October 5, 2013, 12 young activists returning from a civil society training program in the Philipines were detained and questioned at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport. All 12 were released after being interrogated and intimidated overnight.

A Vietnamese court today sentenced independent blogger Dinh Nhat Uy to a 15-month suspended prison term and one year of house arrest in connection with his posts on Facebook, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the verdict and calls on Vietnamese authorities to end their escalating campaign of harassment against independent bloggers. In a one-day trial, a Long An province court ruled that Uy's use of Facebook to campaign for his brother's release from prison on anti-state propaganda charges was in breach of Article 258 in the criminal code, a vague charge that bans "abusing democratic freedoms." News reports said Uy's conviction was the first against a blogger or dissident specifically for using Facebook. Most independent bloggers in Vietnam use Facebook as their blogging platform. A new decree for governing the Internet that came into effect on September 1 restricts the types of content that foreign companies are allowed to host on their Vietnam-related websites or social media platforms. Uy had been calling for the release of his brother, Dinh Nguyen Kha, a computer technician, who was sentenced in June to eight years in prison--reduced to four years on appeal--for anti-government propaganda. Uy had faced a potential seven years in prison under the charges. Agence France-Presse reported that suspended prison sentences in Vietnam generally entail severe restrictions on the individual's movements, with requirements to check in regularly with police. Uy was first arrested on June 15 for "compiling and publishing distorted and untrue articles and pictures on his blog, tarnishing the prestige of state bodies," according to state-run news reports. Computers, phones, flash drives, books, and laptops were confiscated from his home,reports said. He had been summoned by the police several times since his brother was arrested. "While blogger Dinh Nhat Uy's sentencing today was lighter than the punishment handed down to other critical bloggers, it will necessarily have a chilling effect on all bloggers who use Facebook as their preferred platform," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative. "Vietnamese authorities should stop harassing bloggers and scrap all laws that restrict online reporting and commentary." It was not immediately clear if authorities intended to hold Facebook accountable for the materials, now ruled illegal, that Uy posted to his Facebook page. Two other prominent bloggers, Pham Viet Dao and Truong Duy Nhat, were arrested respectively in May and June on accusations related to Article 258. They are currently under investigation and are being held in pre-trial detention. All but one of the 14 reporters jailed at the time of CPJ's 2012 prison census published blogs or worked predominantly online.

On October 29, 2013, Dinh Nhat Uy, an independent Vietnamese blogger, was sentenced to a suspended 15 month prison term and one year of house arrest for having called for his brother's release on facebook, in breach of Article 258 of the penal code. His brother, Dinh Nguyen Kha, is serving a four year sentence for anti-government propaganda. Uy himself had been harassed by police previous to his arrest in June 2013.

On February 11,2014, police detained and beat more than a dozen activists who were on their way to visit former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Bac Truyen and his fianc_, Bui Thi Kim Phuong, in Lap Vo district, Dong Thap province, after Truyen was beaten and detained by police on February 9. On February 24, Nguyen Bac Truyen and Bui Thi Kim Phuong were beaten on their way to the Australian Embassy in Hanoi, where they had been asked to brief embassy officials on previous assaults. Three people remain in detention at An Binh prison in Dong Thap: Bui Thi Minh Hang, Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, and Nguyen Van Minh. According to family members the three have been accused of obstructing traffic under article 245 of the penal code. On February 16, 2014, 23 people issued a public complaint, enclosed below, regarding arbitrary detention and violations of the Convention against Torture in regard to this incident. February 16, 2014 LETTER of COMPLAINT Respectfully submitted to: - Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - United Nations Human Rights Council - Human Rights Watch - Amnesty International - Congress of the United States of America - Congress of the European Union - Members of the World Trade Organization We are writing to protest the Vietnamese Communist Party and the Communist Government of Vietnam for their arbitrary arrests of innocent citizens and their violations of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), which Vietnam signed on November 7, 2013. On February 11, 2014, the Government of Vietnam utilized a force of up to 1,000 security and police personnel in Long Hung Commune, Lap Vo District, Dong Thap Province, brutally ambushing a group of 21 citizens including former prisoners of conscience, Hoa Hao Buddhism worshippers, and common folks. These 21 individuals were attacked while they were on their way to visit former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Bac Truyen's family in Hung Nhon village, Long Hung Commune, Lap Vo District, Dong Thap province. Mr. Nguyen Bac Truyen's residence was the site of a violent attack and arrest of Mr. Truyen during which personal properties and sacred Hoa Hao shrines were destroyed on February 9, 2014. Dear Sir and Madame, The entire group of 21 citizens including women were beaten until covered in blood before they were locked up in a dark, dirty room for almost 48 hours. To make matters worse, the authorities did not provide food or drinking water for the detainees. This cruel mistreatment is clear evidence of the Vietnamese communist government's violations of UNCAT. As of present, 18 of the 21 detained individuals have been released. Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hang, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh and Mr. Nguyen Van Minh are still jailed at An Binh prison, which is under the direction of Vietnam's central Ministry of Public Security. The reason of their imprisonment is "illegal gathering causing serious interference with common traffic" according to Article 245 of the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Dear Sir and Madame, Government authorities can arrest or detain individuals who breach laws, pose immediate threats to society, or obstruct the investigation, prosecution, or implementation of a verdict. The visit to Mr. Nguyen Bac Truyen's family, who were suppressed by the Communist Government of Vietnam, did not violate any law or constitute any threat to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Therefore the arrests, torture, and detention of the 21 Vietnamese in this case, especially Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hang, not only infringed on Vietnamese laws but also violated the UNCAT, of which Vietnam is a signatory. The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam contains articles regarding individual rights as following: Article 71 in the 1992 and 2013 versions of Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam states that "citizens have respectable rights to their individuality protected by laws including life, health, honor, and dignity. No-one can be arrested in the absence of a ruling by the People's Court or a ruling or sanction by the People's Office of Supervision and Control, except in case of flagrant offences. Taking a person into, or holding him in custody must be done with full observance of the law" Article 72 in the 1992 and 2013 versions of Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam also emphasizes, "persons under wrongful arrest, detention,[or] prosecution are entitled to material compensation and character restoration. Any persons who wrongfully abuse the laws in[carrying out] arrests, detentions, and prosecution that caused damages to citizens are subjected to punishment by law." With such clear Constitution and laws, the Communist Government of Vietnam regularly infringes on personal safety and health of their citizens by habitual arrests and detention of innocent citizens. The extent of the problem is so serious that even government-controlled media acknowledges that there are thousands of Vietnamese citizens who suffer forced admittance of guilt, torture, and wrongful convictions. Up until now, there is a total absence of practices in government authority to prevent these illegal acts that breach local laws and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's Constitution as well as international conventions to which Vietnam is a member. We strongly condemn these crimes against the people and the country of Vietnam by the Communist Government through this newest case of attacks, arrests, and torture of the group of 21 Vietnamese nationals mentioned above including ongoing imprisonment of Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hang, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, and Mr. Nguyen Van Minh. We respectfully urge the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Government and Congress of the United States of America, the Governments and Congress of the European Union, and Members of the World Trade Organization to re-examine Vietnam's membership in the United Nations Human Right Council and Vietnam's membership in WTO due to its very dreadful records on human rights. We respectfully urge the Government and Congress of the United States of America to stop ongoing negotiations regarding Vietnam's admission into the Tran Pacific Partnership until the Communist Government of Vietnam improves their human rights practices. Americans value and strongly believe that only a free and democratic Vietnam deserves to be a trading partner with the rest of the world. Signed by: - Nguyen Thu Tram, member of 8406 Block, Head of Media Relations for Association of Prisoners of Conscience and Religious Freedom for Vietnam. UPDATE 26/08/2014: the People's Court in Dong Thap province handed down a three-year sentence to Bui Thi Minh Hang and a two-year sentence to Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh and Nguyen Van Minh for obstructing traffic under Article 245 of the penal code. Family members were barred from the court room, as were some 50 activists, who were temporarily detained by police to prevent them from attending.

On February 11, 2014, a group of activists traveling to visit fellow activist Nguyen Cab Truyen were beaten and arbitrarily detained in Lap Vo district, Dong Thap province. As of February 24, 2014, three activists remain in detention: Bui Thi Minh Hang, Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, and Nguyen Van Minh. They have been charged with obstructing traffic under article 245 of the penal code. UPDATE 26/08/2014: the People's Court in Dong Thap province handed down a three-year sentence to Bui Thi Minh Hang, a two-year sentence to Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh and a two-and-a-half-year sentence to Nguyen Van Minh for obstructing traffic under Article 245 of the penal code. Family members were barred from the courtroom, as were some 50 activists, who were temporarily detained by police to prevent them from attending.

An outspoken Vietnamese blogger has been detained at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport upon his return from a six-month trip to the Philippines and Thailand, where he had met with U.N. human rights officials and advocacy and media groups, friends and fellow bloggers said Wednesday. Nguyen Lan Thang, who began blogging for RFA's Vietnamese Service last month, told friends by telephone that he had been taken into custody Wednesday night Vietnamese time upon arrival from the Thai capital Bangkok, they said. A day before, he had posted on Facebook a brief video message indicating he expected to be arrested. "Hello my friends! When you see this video, it is certain I have been arrested by the security forces," he said in the clip. "But don't worry, I will come home to be with you all soon," said Thang, a fierce critic of Vietnam's strict media controls. Whereabouts unknown Some 30 friends and fellow bloggers had been waiting for Thang at the airport, fellow blogger La Viet Dung said. "Thang had told us to come pick him up. At 8:15 p.m., he called us to let us know that he was detained," Dung told RFA's Vietnamese Service. Airport authorities, including immigration officials they were referred to, refused to tell them of Thang's whereabouts or why he was being held, he said. "Now we don't know where Thang is." Meeting with right officials Thang lives in Hanoi with his wife, who is due to have the couple's first child in a few months. He had been among a group of Vietnamese bloggers who met with U.N. human rights officials in Bangkok in July to report on rights violations in their home country. The group had presented the officials with a petition, known as Declaration 258, that called for a U.N. Human Rights Council review of Vietnam's treatment of activists and for the elimination of Article 258 of the country's penal code, which prohibits "abusing democratic freedoms" and has been used to jail dissidents. Bloggers Phuong Dung and Thao Chi, who also took part in the July meeting, were briefly detained on their return from Bangkok to Vietnam on August 5, sources said. Philippines trip Following the Bangkok talks, Thang went to Manila with a dozen other young activists for a training stint with a civil society organization in the Philippines before returning to the Thai capital for other meetings. His colleagues who attended the two-week 2013 Civil Society study program with rights organization Asian Bridge Philippines in Manila were held by the authorities for about a day on their return home amid suspicion in Hanoi that they might be involved in anti-government activities, according to friends and family. Asian Bridge Philippines slammed the Vietnamese government for the action, calling on Hanoi to respect the "basic rights" of all Vietnamese "to freely travel and learn about the development of civil society in other nations in the region." The group said that as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc of 10 nations, Vietnam should "encourage their citizens to learn about other nations' history and society, instead of instilling fear, so that the mission of ASEAN can be soon achieved." Aside from Vietnam, ASEAN comprises Laos, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Video message In a video Thang sent to RFA last month, he spoke out against limits Vietnamese authorities place on social media, describing controls placed on those who expose politically sensitive issues such as land grabs and corruption in the one-party communist state. "The social media network is an important tool for me to express my views. At the same time, it has gotten me and those who share my views in trouble," he said in the video. "Freedom of expression is one of the most important human rights. If it is restricted, social development will be distorted because there is no one to give feedback on public policies." Thang has published two blog posts for RFA so far. More than 40 Vietnamese bloggers and activists have been imprisoned so far this year, rights groups say, many of them imprisoned under vaguely worded security provisions. Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks Vietnam 172nd out of 179 countries on its press freedom index and lists the country as an "Enemy of the Internet."

On 30 October, 2013, Nguyen Lan Thang, an outspoken Vietnamese blogger was arrested upon his return to Hanoi's Noi Ba airport. Nguyen had been involved in the creation of Declaration 238 that called for the UNHCR to examine Vietnam's human rights record. He participated in various other human rights activism-related events throughout the region in his six months abroad. UPDATE 31/10/2013: Nguyen was released on October 31, 2013 after being questioned by authorities for the night.

Vietnam's security forces have kidnapped a female environmentalist, interrogating her during one-day detention about her activism, Defend the Defenders has learned. Ms. Cao Vinh Thinh, a key member of the independent group Green Trees, was detained by undercover police officers in the morning of March 27 when she was on her way to her shop named Zero Waste Hanoiwhich is selling environment-friendly products in the capital city of Hanoi. The kidnappers confiscated her laptop and cell phone and took her to an office of the Security Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security located in Nguyen Gia Thieu street, Hoan Kiem district where she was questioned by officers about activities of her and her group Green Trees which aim to protect the country's environment. Police also deployed IT specialists to try to get access to her equipment because she refused to give them the passwords for her laptop and cell phone. Police released Thinh at 10 PM of Wednesday but still keep her equipment.

On 27 March 2019, Cao Vinh Thinh, hanoi-based environmentalist was abducted when she was on her way to work. The kidnappers took her to a police station where they interrogated her about her activism until 10 PM. Police released her without returning her laptop and cell phone.

The family and relatives of former prisoner of conscience Mrs. Pham Thanh Nghien has been harassed and besieged by police in Hai Phong City when she and her husban former political prisoner Huynh Anh Tu and their daughter visited her home city in Dong Hai 1 ward, Hai An district. From March 25, all her family members were monitored, said Nghien who moved to Ho Chi Minh City after married to Mr. Tu, who spent 14 years in prison in 1999-2014. Nghien said in the morning of March 26, police in Hai Phong kidnapped former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Ngoc Tuong Thi when he was standing outside the house of Nghien's parents. Thi, who accompanied Nghien's couple from HCM City, was brought to the ward police office for a 2-hour-interrogation before being released. Due to the harassment, Mr. Thi left Hai Phong next day to return to HCM City, dropping his plan to stay longer in the city. Plainclothes police set up a temporary point near her parents' house to monitor her family as well as families of her older brother and two older sisters. Undercover policemen also followed one of her nieces and threatened one of her sisters, saying they will request her sister's employer to sack her. Faced with the terror unleashed on them by Hai Phong police, Mrs Nghien and her family were extremely fearful and worried. Mrs Nghien was convicted of "conducting anti-state propaganda" and sentenced to four years in jail for conducting an in-house sitting protest and hanging a banner inside her house that read "The Spratlys archipelago belongs to Vietnam." She was also targeted for helping the fishing community whose members were shot at and killed by Chinese ships when they operated in their traditional fishing area in the East Sea (South China Sea). In January 2019, authorities in HCM City destroyed several hundred houses in Loc Hung Vegetables Garden including Nghien couple's newly built house. They had to rent a place to stay and had to move several times since.

On 25 March 2019, the family and relatives of former prisoner of conscience Mrs. Pham Thanh Nghien has been harassed and besieged by police in Hai Phong City when she and her husban former political prisoner Huynh Anh Tu and their daughter visited her home city in Dong Hai 1 ward, Hai An district.

Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Gia Lai have convicted Protestant missionary Ksor Ruk of "undermining unified policy" under Article 116 of the country's 2015 Penal Code for his activities which aimed to exercise and promote the right to freedom of religion and belief. According to the state media, in a trial on March 15, the People's Court of Gia Lai sentenced missionary Ksor Ruk to ten years in prison for a trumped-up allegation of an attempt to re-establish Dega independent state. He was arrested on October 30 last year just because he worked to form a group of Protestant followers to pray together. This will be the second imprisonment of the missionary. In 2007, he was convicted of the same allegation and sentenced to six years in jail, and served his sentence in 2007-2013. According to Defend the Defenders (DTD)'s statistics, Vietnam is holding at least 54 Protestant pastors, missioner and followers on charges of "undermining policy" in the National Security provisions in the Penal Code, and the actual number may be much higher. Their sentences range from six to 20 years in jail.

On 15 March 2019, Ksor Ruk, FORB defender was sentenced to ten years in prison for a trumped-up allegation of attempt to re-establish Dega independent state.

Authoritiesin Vietnam's northern province of Bac Ninh have arrested Hanoi-based anticorruption activist Ha Van Nam on allegation of "causing public disorders" in a trumped-up case in a bid to silence his effort to deal with corruption related to road upgrading under BOT (build-operate-transfer) form. Nam's family had reported that in early morning of March 5, a group of police officers came to his private residence in Hanoi to take him away. The police officers had not show an arrest warrant to his family, just saying he was accused of "causing public disorders" on January 31 this year in Pha Lai payment toll in Que Vo district, Bac Ninh province. Currently, Nam is held in the temporary detention facility under the authority of Que Vo district's police. He is likely kept incommunicado for two months for investigation. The Bac Ninh province's police have reportedly denied to meet his family's request to allow him meet with his lawyer. With the accusation, Mr. Nam faces imprisonment of up to seven years if is convicted. Mr. Nam, 38, is among social activists opposing road tolls which are wrongly placed in a bid to collect fees from drivers who even have not used services provided by road developers. The road developers are reportedly backed by senior officials from the Vietnamese regime which is among most corrupted governments in the world. In order to deal with the social activists who strive to oppose the wrongly-placed road tolls and demand suspension of money collection, the developers, with support of police, are using thugs to attack the activists. A number of anti-BOT activists have been harassed in different forms, including abduction or physical attacks or even imprisonment in their vehicles for hours. On January 29, Mr. Nam was kidnapped by a group of unknown individuals when he was sitting near his house in Hanoi. The kidnappers took him in their van, taking him away and beating him. Finally, they threw him in a road in Dan Phuong district about 20 km from Hanoi's center. He suffered a number of injuries, including broken ribs.

On 5 March 2019, Ha Van Nam, anti-corruption activist, was arrested on allegation of "causing public disorders" in a trumped-up case in a bid to silence his effort to deal with corruption related to road upgrading under BOT (build-operate-transfer) form.

Following a Thai police raid two weeks ago on the home of Bach Hong Quyen, a Vietnamese blogger who fled his country and currently lives in Bangkok, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) fears that the Thai authorities could allow Vietnamese agents to abduct Quyen and urges them to respect his UN-guaranteed status as a political refugee. Bach Hong Quyen, who has lived in Bangkok since May 2017, has been in hiding ever since the police came and questioned him at his home on 1 March. He fears that he could be arrested at any momentand deported back to Vietnam although his refugee status is guaranteed by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The day after Quyen helped fellow Vietnamese blogger and journalist Truong Duy Nhat to apply for the same refugee status at the UNHCR office in Bangkok, Nhat mysteriously disappeared while in a Bangkok shopping mall on 26 January. Nhat was probably abducted by Vietnamese agents with the complicity of the local authorities, fuelling fears that other Vietnamese journalists who have fled their country could suffer the same fate. Accused by the Vietnamese authorities of disturbing public order, Quyen hopes to obtain asylum for himself and his family in Canada and is currently registered with Canada's refugee reinstallation programme. "We urge the Thai government to respect the status of Bach Hong Quyen and his family as refugees and to stop intimidating Quyen in any way," said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "Aside from the obligation to respect the fundamental rights of an individual whose only crime was to have informed his compatriots, Thailand's credibility on the international stage is stake." "Repatriation" Quyen is well known for his investigative reporting on environmental issues, speaking on media outlets that broadcast in Vietnamese from abroad. In particular, he raised questions about the responsibility of certain Vietnamese officials in a marine environmental disaster resulting from a toxic spill from a steel plant owned by the Taiwanese firm Formosa. Thailand was once a refuge for journalists persecuted by the region's most repressive regimes but, under the current government headed by Gen. Prayut, it has on several occasions been complicit in the "repatriation" of journalists to the countries where they were wanted. The victims have included Yang Jiefei, a Chinese cartoonist arrested in 2015, and Gui Minhai, a Chinese-born Swedish publisher who was abducted in 2015 while on vacation in Thailand. Both ended up in Chinese prisons. Nhat, the Vietnamese blogger who disappeared seven weeks ago, has not yet "reappeared" in a Vietnamese prison. Thailand is ranked 140th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index, while Vietnam has Southeast Asia's lowest ranking - 175th.

On 1 March 2019, Bach Hong Quyen, a Vietnamese blogger who fled his country and currently lives in Bangkok, was intimidated by authorities

Vietnam's authorities have barred local activists from gathering to mark the 31stanniversary of the loss of Gac Ma (South Johnson Reef) to China ahead of a visit of President Nguyen Phu Trong to Beijing. From early morning of March 14, plainclothes agents and militia were sent to private residences of activists in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other localities to effectively place them de facto under house arrest. Some were allowed to go out but remained under close police surveillance. University lecturer Dao Thi Thu in Hanoi told Defend the Defenders that she couldn't to go to her class as undercover police and militia did not permit her to go out with her motorbike. When she tried to get a bus, police officers violently stopped her, making her watch broken. Mr. Nguyen Tuong Thuy, vice president of the Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam, said he planned to go to Hanoi's center to commemorate the 64 naval soldiers killed by the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) in Gac Ma in 1988, he was blocked by a group of around five undercover policemen. Authorities in the capital city sent a group of dozens of women to dance near King Ly Thai To monument in the city's center where activists were used to gather in similar cases, making the place unavailable for other activities. The similar situation was in HCM City and local activists were forced to stay at home to mark the event. In previous years, authorities did not block activities from gathering but sent government's supporters to disturb the activists' commemorations. On February 27, in order to prevent activists from gathering to Tran Hung Dao Great General to mark the 40thanniversary of the invasion of the PLA in Vietnam's six northernmost provinces, authorities in HCM City removed his .... To another place. This year, for the first time in decades, some state-run newspapers covered news on the loss of Gac Ma or the Chinese invasion in 1979, however, they still avoided to name Beijing as the aggressor. Meanwhile, Nguyen Phu Trong, the communist chief, planned to go to visit China for the first time after grabbing the country's president post left by former Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang, who died from unclear reasons last year.

On 12 March 2019,local activists were barred from gathering to mark the 31stanniversary of the loss of Gac Ma (South Johnson Reef) to China ahead of a visit of President Nguyen Phu Trong to Beijing.

Authorities in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Gia Lai have arrested justice-seeker Nguyen Thi Hue and charged her with "abusing democratic freedom" under Article 331 of the country's 2015 Penal Code. Around 20 police officers came to her house in Ia Hrung commune, Ia Grai district in the morning of March 12 to search the house. They took her to the district police station in the afternoon after announcing that she was arrested and will be held at least three months for investigation of the allegation. It is likely that her detention is related to her posts on her Facebook account Den Quang about the unjustice her family is suffered in recent years. Several years ago, her husband travelled in a car of his friend. They suffered a traffic accident in which the friend who drove the vehicle was killed. However, police said her husband was driving the car in the incident and he was imprisoned and fined. Not agreeing with the police conclusion, she has sent petitions to many state agencies to seek for justice for her husband. His daughter has been helping her to post articles and conduct live streams on her Facbook accounts in which she criticized the police forces for imprisoning her husband and the miscarriage of justice her family is suffered. Hue, 51, has also covered news in other cases of miscarriage of justice in her areas. Vietnam's authoritarian regime often uses allegation of "abusing democratic freedom" to silence local dissidents including prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam). Currently, 14 bloggers are held after being convicted or arrested for the allegation in Article 258 of the 1999 Penal Code or Article 331 of the 2015 Penal Code, according to statistics of Defend the Defenders.

On 12 March 2019, Nguyen Thi Hue, WHRD was arrested for allegedly "abusing democratic freedom" .

Imprisoned human rights advocate and democracy campaigner Nguyen Van Tuc is being treated inhumanely by authorities of Prison camp No. 6 located in Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province. The information came from his wife Bui Thi Re, who went to visit him on March 13. Mr. Tuc was convicted of subversion and sentenced to 13 years in prison last year for his peaceful activities. During the meeting, Mr. Tuc told his wife that he is placed in a cell together with a criminal convicted for drug trafficking. Encouraged by the prison's authorities, the criminal reportedly beat him very often in exchange of his sentence reduction. The former president of the unregistered Brotherhood for Democracy (BFD) said when his family sends food for him, the prison's authorities keep the food and give him only when it spoils. Mr. Tuc, 54, was arrested in September 2017 and charged with "carrying out activities aiming to overthrow the government" for his membership in the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy which was established by prominent human rights advocate Nguyen Van Dai. In the trial on April 10, 2018, he was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison and five years under house arrest by the People's Court of Thai Binh province. Five months later, the Higher People's Court in Hanoi upheld his sentence. After losing his appeal, he was transferred to the current prison. He has been suffering a number of serious diseases, including hemorroids due to severe conditions in Vietnam's prisons and inhumane treatment against prisoners of conscience. His wife is not sure that he can survive to complete his sentence after being treated inhumanely by the prison's authorities. Inhumane treatment against prisoners of conscience is not rare in Vietnam where the ruling communist party is striving to keep the country under a one-party regime. Prisons' authorities are systematically applying tough measures, including solitary confinement, using criminals to beat prisoners of conscience, and tainted food to punish jailed activists to break their mentality. A number of imprisonedactivistshave been conducted hunger strike to protest prisons' inhumanetreatment, including Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (aka Mother Mushroom) and Nguyen Van Hoa, a citizen journalist. The first two were released but forced to live in exile in the US while the third reportedly started hunger strike in An Diem Prison camp on February 22 for many days.

On 13 March 2019, Nguyen Van Tuc, Activist, was reportedly inhumanely treated in prison Camp

Vietnamese dissident bloggers and democracy advocates are being kept under police watch at their homes as U.S. president Donald Trump prepares to meet for talks this week in Hanoi with North Korean national leader Kim Jong Un, sources in Vietnam say. Speaking on Tuesday to RFA's Vietnamese Service, Nguyen Lan Thang-an activist blogger and frequent contributor to RFA-said that authorities are watching him closely at his home in Hanoi, adding that he is largely unaware of what is happening now in the capital. "I do see that communist regimes like those in North Korea and Vietnam have been successful with their propaganda, though," Thang said, speaking to RFA reporters via livestream on his Facebook page. "Even those Vietnamese who have not been picked for media interviews have had positive things to say about the Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi," he said. "Most common people here have no idea how miserable the lives of North Koreans are under the Kim family's rule." Also speaking to RFA, writer and activist Ngo Duy Quyen and his wife Le Thi Cong Nhan-a well-known dissident, rights lawyer, and former member of the banned Bloc 8406 democracy movement-said that their apartment on the third floor of their building in the capital is also being watched. Cameras have meanwhile been set up outside the home in Bac Giang province of former teacher To Oanh, who once traveled to the U.S. to speak about human rights concerns in the one-party communist state, To Oanh said. "Senior security officers also came to see me and ordered me to stay home until the summit is over," he said, adding that he poses no threat to the Feb. 27-28 U.S.-North Korea talks, in which the U.S. is expected to press Pyongyang to follow through on previous pledges to end its nuclear weapons program. "Is it really likely that my name would appear on a list of suspected terrorists?" he asked. 'I might go anyway' Dissident blogger Nguyen Truong Thuy meanwhile told RFA he had been visited on Sunday by three police officers and the head of his neighborhood group-a committee set up to address community concerns and report to authorities on residents' activities. "They came to my house and asked me not to go to welcome Trump and Kim," he said. "I told them that for the time being, I had not intended to go. But then a police officer said I had just given my commitment not to go, and I told them "No,' that I rely on the law and have not made any verbal promise or commitment, and that I might change my mind and go anyway," he said. "There have been cases now where some have been locked in from the outside, to keep them from going out," added the wife of activist blogger Dung Voa, surnamed Hue. "Others are being kept under close watch, and if some manage to go out, they are closely followed," Hue said. "They don't want us to accept any invitations from foreign embassies to join them for a talk," she said. A disturbing record Ahead of this week's talks, three U.S. lawmakers called on U.S. President Donald Trump to raise human rights issues with officials in Vietnam during his visit to the one-party Communist Southeast Asian nation for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In a letter dated Feb. 19, U.S. House of Representatives members Zoe Lofgren, Chris Smith, and Alan Lowenthal-co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam-expressed concerns that Hanoi is hosting the second U.S.-North Korea summit scheduled for Feb. 27-28, given Vietnam's poor rights record. The lawmakers highlighted what they called Vietnam's "disturbing record" on prisoners of conscience, pointing to a list released last year by London-based Amnesty International that includes nearly 100 dissidents jailed for expressing views critical of the government, and who they said endure "alarming" treatment in detention. The request from the three U.S. representatives followed two separate letters from Vietnamese intellectuals and activists, urging Trump to help thwart China's gradual takeover of the South China Sea, where Hanoi and Beijing are embroiled in maritime territorial disputes. China's claims and construction of artificial islands in the region have sparked frequent anti-China protests in Vietnam, which the one-party communist government in Hanoi fears as a potential threat to its own political control.

Since 26 February 2019, various HRDs have been monitored, visited and threatened by state forces in a bid to intimidate them away from taking any action during the US-North Korea Summit in Hanoi

Defend the Defenders: Vietnam's security forces detained Ms. Nguyen Kim Thanh, wife of prisoner of conscience Truong Minh Duc after she participated in Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in late January. In the morning of February 21, when she landed from a flight from Germany to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, she was detained by the border security officers. During the detention from around 7 AM to 1PM of the same day, police officers questioned about her activities, including her participation in the Vietnamese UPR in the UN's headquarters in Geneva on January 21 as well as meeting with officials from the German Foreign Ministry. Police officers confiscated her passport before releasing her, requesting her to go to a police station for further interrogation. Mr. Truong Minh Duc, vice president of the unregistered groups Brotherhood for Democracy and Viet Labor Movement, was arrested on July 30, 2017 and charged with "conducting activities aimed to overthrow the government" under Article 79 of the country's 1999 Penal Code. In April 2018, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison and three years of probation. Currently, he is held in Prison No. 6 under the authorities of the Ministry of Public Security in the central province of Nghe An, where political prisoners are kept with severe living conditions.

On 21 February 2019, Ms. Nguyen Kim Thanh, wife of prisoner of conscience Truong Minh Duc, was detained by security officers after she participated in Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in late January.

Vietnam's security forces detained a dozen of local activists and placed tens of others under house arrest on the 40th anniversary of China's invasion of the country's six northernmost provinces. In order to block local activists from gathering in cities' centers to mark the 40th annyversary of the invasion of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) and commemorate the fallen soldiers and civilians killed by the northern invaders, authorities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and other localites sent plainclothes agents to their private residences in recent days, effectively placing them under house arrest. Some activists such as Nguyen Chi Tuyen, Dang Phuoc Bich, Le Hong Hanh, Hoang Ha from Hanoi and some from HCM City were arrested when they were on their way to King Ly Thai To Memorial in Hanoi and General Tran Hung Dao Memorial in the southern economic hub. They were held in police stations for hours before being freed. Retired army officer Pham Tri Dinh from Hanoi went to King Ly Thai To Memorial to pay attribute for fallen soldiers. When he arrrived, pro-government thugs tried to block him to the site. Later, two plainclothesn agents forced him to leave the area. Few activists successfully came to the site to mark the event. The situation is similar in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's biggest economic hub. The local authorities placed many garbage trucks around General Tran Hung Dao Memorial and took its incensory away in a bid not to allow local residents to come to pay attribute to the fallen ones during the Chinese invasion. Earlier this week, the state-run media for the first time in decades publicized many articles about the invasion of the PLA 40 years ago However, it failed to mention China as the invaders and the military conflict was decribed as "border clashes." The Vietnamese government treatment against local activists regarding China's invasion is not new one. In previous years, on the occasions of the Chinese invasion of the Hoang Sa (Paracels) on January 19, 1974 or the loss of Gac Ma (South Johnson Reef) in the Truong Sa (Spratlys) on March 14, 1988, commemorations organized by activists were barred and participants were suppressed. In order to keep their regime, Vietnam's communist leaders are striving not to make Chinese communist regime angry even in issues concerning the country's sovereignty. They also try not to allow the formation of opposition and persecute all activists and independent groups. China was one of the biggest donors for the Vietnamese communists during the wars against France and the US. However, the relationship between Hanoi and Beijing became hostile when Vietnam found the former Soviet Union as its new political ally. After Vietnam invaded Cambodia and defeat the China-backed Rough Khmer regime led by Pol Pot, Beijing angered and on February 17, 1979, it sent around 600,000 soldiers to attack six northernmost provinces of Vietnam. Before withdrawing one month later, the PLA killed tens of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians and destroyed all infrastructures there. Vietnam and China normalized bilateral relations in late 1990s and Hanoi considers Beijing as its closest political ally. In exchange, a large Vietnamese land, including Nam Quan Port and the larger part of Ban Gioc Waterfall, now are in China's territory. Many Vietnamese major infrastructure projects have been carried out by Chinese investors. Many Vietnamese activists who oppose China's expansionism in the East Sea (South China Sea) have been imprisoned or harassed by the Vietnamese communist regime. In mid June last year, Vietnam's security forces brutally suppressed peaceful demonstrations of tens of thousands of people who rallied on streets in HCM City, Hanoi and many other cities to protest two draft laws on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The first bill seems to favor Chinese investors and ignore the country's sovereignty while the second bill aims to silence local online dissent

From 15 February 2019, dozens of local activists have been detained and tens of others have been placed under house arrest ahead of the 40th anniversary of China's invasion of the country's six northernmost provinces (17 Feb).

Authorities in Vietnam's southern province of Ben Tre have intensified crackdown on local government critics, interrogating a number of Facebookers for their online activities. The state-run media has reported that police had summoned Mr. Phan Tri Toan, a 35-year-old resident of My Thanh An commune, Ben Tre city to question him about his posts on his Facebook account Phan Rio. Accordingly, his posts aim to incite anti-state protests. On February 1, the province's police also interrogated Tran Ngoc Phuc, a 21-year-old student of Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City. The resident of Tan Phu commune, Chau Thanh district, was accused of using his personal account to propagandizing against the Communist Party of Vietnam and its government. The state media also reported that authorities in Ben Tre have imposed an administrative fine of VND15 million ($650) on 55-year-old Dang Tri Thuc, a resident of Hoa Loc village, Mo Cay Bac district, for using his Facebook account to call for people to join street protests. It is worth noting that local shrimp grower Nguyen Ngoc Anh was arrested on August 30, 2018 and charged with "conducting anti-state propaganda" under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code. While Mr. Anh is held incommunicado in pre-trial detention and faces imprisonment of between three to 12 years in prison, it is unclear the charges against Mr. Toan and Mr. Phuc. The local police say they are still investigating their cases.

Since 1 February 2019, a number of HRDs who have used Facebook as a platform to conduct their work, has been interrogated by Vietnamese authorities

Vietnamese democracy activist Huynh Truong Ca was sentenced on Friday by a court in southern Vietnam's Dong Thap province to a five-year, six-month prison term for criticizing the country's communist government in a series of online postings, state media and other sources said. A member of the Hien Phap Group, a network of activists calling for rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed by Vietnam's constitution, Ca was arrested in September after calling on social media for public protests, sources said. Speaking to RFA's Vietnamese Service, Hien Phap Group member Nguyen Uyen Thuy said that family members attending Ca's trial told her that Ca had defended his call for protests, saying that he had acted "out of patriotism, and from his heart." Ca refused to be represented at trial by a defense attorney, asserting his innocence and the right to defend himself, Thuy said, speaking to RFA from Thailand, where she has applied for refugee status after fleeing Vietnam ahead of arrest by police. Eleven other members of the group-which was formed on June 16, 2017, to promote a better understanding in Vietnam of political rights and freedoms, including the right to protest, promised under Article 25 of the country's constitution-have already been arrested, sources say. Hien Phap played a major role in calling for widespread protests that rocked Vietnamese cities in June in opposition to a proposed cyber security law and a law granting concessions of land to Chinese businesses, group members say. "Ca told the court that as a patriot, he could not accept the Special Economic Zones Bill, which would throw open Vietnam's borders to an influx of Chinese," Thuy told RFA on Friday. Family members were allowed to observe Ca's trial but were not permitted to bring mobile phones or other digital devices into the building, Thuy said. Investigation ongoing Meanwhile, also speaking to RFA, the wife of a Vietnamese citizen active on Facebook who disappeared in police custody in September said that she is now able to send her husband food and money for necessities, though they are not allowed to meet. Ngo Van Dung, a resident of Buon Me Thuot city in the central highlands province of Dak Lak, vanished on Sept. 4 and is now being held at a Police Detention Center in Ho Chi Minh City, also called Saigon, sources say. "I can send him food twice a month-meat, peanuts, biscuits, and money to buy what he needs," Dung's wife Kim Nga said. "I don't have any further information[on his case], though, as an investigation is still going on," she said. Vietnam, with a population of 92 million people, of which 55 million are estimated to be users of Facebook, has been consistently rated "not free" in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group. Dissent is not tolerated in the communist nation, and authorities routinely use a set of vague provisions in the penal code to detain dozens of writers and bloggers.

On 25 January 2019, Huynh Truong Ca, Vietnamese democracy activist, was sentenced by a court in southern Vietnam's Dong Thap province to a five-year, six-month prison term for criticizing the country's communist government in a series of online postings.

Mr Chau, 70, was on a human rights fact-finding mission in Vietnam. His family have not heard from him for almost two weeks He has reportedly had no consular access A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) released a statement confirming the department had sought consular access to an Australian man detained in Vietnam, but for privacy reasons were unable to provide further details. The family of Mr Chau feared the 70-year-old retired small businessman from Sydney had been arrested after they lost contact with him almost two weeks ago. Dr Phong Nguyen, his friend and fellow member of pro-democracy group Viet Tan, said Mr Chau visited Vietnam on a fact-finding mission and was detained while meeting with a Vietnamese friend, Nguyen Van Vien, a member of Brotherhood for Democracy, on January 13 in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnamese authorities told Mr Nguyen's wife her husband was arrested, but provided no reason for his detention, Dr Nguyen said. "They haven't allowed her to visit him," he said. "We assume both of them were arrested at the same time because they were together." Mr Chau's family informed DFAT of his suspected detention last week and were told DFAT was working on his case. Dr Nguyen said Mr Chau had not been allowed consular assistance. "We still don't know about his whereabouts and safety ...[his family] want to send medication over, but first we have to locate where he is," he said. The Viet Tan describes itself as a peaceful pro-democracy group, but is branded as a "terrorist" organisation by Hanoi. "We are mindful that the Vietnamese police have a history of framing peaceful activists with fabricated charges," Dr Nguyen said. The news comes a day after DFAT confirmed Chinese-Australian Yang Hengjun, an outspoken political commentator and blogger, had been detained in China.

On 13 January 2019, Chau Van Kham, HRD who visited Vietnam for a human rights fact-finding mission has been arbitrarily detained.

Vietnam's security forces have arrested Mr. Nguyen Van Vien, a member of the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy (BFD), and charged him with "Activities against the people's government" under Article 109 of the country's 2015 Penal Code, according to the organization. In its press release on January 25, 2019, BFD said police in Ho Chi Minh City conducted a house search in his private residence in the city on January 14, one day after Mr. Vien went missing. During the house search, police announced the subversion allegation against him. However, Vien's family has yet to receive any official documents from the police which may prove that he is held by the security forces. Mr. Vien, 48, is an environmentalist in Quang Nam province. He has been active in condemning the Taiwanese Formosa Company for discharging a large amount of industrial waste into Vietnam's central coast and caused a devastating environmental disaster in the region in 2016. Due to his activisim, he and his family have been under persecution of the local government so he was forced to leave his home province to relocate in HCM City, the biggest economic hub in the Southeast Asian nation. Mr. Vien is the first Vietnamese activist being arrested in 2019 and the 8th member of BFD being accused of subversion since late 2015 when the communist regime started its crackdown on the group with the arrest of its founder human rights advocate Nguyen Van Dai and his assistance Le Thu Ha on December 16, 2015. Last year, the communist regime convicted 41 activists, including nine members of BFD, mostly with charges in the national security provisions in the Penal Code. Eight members of BFD were charged with subversion and sentenced to between seven to 15 years in prison. It is likely Mr. Vien is held imcommunicado in Phan Dang Luu temporary detention facility under the authority of HCM City's Police Department. He faces life imprisonment or even the capital punishment if is convicted. Vietnam is holding around 250 prisoners of conscience, according to Defend the Defenders' statistic.

On 14 January 2018, Mr. Nguyen Van Vien, a member of the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy (BFD), was arrested and charged him with "Activities against the people's government" under Article 109 of the country's 2015 Penal Code,

On January 20, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City arrested three activists as one of them wears a T-shirt with "Protesting Cyber Security Law" slogan, Defend the Defenders has learned. Local activists said activists Pham Ngoc Minh (Facebooker Ho�_ng Tr??ng Sa), Nguyen Phuoc Hoang Vu (Facebooker Paul Vu Nguyen) and their friend were detained by the police from Ward 3, District 5 when they were sitting in a local cafeteria. Mr. Minh weared the T-shirt with the slogan. Activists said the police took them to the ward police station without issuing arrest warrant. As of 7 PM of Sunday, they have yet been released. Vietnam's parliament passed the Cyber Security Law on June 12, 2018 despite widespread protest from local citizens, tens of thousands of them rallied on streets in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Nha Trang, Dong Nai, Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan and other localities to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The first was designed to favor Chinese investors while the second was set to silence online critics. After passing the Cyber Security Law, Vietnam has got strong condemnation from democratic governments and international rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Last year, Vietnam arrested 27 activists and convicted 41 human rights defenders, social activists and political dissents and sentenced them to a total 301 years and nine months in prison and 69 years of probation for exercising the right to freedom of expression. In addition, hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in mid June were detained, beaten and around 100 of them were sentenced to between eight months and 54 months in prison.

On 20 January 2019, Pham Ngoc Minh (Facebooker Ho�_ng Tr??ng Sa), Nguyen Phuoc Hoang Vu (Facebooker Paul Vu Nguyen) and their friend were detained by the police from Ward 3, District 5 when they were sitting in a local cafeteria as Mr. Minh weared the T-shirt with the slogan "Protesting Cyber Security Law" .

Vietnam's authorities have reportedly arrested Dong Nai province-based Facebooker Huynh Tri Tam for his online posts criticizing the communist government, nearly one month after the Cyber Security law became effective. According to local activists, security forces in Dong Nai province stumped in the private residence of the Facebooker whose real name is Huynh Minh Tam, in the morning of January 26. Police took him to the headquarters of the provincial Police Department and conducted search of his house. It is unclear the charge the Facebooker is facing, however. According to his Facebook account, his writing and shared articles are about criticizing China's violations of Vietnam's sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), bad government economic management, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution and nationwide human right abuse. He has wife with two children in primary school age. Mr. Tam is the first Facebooker being arrested for his posts on the social network with over 40 millions accounts in Vietnam after the Cyber Security law became effective on January 1, 2019, and the second activist being detained so far this year. In mid January, police in Ho Chi Minh City detained Nguyen Van Vien, 48, a member of the banned group Brotherhood for Democracy, and charged him with subversion under Article 109 of the 2015 Penal Code. In mid June, two days before the communist-controlled parliament approved the law, tens of thousands of people from different social groups went on major streets in Hanoi, HCM City, Danang, Nha Trang, Bien Hoa, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan and other localities to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The first is considered to favor Chinese investors but ignore the country's sovereignty while the second one is the effective tool for silence online dissent, according to foreign and domestic experts and activists. It is likely that Vietnam continues its crackdown on local activists. In 2018, the communist regime detained at least 27 activists and convicted 41 activists, mostly on allegations in the national security provisions of the Penal Code, and sentenced them to a total 301 years and nine months in prison and 69 years of probation.

On 26 January 2019, Huynh Tri Tam, HRD, was arrested for his online posts criticizing China's violations of Vietnam's sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), bad government economic management, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution and nationwide human right abuse, nearly one month after the Cyber Security law became effective.

Security forces in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Dak Nong have arrested local resident named Duong Thi Lanh for her online activities, Defend the Defenders has learned from her family. According to her husband, in the morning of January 30, Mrs. Lanh received an summoning letter from the province's Police Department asking her to go to the Nhan Co communal building in Dak Rlap district for interrogation about her relationship with Facebookers Uyen Thuy and Mai Bui. The husband said after she went there, a group of dozens of police officers came to search his private house, confiscating some pairs of army clothes they bought from open markets and three cell phones. Police reportedly informed him about his wife's detention without saying in details, so the husband is not unclear about the charge(s) the wife is facing nor where she is held. Mrs. Lanh, 36, is an activist participating in a number of peaceful demonstrations, including the mass street protest on June 10, 2018 in Ho Chi Minh City. She was detained on June 11 but released after several hours of interrogation. She has used her Facebook account SG Ng?c Lanto write and share statuses about human rights and democracy. Meanwhile, Uyen Thuy is a Facebook account of Nguyen Thi Thuy, a member of the unregistered group Hien Phap. Since early September 2018, security forces have arrested eight members of the group due to its members' participation in the mass demonstration on June 10 in HCM City. Ms. Thuy herself was forced to go into hiding to avoid being arrested. Mrs. Lanh is the second Facebooker being arrested after the Cyber Security Law went into effect on January 1, 2019. On June 26, police in Dong Nai province arrested Huynh Minh Tam (Facebooker Huynh Tri Tam) and searched his house. They took him away without informing his family about the charge against him. Vietnam's communist regime continues its crackdown on local dissent amid rising social dissatisfaction regarding the governments' weak response to China's violations of the country's sovereignty, systemic corruption, widespread human rights abuse and police torture as well as nationwide environmental pollution. Last year, Vietnam arrested at least 27 activists and convicted 41 human rights defenders, sentencing them to a total 301 years and nine months in prison and 69 years of probation, according to Defend the Defenders' statistics. Vietnam is holding around 250 prisoners of conscience, according to NOW!Campaign, a coalition of 15 international and domestic independent organizations working for release of all prisoners of conscience.

On 30 January 2019, Duong Thi Lanh, online activist, was arrested for her online activities

Defend the Defenders: On Saturday, plainclothes agents brutally beaten two activists on the day of 45th anniversary of the loss of the Hoang Sa (Paracells) to China (January 19, 1974), Defend the Defenders has learned. While human rights activist Truong Van Dung from Hanoi suffered not significant injuries from the attack, female rights defender Duong Thi Tan from Ho Chi Minh City fell unconscious and got severe injuries on her body and spine. Ms. Tan, former wife of prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), said she planned to go to a funeral in the morning of Saturday. When she got out of her private house in District 1, she was blocked from a group of plainclothes agents who were sent to prevent her from gathering with other local activists to pay attribute to 74 naval soldiers of the former Saigon regime who were killed by China in 1974 when the giant communist nation overtook the Hoang Sa from Vietnam. Ms. Tan said she is not a crime so they have no right to block her from freedom of movement, and she called a taxi. In response, the plainclothes agents started to attack her until she fell on a ground. Knowing that she fell unconscious, the attackers took her to a hospital for medical emergency. After medical checking, a doctor told her that she suffered many injuries, including spine and needs special treatment. This is the second attack of HCM City's plainclothes agents against Ms. Tan within two weeks. On January 8, on the day the city's authorities demolished around 200 private houses in Loc Hung garden in a bid to grab the land of the local residents, police from District 1 arbitrarily detained her son and beat her near her private residence in the district. Meanwhile, plainclothes agents in Dong Da district, Hanoi, attacked Mr. Dung when he returned from the city's center where he paid atribution to the Hoang Sa fallen naval soldiers. Unlike other assaults in the past, this time he suffered slight injuries, he told his fellow Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hanh, another activist who witnessed the attack against Dung. Many other activists nationwide reported that they were placed under de facto house arrest from early morning of January 19 by plainclothes agents and militia. The Vietnamese communist regime claims the Hoang Sa and the Truong Sa (Spratlys) in the East Sea (South China Sea) but it has used violent measures to disperse peaceful demonstrations against China, which overtook the first archipelago and partly the second one from Vietnam and has ambition to take full control over the East Sea. Security forces have also barred activists from gathering to mark universaries of the loss of the Hoang Sa and Gac Ma (Johnson South Reef) in the Truong Sa to China. Sometimes, authorities use plainclothes agents and government supporters to halt commemorations.

On 19 January 2019, Truong Van Dung, activist and Duong Thi Tan, WHRD, were brutally beaten by police during the 45th anniversary of the loss of the Hoang Sa (Paracells) to China (January 19, 1974)

Defend the Defenders: One activist working to protest the wrongly-placed An Suong Highway Toll in Ho Chi Minh City had got dissappeared while three others have been blocked by local police and thugs near the facility, according to bloggers. Blogger Vo Hong Ly, one of brave Facebookers in Vietnam on human rights, democracy and anti-corruption as well as environmental issues, said on her Facebook account that there has been no information about activist Huynh Long since late afternoon of January 14 while bloggers Phuong Ngo, Truong Huu Chau Danh and a woman got stuck in a car surrounded by police and thugs since 12 PM of the same day. It is likely Huynh Long got arrested due to his activities which aimed to block and force the An Suong Highway Toll to stop taking money from drivers since it was wrongly placed in the National Road No. 1 in Binh Hung Hoa B ward, Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City. He may be arrested and beaten by police or being kidnapped and tortured by thugs hired by the toll owners, said other activists. Mr. Huynh Long reportedly went to the toll on late afternoon of Monday. Meanwhile, Phuong Ngo, Truong Chau Huu Danhand the woman travelled to the toll area by their car at 6 PM yesterday. Police and thugs reportedly surround their car, not allowing to move. In order to protect themselves, the trio stay in the car and call for helpfrom others. While thugs threaten them, police came to request them to go out, however, the activists refuse. They would be arrested by police or even beaten by thugs if they get out of their car. They stay in the car with little food and water during the night and still in the vehicle, connecting with other bloggers by Facebook. When the report is made, the trio are still in their car after 22 hours. There are 96 of tolls for BOT (Build-Operation-Transfer) for roads in Vietnam, according to the state media and dozens of them were placed wrongly. These tolls belong to interest groups backed by senior officials. In order to protest these wrongly-placed tolls, hundreds of drivers and activists in the country have been gathered to these facilities to block them. Many times, a number of tolls have been forced to suspend their works and remove barriers to allow vehicles go through. Many drivers come with their vehicles to block wrongly-placed tolls while others have been using banknotes with small values or very large values to make their payments longer in minutes or even hours. Under social pressure, many wrongly-placed tolls have been moved to places where they should be. However, An Suong and other tolls are still operating since they still receive strong support from senior officials and local authorities. In order to deal with protesters, authorities in these locations where the wrongly-placed tolls station send police including riot policemen to disperse the peaceful demonstrators. Meanwhile, tolls' owners often hire thugs to threaten and beat drivers. Vietnam has been spending huge financial resources for building roads to serve its fast economic development. However, the quality of the newly-built roads is poor and they have been degrading in short time after being put into operation. Corruption is the main cause for the problem. Many roads and road parts have been built by private companies under BOT form and they are allowed to make tolls to collect fees from drivers.

On 14 January 2019, Huynh Long, political rights activist and environmental rights defender was reportedly missing while bloggers Phuong Ngo, Truong Huu Chau Danh and a woman got stuck in a car surrounded by police and thugs since 12 PM of the same day.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City have likely extended the investigation period against female activist Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh who was arrested and kept incommunicado on allegation of "disrupting security" under Article 118 of the country's 2015 Penal Code. On January 8, her family from the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau went to Phan Dang Luu temporary detention facility under the authority of the city's police to request to meet with her, however, the facility's authorities denied, saying she is still in investigation and not allowed to meet with her family and lawyers. Since Ms. Hanh was arrested on September 3 last year and the investigation period lasts four months, it is likely the investigation agency has extended her investigation period without informing her family. Without explaining in details, the facility's authorities told her family to supply her with medicine for blood circulation improvement and Calsium-containing products. Ms. Hanh is a member of the unregistered group Hi?n Ph��p (Constitution) which was established in mid 2017 with aim to raise people's about their political and civil rights by disseminating the country's Constitution 2013. Its members were very active in the mass demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10 last year. In early September 2018, police arrested and kidnapped nearly ten members of the group and charged them with different allegations in the national security provisions of the Penal Code. Ms. Hanh, Ms. Doan Thi Hong, Mr. Ngo Van Dung and Mr. Ho Dinh Cuong were charged with disrupting security and face imprisonment of up to 15 years while Mr. Huynh Truong Ca was convicted on allegation of "conducting anti-state propaganda" and sentenced to five years and six months in prison and three years under house arrest while Mr. Le Minh The was charged with "abusing democratic freedom" under Article 331 of the 2015 Penal Code. Three members of the group named Do The Hoa, Tran Thanh Phuong and Hung Hung are still kept incommunicado without being officially charged. All of them have not been permitted to meet with their families and lawyers, Defend the Defenders has learned.

On 8 January 2018, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh, was reportedly being denied access to communicating with her family and lawyer

Labor activist and environmentalist Hoang Duc Binh has been suffering from a number of diseases while serving his 14-year imprisonment in An Diem Prison camp in the central province of Quang Nam. According to his letter sent to his family, he is suffering from skin diseases, great pain in his spine while his eye sight capacity has been reduced drastically. Severe conditions of the prison are the causes of his diseases, he said in his letter dated January 5, adding he is placed in a closed room without proper ventilation and sunlight with high humidity. Binh said he is held together with between five and seven other inmates in a small room. Mr. Binh, a vice president of the unregistered group Viet Labor Movement, was arrested on May 15, 2017 and charged with "resisting persons in the performance of their official duties" under Article 330 and "Abusing democratic freedoms" under Article 331 of the 2015 Criminal Code. On Feb. 6, 2018, the People's Court of Nghe An province convicted him and sentenced him to a total 14 years in prison, seven years for each allegation. The Higher People's Court in Hanoi upheld the sentence on his appeal on April 24, 2018.

On 5 January 2019, Hoang Duc Binh, labour rights activist and environmentalist, has reported to be suffering from health issues due to the poor conditions in prison

Authorities in the northern province of Thai Binh sent a group of around ten policemen to station near the private residence of prisoner of conscience Nguyen Van Tuc, effectively placing his family's member under house arrest from January January 4, his wife Bui Thi Re informed Defend the Defenders. The police blockage may be related to him who is serving his 13-year imprisonment in Prison camp No. 6 in the central province of Nghe An, she said. Mrs. Re said her husband is under the prison's discipline due to his refusal to attend a political course of the prison which aims to force prisoners to study the communist party's policies. She said the prison's authorities are not happy with him as he has been denying to make confession and admit wrongdoings as the courts stated. In addition, he refuses to wear clothes of the prison which labels Ph?m Nh��n (person who commits criminal acts). She said police are still holding his VND2.53 million ($110) when he was arrested on September 1, 2017, and refused to return the money, saying he has to pay the appeal court's fee of VND400,000 first. Meanwhile, Mr. Tuc refused to pay the fee, arguing that he is innocent and has no obligation to pay. Mrs. Re said police als confiscated an ATM card with VND18 million of their son-in-law and still hold the card. Mr. Tuc, 54, was arrested in September 2017 and charged with "carrying out activities aiming to overthrow the government" for his membership in the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy which was established by prominent human rights advocate Nguyen Van Dai. In the trial on April 10, 2018, he was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison and five years under house arrest by the People's Court of Thai Binh province. Five months later, the Higher People's Court in Hanoi upheld his sentence. After losing his appeal, he was transferred to the current prison. He has been suffering a number of serious diseases, including hemorroids due to severe conditions in Vietnam's prisons and inhumane treatment against prisoners of conscience. Speaking with Defend the Defenders on January 13, Mrs. Re said policemen stationed her her house in one week and left on January 11. She urged human rights groups to pay attention to her husband.

On 4 January 2019, Nguyen Van Tuc, political rights activist, had his family placed under house arrest as an attempt to intimidate him into confessing and cooperating with state authorities.

On January 4, police in Ho Chi Minh City arbitrarily detained activist Nguyen Tri Dung and brutally beat his mother Duong Thi Tan, who is also a human rights defender and democracy campaigner. Ms. Tan said Dung was arrested on afternoon when he prepared to leave his private residence in District 1. Plainclothes agents forcebly took him in a car and dropped away. Being informed about the illegal detention of her son, Tan went out and was attacked by other plainclothes agents. They kicked and beat her and threw her to a corner of the building in which the family lives. The detention of Dung may be related to the land grabbing in Vuon Rau area. The city's police were placing a number of local activists under house arrest on the same day in a bid to prevent them from gathering to support residents of Vuon Rau. Police released Dung in late evening and requested him to stay at home in next days. Ms. Tan is a former wife of prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his peaceful activities to protest China's violations of the country's sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and promote human rights, democracy and freedom of press. He was released in October 2014 but forced to live in exile in the US. Dung is the son of their marriage. Both Dung and his mother Tan are human rights defenders, often giving supports for other activists.

On 4 January 2019, Nguyen Tri Dung, HRD was illegally detained, while his WHRD mother Duong Thi Tan, was beaten up by police forces

Vietnamese government authorities in Hanoi on Wednesday raided a gathering of registered NGOs and abruptly shut down their annual civil society workshop, drawing condemnation from an international rights group which called it "an alarming step-up of the authorities' repression of civil society." Eight civil society groups from the health, public administration, and human rights sectors organized the two-day event which focused on the role of civil society groups in advising and engaging with the government on solutions to social issues. After the meeting began, a blackout occurred in the auditorium while Gianh Hoang Dang, deputy director of Vietnam's Center for Community Development Studies, was giving a presentation on the role of social organizations in ensuring access to public services, some attendees said. Local police entered the hotel where the event was being held and ordered organizers to shut it down, accusing them of violating a wartime decree from 1957, which stipulates that those who arrange a gathering of more than five people in a public place must inform local authorities of their meeting 24 hours in advance. Gianh, who researches civil society organizations, later said he did not want to comment on the event cancellation, but he pointed RFA's Vietnamese Service to his comments on Facebook. "State governance is a math problem that any country, even the U.S., China, Cuba, or Japan, has to solve," he wrote. "However, yesterday a workshop to discuss these topics held by eight nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations in various fields (health, governance and public administrative reform, human rights, gender, and community development) was cancelled by the local district People's Committee," Gianh wrote. RFA could not reach another participant, Nguyen Duc Thanh, president of Vietnam's Institute for Economic and Policy Research, for comment. "Absurd and shocking crackdown' London-based Amnesty International took Hanoi authorities to task for their actions. "This is an absurd and shocking crackdown on a well-established, peaceful event," Minar Pimple, Amnesty's senior director for global operations, said in a statement. "To use an arcane wartime decree about holding events in public spaces to stop a private gathering at a hotel is clearly unjustified and cynical," he said. Pimple also noted that shutting down the event violated both international law and Vietnam's constitution, which guarantees the rights to freedom of assembly and association. "The authorities must allow this vital gathering of respected grassroots groups to go ahead and put an end to this worsening crackdown on civil society groups," he said. HRW criticizes cyber security law On Thursday, meanwhile, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) took aim at Vietnam's new cybersecurity law, which comes into force on Jan. 1, saying it will seriously undermine rights and called on the country to revise the legislation to bring it into line with international law. Vietnam's National Assembly adopted the 43-article Law on Cybersecurity in June 2018, which tightens control of the internet and global tech companies operating in the communist country by requiring service providers to store data locally, verify user information, and disclose user data to authorities without a court order. The law will also further restrict citizens' use of the internet and require companies like Google and Facebook to delete posts considered "threatening" to national security. In early November, the Ministry of Public Security, which will enforce the law along with the Ministry of Information and Communications, issued a draft decree with detailed instructions for carrying out the law with two months allotted for public feedback. "This cybersecurity law is designed to further enable the Ministry of Public Security's pervasive surveillance to spot critics, and to deepen the Communist Party's monopoly on power," Phil Robertson, HRW's deputy Asia director, said in a statement. "If this law is enacted, anyone who uses the internet in Vietnam will have zero privacy," he said. 'Direct defiance' Opponents both inside and outside the country have said that the law could cause economic harm and stifle online dissent. Thousands of Vietnamese protesters took to the streets in rare demonstrations in several cities in June to protest the draft Law on Cybersecurity and government plans to grant long-term leases for foreign companies operating in special economic zones, prompting crackdowns by police who assaulted and arrested them. Nearly 130 people were convicted for participating in protests as of November, receiving sentences of up to five years in prison, HRW said. Within four months after the law was passed, almost 70,000 people had signed an online petition to urge the government to postpone the legislation and revise it, HRW said. In a September letter to Federica Mogherini, European high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, and Cecilia Malmstr�_m, European Union commissioner for trade, some members of the European parliament said Vietnam should revise the law and bring it into compliance with international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the country is a party. "Vietnam's Law on Cybersecurity and the accompanying decree trample on individual privacy in direct defiance of Hanoi's promises to the European Union to respect rights," Robertson said. He called on EU member states to postpone any vote on a free trade agreement with Vietnam until the country revises the law and demonstrates improvements to its "abysmal" human rights record

On 19 December 2018, a gathering of registered NGOs was abruptly shut down, and their annual civil society workshop cancelled by government authorities.

Vietnamese democracy activists Nguyen Van Trang and Le Van Thuong are wanted for overthrowing their country's communist government, police told RFA's Vietnamese Service on Tuesday. The two members of the banned Brotherhood for Democracy are being sought for "activities aiming to overthrow the people's administration" under article 109 of the revised Vietnamese penal code, police in Thanh Hoa and Quang Ngai provinces told RFA by telephone. "I was told by my family that representatives from Thanh Hoa police came to my house and read their decision to prosecute me and then on Dec. 10 they came again to read the wanted notice, accusing me of overthrowing the government," Trang told RFA on Tuesday. "I will have to hide and continue my fight until Vietnam has democracy,' he said. "I had gone into hiding before they issued their decision to prosecute me. I was told by family and friends that they have been searching for me from the north to the south," added Trang, who is in his late 20s. Thuong, 30, was the subject of a wanted notice issued by Quang Ngai police on Nov. 26, more than two weeks after he had fled the area, the police said. Police asked anybody who sees Thuong to turn him in. Article 109 has been widely condemned by rights groups and legal experts for allowing a person to be imprisoned up to five years for "preparing to criticize the state or preparing to join an independent political group disapproved by the government," Human Rights Watch said in an analysis in 2017, after the penal code revisions were unveiled. "A number of vaguely-worded articles related to national security crimes are often used to prosecute people for exercising basic rights, and now they can be (mis)used in even more circumstances," said HRW of the amended code, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2018. Vietnam's one-party communist government-which controls all media, censors the internet, and restricts basic freedoms of expression-is currently detaining more than 200 political prisoners, Nguyen Kim Binh of Vietnam Human Rights Network said in a speech Sunday in California.

On 11 December 2018), Nguyen Van Trang and Le Van Thuong, two members of the banned Brotherhood for Democracy were sought for "activities aiming to overthrow the people's administration" under article 109 of the revised Vietnamese penal code

Authorities in the central province of Thanh Hoa have officially accused local resident Nguyen Van Trang of "carrying out activities aiming to overthrow the government" under Article 109 of the country's 2015 Penal Code. The province's Police Department reportedly launched an investigation against him, and issued an arrest warrant for the young activist member of the unsanctioned group Brotherhood for Democracy. Trang, 27, who is hiding in a safe place, is facing severe imprisonment if is arrested and convicted. In the past few years, authorities in Thanh Hoa have conducted a number of acts to harass the activist, including requesting Hong Duc University's leadership where Trang was studying undergraduate program not to allow him to participate in the final examination for a bachelor degree. The Brotherhood for Democracy is the main target of Vietnam's ongoing crackdown. Eight key members of the group named Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thu Ha, Pham Van Troi, Truong Minh Duc, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Van Tuc, Tran Thi Xuan and Nguyen Trung Truc were charged with subversion and sentenced to between seven and 15 years in prison this year. According to Vietnam's law, individuals convicted of subversion may face life imprisonment or even death penalty.

On 12 December 2018 Nguyen Van Trang, a pro-democracy activist fighting as part of the Brotherhood of Democracy, was accused of "carrying out activities aiming to overthrow the government" under Article 109 of the country's 2015 Penal Code.

On December 10, security forces in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau kidnapped local female activist Tran Thi Ty, holding her for interrogation for two days before releasing her next day. In the morning of Monday, Ms. Ty took her mother on her motorbike to a local market in Xuyen Moc district. Dozens of police and plainclothes agents stopped her vehicle near Phuoc Buu Pagoda and took her away. Police did not issue arrest warrant, said her family. On the late afternoon of December 11, police released her after interrogation about her social activities for hours. Ms. Ty is a daughter of local activist Tran Van Thuong. Due to their activities aiming to promote human rights and religious freedom, the family has been under constant harassment of the local police, including detentions and economic blockage.

On 10 December 2018, Tran Thi Ty, a women human rights defender, was kidnapped by police and plain clothes agents who held her for interrogation for two days before releasing her next day.

Security officers of Ho Chi Minh City's Police Department are still striving to interrogate the wife and the older daughter of democracy activist Tran Thanh Phuong, who was arbitrarily detained by the city's police in early September this year. Mrs. Le Khanh has informed Defend the Defenders that she and her daughter are targetted by the city's police who are willing to summon them for questioning about activities of her husband. Mr. Phuong is still held incommunicado by the city's police since his detention on September 2. On December 3, when she went to the city police's Temporary detention facility where her husband is held to provide him with food, investigation officers told her that they were willing to ask her about her husband's activities. Police officers also told her that they will summon her daughter Tran Le Thanh Hato a police station for the same purpose. Her daughter is only 13 years old. In mid October, police sent a summoning letter to request the kid to go to a local police station for interrogation about her father, however, she did not obey by the police's request. Mr. Phuong is a member of the unregistered group of activists named Hi?n Ph��p (Constitution) which is striving to educatepeople abouthuman rights as well as political and civil rights by disseminating Vietnam's 2013 Constitution among citizens. Its members were key figures in the mass demonstration on June 10 in HCM City which aimed to protest the Vietnamese parliament's plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. In the first week of September, in order to prevent public demonstrations during the three-day holiday on the occasion of the Vietnamese Independence Day (September 2) amid online calls for public gathering, security forces in HCM City arrested and kidnapped many government critics, including nine members of the Hi?n Ph��p group. The police in HCM City havekidnapped Mr. Phuong and took him into custody without informing his family about his arrest and detention. Six other members of the group are also kept in the same facility. So far, only four members of the group were charged with controversial articles of the national security provisions in the 2015 Penal Code. Two activists Ngo Van Dung and Ho Van Cuong were accused of "disruption of security" under Article 118, Huynh Truong Ca was alleged with "anti-state propaganda" under Article 117 while Le Minh The was said to had abused democratic freedom under Article 331. Police released Hung Hung but still hold Doan Thi Hong, Tran Hoang Lan, Do The Hoa and Tran Thanh Phuong without announcingformal charges against them. Vietnam's communist regime has intensified its relentless crackdown on local dissent which started in early 2016 when the ruling communist party elected its new leadership with many police generals holding senior posts in the party and state apparatuses. In 2016-2017, Vietnam arrested around 50 activists. So far this year, Hanoi has detained 27 human rights defenders and democracy campaigners and convicted 39 individuals, sentencing them to a total 294.5 years in prison and 66 years of probation. In addition, hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were beaten, detained and tortured. As many as 56 of them were sentenced to between eight and 54 months in prison due to their participation in the mid-June protest.

On 4 December 2018 the wife and the older daughter of democracy activist Tran Thanh Phuong, who was arbitrarily detained by the city's police in early September this year was told that they wanted to summon them both to be questioned for interrogation about Tran Thanh Phuong

Thugs supported by police have brutally attacked a group of four activists during their visit to families of imprisoned mid-June protesters in Vietnam's southern province of Dong Nai, the victims informed Defend the Defenders. In early evening of December 7, four activists named Huynh Tan Tuyen, Nguyen Thanh Hai, Vo Ngoc Trai and Ms. Ngoc Anh travelled with a car from their native province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to Dong Nai in a bid to pay visits to some families of 15 local people who were convicted and imprisoned on charge of "causing public disorders" due to their participation in peaceful demonstration in Bien Hoa city on June 10. The victims said their journey was closely monitored by security forces. Firstly, trafic police stopped their car for administrative check and dozens of plainclothes agents followed their vehicle. When they were on their way about thirty kilometers to Bien Hoa city, plainclothes agents started their attack against the activists' vehicle. Thugs riding on motorbikes threw big stones to their car, breaking the vehicle's glasses and injuring the travellers. One of stones injured Ms. Ngoc Anh's head while Mr. Trai got severe injury. He lost a lot of blood but activists were forced to keep going because they felt that thugs would kill them if they stopped. Later, the activists decided to turn their car to return to Vung Tau and arrived in Phuoc Buu pagoda at 10.30 PM. Until then, Mr. Trai received necessary aid for his injury. Nearly all glasses of Mr. Hai's car were broken. Mr. Tuyen, who was beaten by security forces and lost three teeth while participated in the mass demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-June, said it was nightmare and they luckily escaped the thugs' attack without being killed. Ms. Ngoc Anh said she still feels great pain on her head. After the peaceful demonstration in Bien Hoa city on June 10, local authorities arrested dozens of participants. On July 30, they convicted 20 protesters on allegation of "disrupting public orders" under Article 318 of the 2015 Penal Code, sentencing 15 of them with between eight months and 18 months in prison and giving probation for remaining five. In an appeal hearing on November 9, the imprisonment sentences were upheld. One week prior to the appeal hearing, thugs also assaulted three lawyers named Dang Dinh Manh, Nguyen Van Mieng and Trinh Vinh Phuc from Ho Chi Minh City on their way to meet with Bien Hoa city-based jailed protesters to prepare for their defense.

On 7 December 2018, Huynh Tan Tuyen, Nguyen Thanh Hai, Vo Ngoc Trai and Ms. Ngoc, were brutally attacked during their visit to families of imprisoned mid-June protesters in Vietnam's southern province of Dong Nai.

Female activists Doan Thi Hong (Facebooker Xuan Hong) and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh (Facebooker Tran Hoang Lan) may be charged with the allegation of "disrupting security" under Article 118 of the country's 2015 Penal Code, Defend the Defenders has learned. The two activists, detained in early September this year, are held incommunicado by the police of Ho Chi Minh City for investigation. They have been not permitted to meet with lawyers or families since being kidnapped on September 2-3. Having legal contract with the family of single mother Hong, the Hong Duc Law firm of attorney Dang Dinh Manh had contacted with the city's Police Department to request for meeting with her, however, the police said she will not be allowed to meet with lawyers during the investigation period which may be from four months to 16 months, according to the 2015 Crimimal Code Procedure. Police said Hanh was the head of the group which is accussed of disrupting security. According to the 2015 Penal Code, the people accused of "disrupting security" may face imprisonment of up to 15 years if are convicted. Ms. Hong and Ms. Hanh are among nine members of the unregistered group Hien Phap (Constitution) kidnapped or arrested in early September. The 18-member group established in mid 2017 works to promote human, political and civil rights in the one-party nation by disseminating Vietnam's 2013 Constitution to educate citizens on their rights. Between September 1 and October 10, security forces in Vietnam arrested Mr. Huynh Truong Ca and Mr. Le Minh The, and kidnapped Mr. Do The Hoa, Mr. Ho Dinh Cuong, Mr. Tran Thanh Phuong, Mr. Hung Hung, and Mr. Thao Pham. The last one was released after several days of interrogation. Police have charged Mr. Ca of "conducting anti-state propaganda" under Article 117, Mr. Cuong and Mr. Dung with "disrupting security" under Article 118, and Mr. Le Minh The with "abusing democratic freedom" under Article 331 of the Penal Code. The remaining five are without formal charges. However, police have yet to inform their families about their arrest and detention. The arrests and detention of nine members of the Hien Phap are part of the intensified crackdown on local dissent after the mass demonstration in mid June in which tens of thousands of people from different social groups rallied in major cities such as HCM City, Hanoi, Danang, Bien Hoa, Nha Trang, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. Other activists and bloggers arrested in late August and early September included shrimp farmer Nguyen Ngoc Anh, safe food campaigner Hoang Thi Thu Vang, bloggers Truong Dinh Khanh, Nguyen Hong Nguyen, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, Doan Khanh Vinh Quang and Bui Manh Dong. Mrs. Vang was charged with Article 118 while others were alleged with "conducting anti-state propaganda." Some activists said a number of other government critics have been arrested and held incommunicado since September, however, Defend the Defenders couldn't verify their cases. So far this year, Vietnam arrested 25 human rights defenders and convicted 39 democracy activists with a total 294.5 years in prison and 66 years of probation. As many as 21 activists are held in pre-trial detention. Vietnamese communists have rulled the country for decades and their government has little tolerance with critics. According to Now!Campaign, a coalition of Defend the Defenders and 13 other domestic and international NGOs, Vietnam is holding at least 248 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi always denies of holding prisoners of conscience, saying it is imprisoning law violators only.

On 3 December 2018, Doan Thi Hong (Facebooker Xuan Hong) and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh (Facebooker Tran Hoang Lan), WHRDs, has been summoned by police to potentially be be charged with the allegation of "disrupting security" under Article 118 of the country's 2015 Penal Code,

Vietnamese activist Nguyen Trung Ton, currently serving a 12-year jail sentence, is being punished by prison authorities for maintaining his innocence of charges he plotted to overthrow his country's communist government, his wife said on Friday. Shortly after visiting her husband in prison, Nguyen Thi Lanh told RFA's Vietnamese Service that prison authorities are forcing him to sit separately from the other inmates as he reviews prison rules because they are worried that he may influence the others. "They are trying to force him to write a confession every day and accept the accusations against him, but he refuses," Nguyen Thi Lanh, said. "He told them he is fighting for democracy so that people can enjoy all the freedoms specified by the international convention on human rights," she said, adding, "My husband is very firm, and he accepts his imprisonment[over falsely pleading guilty]." Arrested on July 30, 2017 by Vietnamese security officers because of his connection with the Brotherhood for Democracy group, Nguyen was accused of plotting to overthrow the government and charged under Article 79 of Vietnam's penal code. Taken into custody at around the same time were fellow Brotherhood for Democracy members Nguyen Van Tuc, Pham Van Troi, Truong Minh Duc, and Nguyen Bac Truyen, according to information provided by relatives and the website of Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security. Judicial authorities in Hanoi handed down harsh prison terms to Nguyen and five other Brotherhood for Democracy members on April 5, 2018, earning the condemnation of international rights groups who had called for the charges of subversion to be dropped. Vietnam's one-party communist government is currently detaining at least 130 political prisoners, including rights advocates and bloggers deemed threats to national security, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch. It also controls all media, censors the internet, and restricts basic freedoms of expression.

On 7 December 2018, Nguyen Trung Ton, a member of Brotherhood for Democracy who currently serving a 12-year jail sentence, was reportedly punished by prison authorities for maintaining his innocence of charges he plotted to overthrow his country's communist government,

On November 30, the People's Court of Buon Ho town in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Dak Lak convicted local human rights defender and political blogger Huynh Thuc Vy on charge of "Affronting the national flag or national emblem" under Article 276 of the country's 1999 Penal Code. The court sentenced her to two years and nine months in prison, however, she will serve her sentence once her daughter becomes three years old. Her child is now around 26 months. The court also ruled that she will have to stay under house arrest and cannot leave her area. Authorities in Dak Lak deployed large number of police and militia to block all roads leading to the court areas to prevent local activists from gathering near the area to support her. A number of activists were summoned to local police stations. Few days before the trial, Vy announced that she is pregnant in the 8th week for the second child. If so, she will not be able to serve her sentence until the second child becomes three years old. The incident started in September last year, on the occasion of the Vietnamese Independence Day (September 2) as Vy posted a picture of her with the Vietnamese national flag which was tained with paint on her Facebook account. Someone said she intentionally defamed the flag that she has never recognized. On August 9 this year, police in Dak Lakdetained herafter she denied police's request to go to a local police station for interrogation about the incident occured last year.She was released in late evening of the same day. Police also searched her house and confiscated her laptop, Ipad, books and other items. They summoned her on October 16 and returned some of these items. Later, police announced to charge her with "disrespecting the national flag" and placed her under house arrest. They also issued a decision banning her from travel abroad. Vy, 33, is the oldest child of former political prisoner Huynh Ngoc Tuan, who spent ten years in prison in 1992-2002 for sending his political book abroad. She has posted a number of articles for human rights and multi-party democracy, including a book tittled "Nh?n ??nh S? th?t T? do v�_ Nh��n quy?n" (A view on Truth, Freedom and Human Rights). She also advocates for rights of ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands, often visiting families of prisoners of conscience in the region. She is among founders of the unsanctioned organization Vietnam Women for Human Rights, and was its president before getting maternal leave. She is banned from foreign trip as police confiscated her passport when she was on her way to attend a workshop on cyber security organized by Reporters Without Formers in Bangkok in June 2015. She was interrogated many times in the past. In 2012, she was arrested by the police, put in a car that went for a 1,000kms. She was then interrogated continuously for 12 hours, before being dropped at a fuel station at midnight. In May, the British Broad Corporation (BBC) listed Vy as one of five female activists who are risking their lives to protect others' rights. Other activists include Wang Yu from China, Maria Chin Abdullah from Malaysia, Anchana Heemina from Thailand and Phyoe Phyoe Aung from Myanmar. Since 2013, Mr. Tuan's family has been suppressed by police. He was brutally assailed by plainclothes agents several times and suffered a number of severe injuries. The family of his youngest child, Huynh Trong Hieu, was forced to flee to Thailand to seek for political asylum. Under police's pressure, Vy and her husband Duy were forced to leave Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ho several years ago where they are running coffee business. The conviction against Vy aims to silence her as the charge against her is the first kind of persecution against local dissident. One day ahead of the trial, the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International issued a statement calling Vietnam to drop all charge against her. "This ludicrous charge must be dropped as it is aimed solely at silencing a dedicated, peaceful human rights activist. This is a politically motivated prosecution, brought by the authorities in response to Huynh Thuc Vy's tireless work to expose human rights violations in Viet Nam and hold the powerful to account," said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. "For the authorities to use the charge of "insulting the national flag' to curb peaceful criticism underlines the worsening crackdown on the right to freedom of expression in Vietnam. The real insult here is the lack of respect the authorities are showing for human rights and international law and standards."

On 30 November 2018, Huynh Thuc Vy, WHRD and founder of the unsanctioned organization Vietnam Women for Human Right, was sentenced to 33 months in prison on charge of "Affronting the national flag or national emblem" under Article 276 of the country's 1999 Penal Code.

Authorities in central Vietnam's coastal city Danang on Friday ordered the detention of at least 10 protesters who opposed being forcibly evicted from their homes in the latest development in a long-running land grab case in Con Dau parish, one of the evictees told RFA's Vietnamese Service. About 500 people, including policemen and security guards, were mobilized along with an ambulance, a fire truck, and a digger to forcibly evict seven families and demolish their homes in the Catholic community in Cam Le district to make way for an ongoing ecotourism development project, said evicted resident Huynh Ngoc Truong. "Two families including at least 10 people were detained," he said. The families say they have been shortchanged on the compensation that officials have offered them for their homes and the land on which they cultivate rice. They have been offered 50,000 dong (U.S. $2.14) per square meter for farmland, though officials have resold the plots to developers for 20 million-40 million dong (U.S. $856-$1,712) per square meter, Truong said. "My family has 7,000 square meters of farmland and 1,600 square meters of housing," he said, but did not state the amount of money he had been offered. Danang officials have offered new settlements to the parishioners, but many do not want to move to the sites, preferring instead to relocate to an area near their church, Truong said. On Thursday, national radio broadcaster Voice of Vietnam and daily state newspaper Tuoi Tre quoted parish officials as saying that the compensation amount should be enough for residents to be able to move and for those who have already relocated to new settlements to have better lives. Those arrested are part of a larger group of 100 remaining families in the parish who have been slated by officials for relocation to make way for the Hoa Xuan urban ecological zone. The development project was initiated in 2008 with investment from the privately-owned Vietnamese real estate developer Sun Group after the Danang government decided to expropriate the land of Con Dau parish a year earlier and to demolish all houses there. At that time, officials asked about 400 families from the parish to move out so the land on which their homes sat could be leased to the investor. But the residents opposed the project, citing inadequate compensation and housing alternatives in a distant location. They were also rattled by the idea of having to abandon the parish cemetery, a national culture heritage site, which authorities later demolished and removed to a remote area. Though many of the 400 families did not want to move and complained that the compensation offered to them was not enough, some of them agreed to relocate, while others fled to Thailand after a violent clash with police in 2010. In October of that year, Vietnamese authorities sentenced two people to jail for clashes over the land dispute between residents and Con Dau parish authorities that highlighted alleged police brutality and religious persecution. A Danang court ordered one resident to 12 months in jail on accusations that he led a May funeral protest that sparked the confrontation between villagers and police. He was one of six people held without trial by police for their roles in the protests. A female resident received nine months in jail for "throwing dirty stuff" at police during the cemetery clashes at the funeral of an 82-year-old woman. Police prevented the burial because the land was to be transferred for the ecotourism project. Four others, also convicted for alleged offenses at the funeral protests, were given suspended nine-month jail sentences and were released and placed under probation. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a religious watchdog set up by U.S. law, called for the unconditional release of those arrested after its staff conducted interviews with Con Dau residents and found "credible evidence of intimidation, harassment, restrictions on peaceful religious ceremonies, and torture in detention." Hundreds of residents later left the parish in 2013 on account of threats and the forced destruction of some of their homes, as land use rights were reportedly being sold by lots to private individuals, according to a statement issued in March 2014 by the U.N.'s human rights office (OHCHR). The Danang government gave the remaining hundred or so families a deadline of April 15, 2014, to forfeit their land and move, while the compulsory demolition of homes continued. U.N. human rights experts took up the plight of the Con Dau residents and called on the Vietnamese government to intervene in the forced evictions of the last remaining residents. "This appears to be a clear case of land grabbing for the benefit of private entrepreneurs and at the expense of local communities," Raquel Rolnik, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to housing, said in a statement at the time.

On 9 November 2018 at least 10 protesters who opposed being forcibly evicted from their homes in the latest development in a long-running land grab case in Con Dau parish, were arrested

In late evening of November 21, Vietnam's security forces detained and interrogated freelance journalist Le Thi Thu (Facebooker Thu Le) for second time within two weeks, the victim has told Defend the Defenders. Speaking with Defend the Defenders, Ms. Thu said officers from District 12, Ho Chi Minh City detained her and her five-year-old daughter when they were staying in a hotel, and took her and her kid to the Hiep Thanh ward's police station for questioning about her activities. Police released her and her daughter at around 8AM of next day. They wanted to hold her cell phone and Macbook but met strong protest from her who said she would go to the Ministry of Public Security to protest to get the items returned if they confiscate them. Meanwhile, in early morning of November 21, security forces in Hanoi detained local activist Le Hong Phong to Bo De ward's police station for questioning and release him in late evening. It is unclear whether the two detentions were related. Ms. Thu is a former of a local website Dan Tri. She has been covering reports on different issues, including unjustice, environment, land grabbing, and social disatisfaction. On November 9, she was arrested and beaten by Dong Nai province's police for interviewing relatives of mid-June peaceful protesters on the day of their appeal. Due to her reports, she has been under harassment of Vietnam's security forces. Last year, when she covered a protest of traders in the Saigon-based An Dong Market, police detained her, snabbed her face and broke her Macbook, she said. In other times, police confiscated her cell phones and left her at an remote area near the border between Vietnam and Cambodia, she said. In Vietnam where communists have ruled for decades, the government strictly controls media. Dozens of bloggers and independent journalists have been harassed and jailed. Vietnam's press freedom index is ranked at the 175th out of 179 countries in the Reporters Without Borders' 2018Report, unchanged from previous years.

On 21 November 2018, Le Thi Thu (Facebooker Thu Le), a freelance journalist who often writes about social issues, was detained and interrogated for second time within two weeks by Vietnam's security forces

Bui Van Trung and Nguyen Hoang Nam, who were convicted and imprisoned due to their religious activities as Hoa Hao Buddhist followers, have been treated inhumanely and transferred further away from their native province of An Giang. According to their relatives, Mr. Trung was handcuffed while being transferred from Phuoc Hoa Prison camp in Tien Giang province to An Phuoc Prison Camp in Binh Duong province on November 14. On the same day, Mr. Nam, whose body was covered with his blood, was taken from Tien Giang to Xuan Loc Prison camp in Dong Nai province. He was likely beaten by prison guards before being transferred. Nam is still suffering from injuries in his eyes and head due to police's torture months ago when he protested handcuffing Mr. Trung during his transfer from Bang Lang temporary detention facility in An Giang province to Phuoc Hoa Prison camp. At that time, two policemen reportedly used electric shock prodsto attack him. The transfers of the two activists and the inhumane treatment against them are in a reprisal of Phuoc Hoa Prison camp's authorities for their objection to forced labor imposed by the prison and their refusal to make false confession, said their families. Nam and Trung were arrested on June 26/6/2017 together with Trung's wife Le Thi Hen, son Bui Van Tham and daughter Bui Thi Bich Tuyen, as well as Le Thi Hong Hanh on the day of memorizing Trung's mother. As they are followers of independent Hoa Hoa Buddhist sect, authorities in An Giang did not want them to gather in Trung's house but they rejected and protested so police came to disperse them, arresting people and accusing them of "causing public disorders" and "rejecting on-duty state officials." In their trial on February 9 this year, Trung and his son were sentenced to six years in prison, Nam- four years, Hanh and Tuyen to three years each, Mrs. Hen was given two years of probation. The People's Court of An Giang rejected their appeals on the appeal hearing in late May and upheld their sentences. All of them were listed as prisoners of conscience by Now!Campaign, a coalition of 14 domestic and international civil organizations working for release of all prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.

On 14 November 2018,Bui Van Trung and Nguyen Hoang Nam, who were convicted and imprisoned due to their religious activities as Hoa Hao Buddhist followers, have been treated inhumanely and transferred further away from their native province of An Giang.

The family of a jailed Vietnamese pro-Democracy activist suspects that the latest in a series of health problems during his incarceration could be the result of poisoning at the hands of prison authorities. Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, who has been serving a 16-year sentence under Article 79 of the country's penal code for writing online articles criticizing the Vietnamese government, had a monthly visit with his family on November 24, at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An Province, where he discussed in detail a case of sudden illness. Tran's brother, Tran Huynh Duy Tan told RFA's Vietnamese Service that during the visit, Tran said that on November 20 "at around 5:15 a.m. he felt very dizzy, was sweating profusely, and that after drinking water he had a bout of bloody vomiting and a headache." "He checked his own blood pressure, which was extremely high at 150/110," the brother said. Normal blood pressure is between 90/60 and 120/80. According to the 88 Project, while resting, Tran vomited a yellow and green liquid. The Illinois-based Vietnamese political prisoner advocacy nonprofit said the prison's medical staff then examined him and gave him two pills for "cerebral blood flow deficiency," which he also immediately regurgitated. "At about 7 a.m. his blood pressure returned to normal and he was able to eat breakfast, but felt very tired all day," said Tran's brother. His health returned to normal the following day. The sudden nature of the vomiting combined with the rapid return to health is what caused the family to suspect foul play. During the visit Tran also asked his family to consult a doctor to determine possible causes of his sudden illness. He also said that since that day he is refusing to eat prison food, instead subsisting on instant noodles. "He said that prison guards threatened to stop providing him with boiling water to cook the noodles, but said he would eat them raw if necessary," Tran's brother said. The 88 Project wrote that the prison now appears to be trying to make life difficult for Tran, taking away not only his access to boiling water, but also denying him a flashlight, a sphygmomanometer, or a glucose meter. When he asked them to explain their legal basis for taking away these privileges, he got no reply. RFA reached out to Dr. Dinh Duc Long of the Post Office Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss the family's suspicions. "I don't have his health records. I only have the information the family provided. I think the vomiting might just be a sign of an empty stomach," the doctor said. "However, cerebral blood flow deficiency, which is what the prison's health officers diagnosed, should be immediately treated," he added. RFA attempted to contact the prison using its publicly listed phone number, but was unable to connect. The 88 project said that the information about Tran's sudden illness matches that which a foreign diplomat last week relayed to Le Cong Dinh, a U.S.-trained human rights lawyer who was sentenced to five years in the same case against Tran in 2010. The diplomat said that authorities are trying to use mental torture to force Tran to confess guilt so he can be released and stay inside Vietnam, as he refuses to accept exile as has been offered by the Vietnamese government. According to previous RFA reports, Tran's health has been an ongoing issue this year. In August he had initiated a hunger strike and family members described him as tired and thin, while in April they were worried that the absence of light in his cell was causing him vision problems.

On 20 November 2018, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, who has been serving a 16-year sentence under Article 79 of the country's penal code for writing online articles criticizing the Vietnamese government, became ill after drinking water provided to him in prison

Defend the Defenders: Freelance journalist Le Thi Thu has been arrested and beaten by Dong Nai province's police for interviewing relatives of mid-June peaceful protesters on the day of their appeal, the victim has informed Defend the Defenders. Ms. Thu, who was a former reporter of a local website Dan Tri, said when she interviewed relatives of some convicted demonstrators in a cafeteria near the People's Court of Dong Nai on the sidelines of their appeal in Bien Hoa city on November 9, she was detained by men in plain clothes who introduced themselves as police officers from the security police unit of Dong Nai province's Police Department. The police officers ordered her to stay when she tried to leave the cafeteria, and grabbed her two cell phones. About 15 minutes later, around the lunch time of Friday, police from Hoa Binh Ward came and they took her to the ward's police station. In the station, police confiscated her belongings, Thu said, noting that inhumane treatment of police against her started. Police requested her to provide them with information of these people who were together with me in the cafeteria. They also asked her personal information, she said. In the early evening of the same day, a police officer named Do Anh Tuan, who introduced himself as a deputy head of the Security Police Unit of the province's Police Department, suddenly grabbed her two phones and threw them at her. Tuan then pressed against her to grab the back of her neck and jerk her back, one hand choking her neck. Afterwards, he released his hands from her neck, tightly clenched her hair, and pounded her head on a table. As he pulled her hair up again, Tuan used his other hand to grab her jaw to raise her face, lowering his next to her's to say, "Look at my face this way," and pressed his forehead against her's one. These actions happened continuously and sequentially as outlined above. Later, Tuan said,"Your phones are so dirty, let me wash them." He then took them to a bathroom where he submerged them in water in the sink. Finally, at 08:00, he and another police officer constrained Thu's hands and forced her down to the first floor of the police station and requested her to leave. On the way home from the police station, Tuan and some other police officers followed in a car behind her. When Thu stopped at a restaurant, he threatened her and did not allow her to eat, instead forcing her to continue to drive. This has been one of series of Ms. Thu's assaults and detentions carried out by Vietnam's police in recent years after she left Dan Tri and works as freelancer, she told Defend the Defenders. Last year, when she covered a protest of traders in the Saigon-based An Dong Market, police detained her, snabbed her face and broke her Macbook, she said. In other times, police confiscated her cell phones and left her at an remote area near the border between Vietnam and Cambodia, she said. Meanwhile, at noon of November 9, the People's Court of Dong Nai upheld the sentences of 15 peaceful demonstrators given by the People's Court of Bien Hoa City in the first-instance hearing on July 30. The defendants were sentenced to between eight months and 18 months in prison for participation in the mass proteston June 10 this year which aimed to protest the communist regime's plan to pass two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security.The first is likely to favor Chinese investors to hire land for 99 years amid increasing concerns about Beijing's aggressiveness in the South China Sea while the second aims to silence online critics.

On 12 November 2018, Le Thi Thu Freelance journalist, was arrested and beaten by Dong Nai province's police for interviewing relatives of mid-June peaceful protesters on the day of their appeal

Police in Vietnam's Central Highlands set fire to the store room of a Cao Dai priest's coffee plantation this week, angered that he had escaped their surveillance in order to meet with U.S. diplomats in Saigon, the priest said on Friday. Speaking to RFA's Vietnamese Service, Hua Phi-head of the Cao Dai Church in Lam Dong province's Duc Trong district-said that he discovered the damage after he returned from his meeting in Saigon, also called Ho Chi Minh City. "I visited my coffee plantation, but when I entered the storage area, I saw the door had been broken in and all three rooms set ablaze. All the equipment there was damaged," he said. District police had come to ask about him while he was away, and learned that he had gone to Saigon, Hua Phi said. "Even though they were supposed to watch me night and day, I was still able to get out, and they were so angry that they burned all my tools," he said. The arson attack followed an assault by police on June 22, when uniformed and plainclothes officers burst in Hua Phi's home, covered his head with clothes, and beat him unconscious, the Vietnamese rights group Defend the Defenders said in a June 23 report. Family members said that three hours before the attack, two police officers had arrived to deliver a summons requiring him to report to authorities because of an administrative fine imposed on him for his activities, Defend the Defenders said. "I refused to go' In January, Hua Phi had ignored similar calls to meet with police, he told RFA in an earlier report. "The Communist Party has established an official branch[of the Cao Dai faith] in order to control us, the unofficial one," Hua Phi said. "From Jan. 12 to Jan. 28, I received a total of seven summonses from the police requiring me to meet with them related to my having "offended the nation," Hua Phi said. "But I refused to go, because the charges are untrue." On Jan. 29, police arrived in a taxi to take him to their station, where they accused him of having communicated with international media and foreign delegations, Hua Phi told RFA. "There were eight provincial police officers there, along with four district police officers, and some communal police officers. In the end they put me under so much pressure that I fainted and they had to call a cab to take me home," he said. Vietnam's government officially recognizes the Cao Dai faith, which combines elements of many religions, but imposes harsh controls on dissenting groups who do not follow the state-sanctioned branches.

On 9 November 2018, Hua Phi__�head of the Cao Dai Church in Lam Dong province's Duc Trong district and a strong advocate for freedom of religion and belief - came home to find that his property had been set on fire by police who were angered that he had escaped their surveillance in order to meet with U.S. diplomats in Saigon

Three human rights lawyers named Dang Dinh Manh, Nguyen Van Mieng and Trinh Vinh Phuc have been attacked by unknown individuals few days ahead of the appeal hearing of 15 peaceful demonstraters, Defend the Defenders has learned. Lawyer Manh said that the three attorneys went to Bien Hoa with his car in the morning of November 6 to meet with their clients to prepare for their defense in the appeal hearing set on November 9. When they were inside the car and ready to move, they heard a bid explosion and saw the window glass of the car's right side broke. It was likely some individuals shot Manh's car with a hand-made device. However, it was not a gun, according to how the glass broke, said the lawyers who remained safe after the attack. Manh, Mieng and Phuc are among few lawyers who often involve in political cases in recent years to protect local dissidents. The assault may be made due to their participation in the appeal hearing of 15 peaceful protesters from Bien Hoa city which will be carried out by the People's Court of Dong Nai province. The convicted protesters challenged the decision of the People's Court of Bien Hoa city made on July 30 in a trial in which 15 out of 20 peaceful demonstrators were sentenced to between eight and 18 months in prison just because of joining peaceful demonstration on June 10 to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. After the trial, lawyer Manh said authorities in Dong Nai threatened the convicted protesters, saying they should not appeal the court's decision otherwise they may receive harder sentences. This is the second attack against Vietnamese lawyers in recent years. In 2016, Hanoi-based human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan were also attacked by plainclothes agents when they went to visit the family of Do Dang Du, who was beaten to death while being held in a detention center under the authority of the Hanoi Police Department. Later, communal policemen came to the lawyers' private residence to apologize for the attack and ask for forgiveness. In mid June, tens of thousands of Vietnamese from different social groups rallied on streets in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Nha Trang, Hanoi, Binh Duong, Binh Thuan and other localities in a nationwide demonstration to protest Vietnamese communist regime's plan to approve the two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The first is likely to favor Chinese investors to hire land for 99 years amid increasing concerns about Beijing's aggressiveness in the South China Sea while the second aims to silence online critics. In response to the demonstration biggest for decades, Vietnam's communist regime used violent measures to deal with peaceful protesters. Authorities in manylocations used water cannons, tear gas and riot police to disperse the demonstration. Police beat and arrested hundreds of protesters. So far, nearly 100 protesters have been convicted, 98 of them were sentenced to between eight and 54 months in prisons while eight of them were given probation of between five months and two years for allegation of causign public disorders. Vietnam's government is expected to prosecute many other mid-June protesters in coming weeks. A human rights defenders told Defend the Defenders that authorities in the central province of Binh Thuan have placed many protesters under house arrest and may try soon on allegation of disturbing public security.

On 6 November 2018, Dang Dinh Manh, Nguyen Van Mieng and Trinh Vinh Phuc, three human rights lawyers, have been attacked by unknown individuals few days ahead of the appeal hearing of 15 peaceful demonstraters.

Vietnam's authorities have imposed the administrative fines of VND7.5 million ($340) on local activist Dang Ngoc Thanh for production and dissemination of leaflets with the content opposing a bill on Special Economic Zones. On October 25, Ho Chi Minh City's Police Department issued a decision to request Mr. Thanh to pay a fine of VND2.5 million for "writing, disseminating and circulating 1,598 leaflets that have incorrect contents and defames the government. The leaflets was written "Say No to Giving Land to China even for One day." Four days later, the Department of Information and Communication of Tra Vinh province also imposed a fine of VND5 million on the activist for allegation of "providing, transfering, storing, and using information whit aim to threaten, harass or defame state officials." Between the two fines, on October 26-27, Thanh was detained by the police of Tra Vinh province. During his arrest and interrogation, Thanh was beaten by a police officer. Thanh, 25, is a blogger from Can Tho City but lives temporarily in Tra Vinh. He has posted a number of articles in his Facebook account to protest China's violations of Vietnam's sovereignty in the South China Sea. Thanh's detention is likely linked to the allegation that in early June he had disseminated leaflets in Can Tho City with the content calling for peaceful protest again the Vietnamese regime's plan to pass two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The first is likely to favor Chinese investors to hire land for 99 years amid increasing concerns about Beijing's aggressiveness in the South China Sea while the second aims to silence online critics. On October 9-11, tens of thousands of Vietnamese from different social groups rallied on streets in Hanoi, HCM City, Danang, Nha Trang, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Dong Nai and other localities to protest the two bills. In response to the public anger, Vietnam's security forces used violent measures to disperse the public gatherings, beating and detaining hundreds of peaceful demonstrators. So far, 56 protesters have been sentenced to between eight and 54 months in prison on allegation of "disrupting public orders" while tens of others, including eight members of the Hi?n Ph��p (Constitution) group, are still held in police custody and facing serious accusations such as "disrupting security" and "conducting anti-state propaganda" with punishment of up to 15 years and 20 years in prison, respectively. In September-October, Vietnam's authorities convicted five activists named Nguyen Hong Nguyen, Truong Dinh Khang, Doan Khanh Vinh Quang, Bui Manh Dong, and Nguyen Dinh Thanh to between one year and seven years in prison for posting and disseminating leaflets calling for opposing the two bills. The rights to freedom of peaceful expression both online and offline, and assembly have been violated seriously, especially in the past few years. Since the begining of 2018, Vietnam has arrested 27 activists and sentenced 39 human rights defenders and democracy campaigners with a total 294.5 years in prison and 66 years of probation. As many as 22 activists are in pre-trial detention with allegations in the national security provisions in the Penal Code. They are facing lengthy imprisonments if are convicted, according to the current Vietnamese law.

On 25 October 2018, Dang Ngoc Thanh, a local activist producing and dissemination of leaflets with the content opposing a bill on Special Economic Zones. was arrested after being beaten by police.

The Security Investigation Agency under Ho Chi Minh City's Police Department have summoned Tran Le Thanh Ha, the 13-year-old daughter of detained activist Tran Thanh Phuong, to police station for interrogation about his activities, Defend the Defenders has learned. Ha, who is a 8th class student, was requested to go with her mother Le Thi Khanh to the agency's office on October 15, 45 days after Mr. Phuong was kidnapped by local security forces. The girl did not obey by the police's request, saying she knows nothing about her father's activities. Mr. Phuong is a member of the unregistered group of activists named Hi?n Ph��p (Constitution) which is striving to educatepeople abouthuman rights as well as political and civil rights by disseminating Vietnam's 2013 Constitution among citizens. Its members were key figures in the mass demonstration on June 10 in HCM City which aimed to protest the Vietnamese parliament's plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. In the first week of September, in order to prevent public demonstrations during the three-day holiday on the occasion of the Vietnamese Independence Day (September 2) amid online calls for public gathering, security forces in HCM City arrested and kidnapped many government critics, including nine members of the Hi?n Ph��p group. The police in HCM City kidnapped Mr. Phuong on September 1 and took him into custody without informing his family about his arrest and detention. He is held in the temporary detention facility managed by the city's police located in Phan Dang Luu street. Six other members of the group are also kept in the same facility. So far, only four members of the group were charged with controversial articles of the national security provisions in the 2015 Penal Code. Two activists Ngo Van Dung and Ho Van Cuong were accused of "disruption of security" under Article 118, Huynh Truong Ca was alleged with "anti-state propaganda" under Article 117 while Le Minh The was said to had abused democratic freedom under Article 331. Police released Hung Hung but still hold Doan Thi Hong, Tran Hoang Lan, Do The Hoa and Tran Thanh Phuong without publicizing the charges against them. Meanwhile, local activists reported that the police of Tra Vinh province arrested Dang Van Thanh, 25, who is said to be linked with the to-be-established Vietnam National Coalition. On October 10, the People's Court of HCM City sentenced democracy campaigners Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Quoc Hoan, Nguyen Van Duc Do, Tu Cong Nghia and Phan Trung to between eight and 15 years in prison due to their links to the organization. Vietnam's communist regime has intensified its relentless crackdown on local dissent which started in early 2016 when the ruling communist party elected its new leadership with many police generals holding senior posts in the party and state aparatuse. In 2016-2017, Vietnam arrested around 50 activists. So far this year, Hanoi has detained 27 human rights defenders and democracy campaigners and convicted 39 individuals, sentencing them to a total 294.5 years in prison and 66 years of probation. In addition, hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were beaten, detained and tortured. As many as 56 of them were sentenced to between eight and 54 months in prison due to their participation in the mid-June protest.

On 15 October 2018, Ha, who is a 8th class student and the daughter of detained activist Tran Thanh Phuong, was requested to go with her mother Le Thi Khanh to the agency's office, 45 days after Mr. Phuong was kidnapped by local security forces.

On October 28, authorities in Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi are sending plainclothes police officers to station near private residences of many local activists in a bid to prevent them from going out for unknown reason. One of the victims, La Viet Dung's mother was beaten by policemen when Dung questioned the legelity of the blockage against him by the Dong Da district's police. When Dung and his mother requested explanation from the plainclothes agents and asked them not to block him from going out, policeman Duy slapped his mother, according to his video. Land rights activist Trinh Ba Tu recognized that the policeman named Duy was the officer who beat him in Dong Da district's police station on April 5 this year when the People's Court of Hanoi held the first-instance hearing against six key members of the unsanctioned group Brotherhood for Democracy. University lecturer Dao Thu was also barred from going to her university where she had a meeting with her students. In all cases, plainclothes police officers said they work under direction of their unit heads, however, they fail to show any legal documents to prove that when being questioned by their victims. The reason for blockages is likely to prevent Hanoi-based activists from gathering to mark the 7th anniversary of No-U football club established by activists who rallied on Hanoi's streets in 11 consecutive Sundays in mid-2011 to protest China's invasion of Vietnam's sovereignty in the South China Sea. In the past years, authorities in Hanoi strived to disperse activists from No-U's birthday parties, using plainclothes agents and thugs to attack participants. Mr. Dung, a well-known dissident and a member of No-U football club. He is one of activists who have been placed de facto house arrest in many occasions, especially when the local authorities think that local dissidents may gather together to hold public protests. He was attacked twice by plainclothes agents for his activities which aim to protect the country's sovereignty and promote human rights and democracy. He is also among more than one hundred of activists blocked from international trips.

On 28 October, Mr Dung, a well known activist who aims to protect the country's sovereignty, promote human rights and democracy, was surveilled by a plainclothes police officer and forbade him from leaving his home. The office also physically abused his mother when she questioned his presence.

Nguyen Van H�_a, a Catholic activist serving a seven-year prison term for "propaganda against the state", has been the victim of repeated abuses and pressure from prison guards, this according to Pham Le Vuong Cac, a friend of the dissident, who posted online the summary of a letter H�_a wrote to his family. In the letter, the 23-year-old blogger accuses the agents of trying to force him to testify against other dissidents in cases in which he is not involved. On 16 August, H�_a and fellow prisoners were brought to court, as witnesses against another accused Catholic activist. The three had been arrested for protesting against the government over its handling of the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group. In April 2016, a subsidiary of the company released toxic industrial waste in the coastal waters off H�_ T?nh province, central Vietnam, crippling the local fishing industry and tourist sector. In court, the two prisoners retracted the previous statements made against L??ng and defended him against the authorities' accusations. As a result, the deputy director of the Ngh? An Police Detention Centre dragged H�_a into another room of the courthouse and beat him. The court then claimed that he could not return to stand because of a stomach ailment. The activist filed a complaint for assault, but the authorities refused to proceed in the matter. In his letter, the Catholic blogger writes that two investigators from H�_ T?nh province threatened him during questioning over cases that had nothing to do with him. When the young man refused to cooperate, the two threatened to prosecute him in other cases. H�_a notes that as a stipulation of the verdict against him, his Facebook account should have been deleted, but instead it is being used by H�_ T?nh security, and that other fake accounts claiming to be his have been created for illegal purposes. The activist ends the letter by asking his family to contact the prison as soon as possible to check his conditions if they don't receive a phone call and two letters from him every month. The family says they are in regular contact with him. His sister said that she visited him on 16 October and at the beginning of this week, H�_a called her telling her that he had undergone an operation for a tumor.

On 25 October 2018, it was reported that Nguyen Van H�_a, a Catholic activist serving a seven-year prison term for "propaganda against the state", has reported being repeatedly abused and pressured by prison guards

On October 8, the People's Court of District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, convicted four citizens on charge of "disrupting public order" for their participation in the mass demonstration in mid-June this year. The court sentenced Nguyen Van Tuan, 30-year old man from Bac Giang province, to three years in prison, Truong Ngoc Hien, 21 from Thua Thien-Hue province, to two years, Nguyen Huynh Duc, 18 from Soc Trang province, and Bui Van Tien, 17 from Vinh Long province, to one year each in jail. Additionally, Tien was given two years of probation after completing his imprisonment. Tuan was ordered to pay a compensation of VND9.5 million ($410) for "causing property damage." Theindictment said they illegally conducted rally on streets in Tan Binh and Phu Nhuan districts and then to the city's center. They were accussed of demolishing some police's vehicles during the demonstration. On June 9-11, tens of thousands of Vietnamese in HCM City, Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang, Dong Nai, Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan rallied on streets to protest the plan of the National Assembly to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. The first is likely to favor Chinese investors to hire land for 99 years amid increasing concerns about Beijing's aggressiveness in the South China Sea while the second bill aims to silence online critics. In response, Vietnam's security forces violently suppressed demonstrations, arresting hundreds of protestors and charged many of them with "disrupting public order" under Article 318 of the 2015 Penal Code. So far, 65 protestors have been convicted, 56 of them were given prison sentences of between eight months and 4.5 years and eight of them were with probation of between five months and two years. In addition, Vietnamese American William Anh Nguyen was deported to the US after nearly two months of detention.

On 8 October 2018, four people who participated in the mid-June protest against the plan of the National Assembly to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security, were imprisoned.

Passport of Dr. Nguyen Quang A with forged handwritten change by Vietnam security forces on his birthday information. Vietnam's security forces have defaced the passport of prominent dissident Dr. Nguyen Quang A with their handwritten change on his birthday information, making his document ineligible for oversea travel, Defend the Defenders has learned. The police act likely aims to prevent him from going to Brussels this week for participating in a hearing on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement organized by the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) on October 10. Dr. A, one of leading figures of Vietnam's government critics, was invited to the event. He has had a plan to travel to the European capital city on October 8 to take part in it. However, several hours before he left for Noi Bai International Airport, a security officer from the Ministry of Public Security came to his private residence in Hanoi asking him to check for his documents' validity. After the officer left, Dr. A checked his passport and found out that his birthday information in his passport was forged by handwritten marks, particularly they erased his year of birth of 1946 and forged it to 1949. Dr. A recalled that on September 18, he was blocked from taking a flight to Ho Chi Minh City where he would take another flight to Australia. When security officers detained him, they took his passport and returned it him several hours later. He did not suspect that they would change his information in his passport by that way. Vietnam's communist regime has applied a number of tricks to prevent local dissents from meeting with foreign diplomats or attending international forums, especially events related to human rights and democracy. Dozens of activists have been denied of being granted with passports while hundreds of others have been blocked from taking international flights or their passports have been confiscated by police due to "national security" excuse. Since 2014, Vietnam's security has blocked Dr. A from going abroad for 20 times. Despite the incident, Dr. A went to Noi Bai International Airport to go to Brussels as planned. Unexpectedly, at the airport, the security officers came up and gave him the new passport with his correct personal information so he could take his flight to the EU. At the time of this story was written, Dr. A was boarded and on his way to Brussels.

On 8 October 2018, Dr. Nguyen Quang, prominent dissident, had his passport defaced by security forces, making his document ineligible for oversea travel.

Two members of the unregistered group Hi?n Ph��p out of eight members being kidnapped in early September have been charged with "disruption of security" and are facing severe imprisonment if are convicted. The families of Ho Dinh Cuong (Facebooker V?n C??ng H?) and Ngo Van Dung (Facebooker Ngo Van Dung) have informed Defend the Defenders that they received notices about them from the police of Ho Chi Minh City on October 5, more than one month from the days they were kidnapped by security forces. According to the police's notices dated on September 21, the two were "had acts which disrupt security" and they are now in pre-trial detention in the temporary detention facility of the city's police. According to the Vietnamese police's practice in politically-motivated cases, they will be kept in detention for at least four months. They will not be permitted to meet with their lawyers and families until investigation is completed. They are facing imprisonments of up to 15 years in prison, according to the current Vietnamese law. Mr. Dung is a citizen journalist covering news on various topics, including corruption, environmental pollution, China's violations of the country's sovereignty in the South China Sea, and human rights abuse. He was arrested in HCM City on September 4 while conducting a live stream which was posted on his Facebook account. Several hours later, his wife received a SMS message from his cell phone's number that he was arrested by police and held in Ben Nghe ward's police station. His family had received any notice from the police of HCM City until October 5, the wife confirmed. She went to different units of the city's police but received no confirmation about his arrest and detention. Two week ago, she went to the temporary detention facility of the city's police and the facility's authorities verbally admitted that they are holding him. Mr. Dung and Mr. Cuong are two out of eight members of the unregistered group Hi?n Ph��p (Constitution) who were kidnapped on September 1-4. Others are Ms. Doan Thi Hong (Facebooker Xu��n H?ng), Ms. Tran Hoang Lan (Facebooker Tran Hoang Lan), Mr. Do The Hoa (Facebooker Bang L?nh), Mr. Hung Hung (Facebooker Hung Hung), Mr. Tran Phuong and Mr. Pham Thao (Facebooker T��m T��m Nguyen). The last activist was released after being questioned for several days. The police in HCM City have yet to inform the families of the other five kidnapped activists about their arrests, detention and charges. On September 1, Vietnam's security forces also also arrested another member of the group, Mr. Huynh Truong Ca (Facebooker Hu?nh Tr??ng Ca), on September 1 and charged him with "Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam" under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code. Hi?n Ph��p was established on June 16, 2017, striving to educatepeople abouthuman rights as well as political and civil rights by disseminating Vietnam's 2013 Constitution among citizens. Its members were leading figures in the mass demonstrationon June 10 in HCM City which aimed to protest the Vietnamese parliament's plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. Fearing that local residents may hold another mass protest in the first week of September on the occasion of the country's Independence Day (September 2), the police in HCM City conducted a raid to arrest local activists who used social networks to call for peaceful demonstration. Along with arresting members of the Hi?n Ph��p group, HCM City's police also detained others, including Huynh Thi Thu Vang who was also charged with Article 118. Vang, 52, is working to promote food safety and warn public about abuse of toxic chemicals in food production, processing and preservation. Vietnam's crackdown on local dissidents and online bloggers is intensified as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the ruling Communist Party is striving to take the country's president post after the sudden death of Tran Dai Quang. According to the statistics of Defend the Defenders, Vietnam has arrested 24 activists so far this year, and convicted 38 human rights defenders, sentencing them to a total of 282.5 years in prison and 81 years of probation. In addition, the communist regime has convicted 60 people for their participation in the mass protest in mid-June, giving 51 of them between eight and 54 months in prison and eight between five and 18 months of probation. The remaining, Vietnamese American William Anh Nguyen was deported to the US. On October 5, a court in HCM City convicted human rights advocates and pro-democracy campaigners Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Quoc Hoan, Nguyen Van Duc Do, Tu Cong Nghia and Phan Trung on subversion, sentencing them to a total 57 years of prison and 15 years of probation. They were punished for their plan to set up the Vietnam National Coalition with aim to fight for political pluralism. The communist nation is holding 246 prisoners of conscience, according to NoW!Campaign, a coalition of 14 domestic and international NGOs, including Defend the Defenders, Boat People SOS (BPSOS), Civil Rights Defenders (CRD) and Front Line Defenders (FLD).

On 5 October 2018, Ho Dinh Cuong and Ngo Van Dung members of the organisation Hi?n Ph��p - an organisation striving to educate people abouthuman rights as well as political and civil rights by disseminating Vietnam's 2013 Constitution among citizens - were charged with "disruption of security" and are facing severe imprisonment if are convicted.

Defend the Defenders: The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City has convicted five pro-democracy campaigners namely Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do, Nguyen Quoc Hoan, Phan Trung (Venerable Thich Nhat Hue) and Tu Cong Nghia on subversion allegation, sentencing them to a total 57 years in prison and 15 years of probation. In the first-instance hearing which started at 8:00 AM and ended at 2:40 PM on October 5, the court found the five activists guilty of "carrying out activities aiming to overthrow the government" under Article 79 of the country's 1999 Penal Code. Particularly, Mr. Vinh was sentenced to 15 years, Mr. Hoan- 13 years, Mr. Do- 11 years, Mr. Nghia- ten years and Buddhist monk Trung was given eight years. In addition, each was given three years of probation afterward. In the so-called open trial for public, only one relative of every defendant was allowed to enter the courtroom. Nguyen Thi Yen Nhi, the niece of Mr. Do, and her husband Pham Ngoc An were detained by police when they were on their way to the court areas. All the roads led to the court areas were blocked by police. The US's Embassy and the EU's Delegation in Vietnam had requested permission to send their diplomatic representatives to attend the trial, however, their requests were denied, Defend the Defenders has learned. Vinh and his four friends were arrested in November 2016 and held in pre-trial detention since then. Their arrests and detentions were linked to their plan to establish the Vietnam National Coalition which is expected to work for multi-party democracy and fair election to end the political monopoly of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. Vinh and Do were reportedly beaten during their arrests. In June 2016, Vinh, 51, set up the Vietnam National Self-determination Coalition and become its president. However, he left the organization several days before being arrested. Some activists said he and other activists had a plan to launch the Vietnam National Coalition. However, he was arrested before the group's debut. All the five activists were held incommunicado around one year after being detained. Vinh and Do were allowed to meet with their lawyers few weeks prior to their trial while under pressure of police, the three others were said to deny the attorneys on their choices. Mr. Hoan rejected the appointed lawyer, said Dang Dinh Manh, the lawyer of Mr. Vinh. During the trial, Mr. Vinh and Mr. Do reaffirmed their innocence while Mr. Hoan and Mr. Nghia said they were forced to make false confession during interrogation, said the Saigon-based lawyer. On October 4, one day prior to the trial, Human Rights Watch issued a statement calling Vietnam's communist regime to release them without conditions. This prosecution shows there is no end in sight when it comes to the government stamping down on calls for political pluralism, democracy, or respect for rights," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "These five advocates are heading to prison for a long time simply for daring to criticize the Communist Party." In late April, 2018, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention officially said that the arrest of Luu Van Vinh was arbitrary and urged the Vietnamese government to release him and compensate him for illegal arrest and detention in accordance with international law. The arrests and detentions of Vinh and his four friends are part of Vietnam's ongoing crackdown on local dissent amid increasing social disatisfaction. In order to keep the country under a one-party regime, the security forces are striving not to allow the formation of opposition parties. Dozens of activists who advocate for multi-party election have been sentenced to lengthy imprisonments for subversion allegations. So far this year, Vietnam has arrested 24 activists and sentenced 38 human rights defenders with a total 282.5 years in prison and 81 years of probation. The communist nation is holding 246 prisoners of conscience, according to NoW!Campaign, a coalition of 14 domestic and international NGOs, including Defend the Defenders, Boat People SOS (BPSOS), Civil Rights Defenders (CRD) and Front Line Defenders (FLD).

On 5 October 2018, Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do, Nguyen Quoc Hoan, Phan Trung and Tu Cong Nghia , pro-democracy campaigners were charged on on subversion allegation, sentencing them to a total 57 years in prison and 15 years of probation.

Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Vietnam's southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City have arrested local activist Hoang Thi Thu Vang (Facebooker Ho�_ng Thu Vang) and charged her with "Disruption of security" under Article 118 of the country's 2015 Penal Code. According to the city's police notice dated on September 14 that her family received today (October 2), she is held in the temporary d�_tntion facility under the authority of the city's Department of Police. It is likely her pri-trial detention will last four month at least and she will be held incommunicado, not allowed to meet with her lawyers and relatives during the pre-trial detention, a common practice Vietnam's police apply in politically motivate cases. Mr. Vang, 52, faces imprisonment of up to 15 years in prison, if is convicted, according to the current Vietnamese law. Ms. Vang, who advocates for enhancing food safety, was reportedly arrested on September 3 during the occasion of the country's Independence Day (September 2). She has shared and posted numerous articles about the country's issues. She was said to participate in the mass demonstration in HCM City in mid-June. During the first week of September, Vietnam's security forces arrested and kidnapped dozens of activists in a bid to prevent mass protests. Of the detainees, four activists were convicted on allegation of "abusing democratic freedom" under Article 331 and sentenced to between 15 and 30 months in prison, one was charged with "conducting anti-state propaganda" under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code. Seven members of the unsanctioned group Hien Phap (Constitution) are still held incommunicado as the police in HCM City have yet informed their families about their arrests, detentions and charges. In order to keep the country under a one-party regime, the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its government has intensified crackdown on local dissent and online bloggers. So far this year, Vietnam has arrested 24 activists and sentenced 33 human rights defenders to a total 225 years and six months in prison and 56 years of probation. Environmentalist and democracy activist Le Dinh Luong was given the record lengthy sentence of 20 years in prison and five years of probation. In addition, the communist regime has convicted 60 protesters on allegation of "disrupting public order" under Article 318 of the Penal Code, sentencing 51 of them to between eight months and 54 months in prison and giving eight of them probation of between five and 18 months.

On 2 October 2018, Hoang Thi Thu Vang, who advocates for enhancing food safety was arrested and charged with "Disruption of security" under Article 118 of the country's 2015 Penal Code.

On 24 September 2018, Kim Vo, VNWHR staff was denied to leave the country to go to Indonesia.

On 24 September 2018, Kim Vo, VNWHR staff was denied to leave the country to go to Indonesia.

Defend the Defenders: Vietnam's security forces arrested nine members of the unregistered Hi?n Ph��p (Constitution) in early September in a bid to prevent spontanous demonstrations amid increasing social disatisfaction, said Facebooker Nguyen Uyen Thuy, one of the group's 18 member. Detentions were made ahead of the group's plan to gather in Ho Chi Minh City on September 4 on the occasion of the country's IndependenceDay (September 2) holiday to incite peaceful demonstrations on various issues, including human rights abuse, systemic corruption, the government's weak response to China's violations of the country's sovereignty and bad government management which has ledto serious environmental pollution nationwide, said Thuy, who escaped from police raid. The police kidnapped eight members of the group and took them into custody without informing their families about their arrests and detentions, Thuy told Defend the Defenders, adding only Huynh Truong Ca"s arrest was publicized in state media. Mr. Do The Hoa (Facebooker Bang L?nh) was detained in the evening of September 1, Ms. Doan Thi Hong (Facebooker Xu��n H?ng) was arrested on September 2 while Ngo Van Dung (Facebooker Ng�_ V?n D?ng) was taken into custody after conducting a live stream in HCM City in the morning of September 4. Other detained members are Ho Van Cuong (Facebooker V?n C??ng H?), Tran Phuong (Facebooker Tr?n Ph??ng), Hung Hung (Facebooker Hung Hung), Tran Hoang Lan (Facebooker Tran Hoang Lan), and Pham Thao (Facebooker T��m T��m Nguyen), said Thuy, who is now into hiding to avoid being arrested. Police released Pham Thao after two days of interrogation and still hold the eight remaining members in custody, Defend the Defenders has learned. The group was established on June 16, 2017, striving to educate people about human rights as well as political and civil rights by disseminating Vietnam's 2013 Constitution, Thuy said, noting once citizens know their rights enshrined in the constitution, they can fight for their rights and request the ruling communist party and its government respect the Constitution. Currently, the party and state agencies are systematically violating the country's Constitution, she added. During the police raid in early September, nine members of the group successfully escaped, Thuy said. So far, police in HCM City have yet to inform the families of eight members about their arrests and detentions. Relatives of Doan Thi Hong and Ngo Van Dung went to the temporary detention facility of the city's police and were told that the two activists are held there. However, police have made no written form of confirmation about their detention, just telling their families to send clothes and money for them. On September 14, state media reported that police in Dong Thap province arrested Huynh Truong Ca, one of the members of the group, and charged him with "Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam" under Article 117 of the country's 2015 Penal Code. He is facing imprisonment of up to 20 years in prison if is convicted, according to current Vietnam's law. Although the right to assembly is enshrined in the 2013 Constitution, Vietnam's government does not permit spontaneous demonstrations. Participants of spontaneous protests have been suppressed, beaten, arrested and even charged with "disrupting public orders" and may face imprisonment of up to seven years in prison.

On 4 September 2018, nine members of the unregistered Hi?n Ph��p (Constitution), was arrested by Vietnam's security forces in a bid to prevent spontanous demonstrations amid increasing social disatisfaction.

On September 18, Vietnam's authorities blocked leading dissident Dr. Nguyen Quang A from going to Australia because they want him not to go to Brussel to attend a human rights hearing in the European capital city scheduled on October 10. Dr. A said he was stopped on his way from Hanoi to Saigon where he will take an international flight to Australia. Security officers took him to a police station in Noi Bai International Airport where they interrogated him about his travel plan and searched his baggage. Dr. A told the officers that he has plan to return to the home country on October 5 and will go to Brussels from Hanoi four days later, however, police officers from the Ministry of Public Security still held him for aroud six hours before releasing him. A said he still plans to go to Brussels on October 9 and if they block him, it will be a solid evidence of human rights abuse and the European Parliament would take into account the Vietnamese move for their voting decision. This is the 20th international travel blockage of Vietnam's security forces against Dr. A since 2014, he noted. More than 100 Vietnamese activists have been under international travel ban, according to Defend the Defenders' statistics. Meanwhile, 32 members of the European Parliament issued a joint statement calling on Vietnam's government to improve the country's human rights record, and urge the parliament not to ratify the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in a vote scheduled in December.

On 18 September 2018, Dr. Nguyen Quang, Vietnam's leading dissdent was blocked by authorities from going to Australia because they want him not to go to Brussel to attend a human rights hearing in the European capital city scheduled on October 10.

Vietnamese activist Nguyen Trung Truc, a member of the online Brotherhood for Democracy advocacy group, was sentenced by a court in northern Vietnam's Quang Binh province on Wednesday to a 12-year prison term in a decision that drew harsh rebukes from human rights groups and the U.S. embassy in Hanoi. Truc, 44, had been charged under Article 79 of Vietnam's penal code with carrying out activities "aimed at overthrowing the people's administration," and his Aug. 4, 2017 arrest followed the round-up of other members of the group, most of whom were also handed long prison terms after trials widely condemned as unfair. Speaking to RFA's Vietnamese Service following Truc's Sept. 12 trial, defense attorney Nguyen Van Mieng said that Truc had denied all the accusations made by state prosecutors against him, and that prosecutors had failed to present any evidence supporting their charges. "Truc is innocent," Mieng said. "Everything that he did was protected by the law, by our constitution, and by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights." "Truc's last words at his trial were that as a citizen of Vietnam, he has never worked to overthrow anyone, and that he will continue his struggle for democracy, human rights, and environmental protections until those goals are achieved in our country," Mieng said. In a Sept. 12 statement, the U.S. embassy in Hanoi slammed the court's decision and voiced "deep concern" over Truc's conviction on what the embassy called "vague charges of "attempting to overthrow the people's administration.'" "The trend of increased arrests and harsh sentences for peaceful activists in Vietnam is troubling," the U.S. statement said, adding that at least 25 peaceful activists have been arrested so far in Vietnam in this year alone. "The United States calls on Vietnam to release all prisoners of conscience immediately and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without fear of retribution." Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International (AI) in a statement following Wednesday's trial said that all Truc has been guilty of is his advocacy for democracy and human rights in Vietnam. "He has been deliberately targeted simply because he has expressed views and taken up causes that the country's authorities disapprove of," AI Director of Global Operations Minar Pimple said in a Sept. 12 statement. "Nguyen Trung Truc must be immediately and unconditionally released and Vietnam's government must stop dealing with dissent by throwing its critics in jail," Pimple said.

On 12 September 2018, Nguyen Trung Truc,Vietnamese activist and a member of the online Brotherhood for Democracy advocacy group, was sentenced by a court in northern Vietnam's Quang Binh to a 12-year prison term in a decision that drew harsh rebukes from human rights groups and the U.S. embassy in Hanoi.

A court in the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh sentenced land rights activist and citizen journalist Do Cong Duong 48 months in prison on Monday for "disturbing public order," his lawyer told RFA's Vietnamese Service. Duong, 54, was detained on January 24 by the police of Tu Son commune in Bac Ninh while he was filming a forced eviction. He met his lawyer, Ha Huy Son, on April 5 and was charged with "disturbing public order." "There were 4 defendants, and the other three plead guilty. Duong got the heaviest sentence of 48 months in prison under the article 331 of the 2015 penal code," Son told RFA. "My opinion is that the verdict is wrong. Duong did not disturb public order," he said, adding that his client had asked son to file an appeal. According to the Vietnamese Political Prisoner Database, Duong was warned by authorities in September 2017 that he was sharing on Facebook "content that distorts the truth, impacts upon the credibility and reputation of other citizens and organizations" and "content that contradicts the directions and policies of the Party and the law of the state." The advocacy website said Duong was not in good health when he met lawyer Son in April and his family "has faced harassment over the years due to Duong's land rights and anti-corruption activism." Vietnam's one-party communist government is currently detaining at least 130 political prisoners, including rights advocates and bloggers deemed threats to national security, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch. It also controls all media, censors the internet, and restricts basic freedoms of expression. During the first eight months of 2018, at least 28 rights activists and bloggers have been put on trial, convicted, and sentenced to long prison terms, including prominent blogger and democracy advocate Tran Huynh Duy Thuc. Thuc, who is serving a 16-year sentence, has been on a hunger strike for nearly a month to protest police pressure on him to plead guilty in exchange for amnesty.

On 17 Septmeber 2018, Do Cong Duong, land rights activist and citizen journalist, was senteced for 48 months in prison for "disturbing public order."

Vietnam's security forces have arrested around 60 residents on concern of public security during the time before and after the Independent Day (September 2), according to local activists. The arrests aimed to prevent large-scale demonstrations nationwide during the three-day holiday as many Facebookers, mostly exiled Vietnamese, have called local residents to uprise to overthrow the communist regime which failed to address the country's problems. Most of detainees had been released but many of them are still held in custody while the fates of other remain unknown, activists said. Ngo Thanh Tu, a former member of the Club of Free Journalists, was kidnappedby police in Cam Ranh on August 30. He was taken to police station for interrogation about a leaked party's document regarding Khanh Hoa province's measures to prevent public gathering during the national holiday. During the interrogation, Tu was brutally beaten by police officers. At noon of September 2, Facebooker Le Tung (Facebook nickname Tung Le) conducted livestream near the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica located in District 1. He was detained by police from Nguyen Thai Binh ward who held him for two days for interrogation. In police custody, Tung was falsely accused of stealing properties, and beaten by police. He was released in the evening of September 3. His Facebook account was hacked. Mrs. Nguyen Thanh Loan and her husband Trinh Van Toan, who were tortured by police on June 17 while being held in Tao Dan Park, were placed under house arrest in many days during the holiday. On September 3, she went out with a plan to go to a supermarket to purchase foodstuff but she was detained by plainclothes agents who took her to the police station in Thanh Loc Ward. In custody, police checked her ID and robbed her cell phone to get call and message history. She was released after several hours in police station. In the morning of September 2, Ho Chi Minh City-based dissident Nguyen Van Dieu Linh went to a police station according to the the police's summoning letter. During interrogation, he suffered a heart stroke and was taken to a hospital in Thu Duc district. In the morning of next day, independent blogger Ngo Van Dung (with Facebook account Bi?n M?n) from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak went to HCM City. When he was conducting Facebook livestream in the city's center, he was arrested by police from Ben Nghe ward. Police have not informed his family about his situation and threatened his wife when she came to ask about him. His situation remains unclear. Activist said Facebooker Thanh Sang was detained in Hiep Binh Chanh ward in Thu Duc district in the evening of September 2. As of September 6, he has still been kept in police station. Along with being detained or placed under house arrest, activists are facing being attacked by plainclothes agents. Among the victims are outspoken activists Huynh Cong Thuan from HCM City and Tran Huu Dao from Nghe An province. In the early evening of September 4, Mr. Thuan went home from the Sai Dong Redemptory Church where he works as a charity volunteer. He was attacked by a group of ten thugs near his private residence. Due to the attack, he suffered many severe injuries and was taken to a hospital for urgent treatment. On September 3, plainclothes agents kidnapped physical teacher Tran Huu Dao when he walked from a bus stop to Thai Hoa High School. The kidnappers dragged him into a taxi and droved to a remote area six kilometers from the scene. During the journey and at the remote area, the kidnappers continously beat him until he collapsed. The attackers destroyed his cell phone before leaving him in a mud area. On September 1, police came to the private residence of Tran Phuong in Binh Tan district to detaine him and confiscate some of his stufts. He was taken to the police station in Binh Hung Hoa ward, and is still under police custody. SomeFacebookers Tran Dinh Chau, Bang Linh, Xuan Hong were reportedly detained. However, no information about their detentions was available. According to human rights activist Tran Bang, one activist who was in police custody from the noon of September 2 until the evening of September 3 said the number of the detainees held in Tao Dan Park is around 50. They were arrested in HCM City's center, the freed activist said, adding police officers beat a pregnant woman in the fourth month and only stopped when other slammed. Facebooker Nguyen Tin said police arrested government supporter Nguyen Duy Quoc when he was skatering in HCM City's center in a bid to attack activists. He was detained by police when he took pictures near the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica. Police found that he was equipped with tear gas. Many activists in HCM City and Hanoi are still under house arrest on September 4. The house of retired teacher Ngo Thu in Thu Duc district was attacked with stones, activists said. Within a week, police arrested four Facebookers namely Doan Khanh Vinh and Bui Manh Dong from Can Tho City, Nguyen Ngoc Anh from Ben Tre province and Huynh Truong Ca from Dong Thap province. They were accused of posting articles on their Facebook accounts harmful for the ruling communist party and its government, and calling for demonstrations. Mr. Anh, a shrimp grower, was officially charged with "Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam" under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code. He is held incommunicado for at least four months and faces lengthy sentence, according to the current Vietnamese law. Many other activists nationwide have been summoned to police stations for questioning. Among them are well-known human rights defender and critical blogger Huynh Thuc Vy and her husband Le Khanh Duy, former member of the ruling communist party and army officer Le Thuong who left the army and the party several ago and publicly calls for multi-party democracy. In addition, authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai detained many local residents who were together with around five hundreds of others in Pho Thach commune in Duc Pho district holding a demonstration on September 2 to protest a waste treatment plant which is dumping waste without treating it properly. The local authorities said they hold nine protesters for criminal prosecution, and imposed administrative fine for 23 others on allegation of causing public disorders and resisting on-duty state officials. Meanwhile, many foreign-based organizations of overseas Vietnamese have called for mass demonstrations in early September on the occasion of the national holiday. In their calls, they urge local residents to rally to overthrow the incompetent and corrupted communist government which fails to address the country's problems. Vietnam's authorities have vowed not to allow mass demonstrations in the coming days, saying they would apply all measures to prevent and disperse spontanous gatherings at all costs. They place Hanoi and HCM City under de facto state of emergency, with riot police and militia being deployed to key streets and many places being barricaded and closed for visitors. In HCM City's center, visitors face threat of being arrested if they want to take pictures in public sites. On August 30, state media reported that security forces had arrested a man Le Quoc Binh with a number of guns. Accordingto State media, the man is a member of the Vietnam Reform Party (Viet Tan), came from Cambodia,and plans to conduct violent acts during the national holiday. However, Viet Tan issued a statement saying Binh is not its member of the organization and that it vows for peacceful means to fight for Vietnam's democracy and human rights promotion. As long as eleven years ago, Hanoi made similar misleading accusations when theyarrested aVietnamese American couple with weapons entering Vietnam for violent campaign, however, it was not true and Vietnam was forced to release them silently. The story about Binh is a play of the Vietnamese security forces in a bid to prepare for aggressive responses to public gatherings next week, observers said. The communist government has detained hundreds of peaceful protestors during and after the mass demonstrationsin mid June and convicted around 40 of them on charge of "causing public disorders" with imprisonments of between eight and 42 months in prison.

On 6 September 2018, numerous local residents who are knwon to criticise the state have been arrested, in a bid to prevent mass demonstrations during the time before and after the Independent Day (September 2).

Authorities in Vietnam's Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre have arrested local shrimp grower Nguyen Ngoc Anh, charging him with "Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam" under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code. Particularly, Anh, 38, was detained because of his posts and livestreams in Facebook in which slandered the ruling communist party and its government, according to the state media. Anh will be held incommunicado for the next four months in the temporary detention facility under the authority of the Ben Tre province's Police Department, and his family can only supply him with food and other stuffs, police told his wife Nguyen Thi Chau, Speaking to Defend the Defenders, Mrs. Chau said her husband was detained at around 11 AM of August 30 when he was on his way to the local government building for a meeting with the communal police. He was summoned by police one day earlier, she said, adding she is not awared of the reason of the summoning. At the same time, police conducted a search of their house and confiscated his laptop, cell phone, some USBs and documents, Chau said. He was arrested because he has raised the country's issues such as human rights violations, China's violations of Vietnam's sovereignty in the South China Sea, environmental pollution, and systemic corruption as well as bad management of the government on socio-economic issues, the wife said. Mr. Anh graduated from Nha Trang University, majoring in aquaculture. His family moved from Hanoi to Ben Tre ten years ago. They have some shrimp ponds in Binh Hoa Village, Binh Dai commune, Binh Dai district. Mrs. Chau told Defend the Defenders that she is under great pressure from the local authorities after her husband's arrest. Plainclothes agents are deployed to monitor their house and her activities. She said she will not send her four-year son to school because she is afraid that he may not be able to deal with discrimination of the local authorities and residents. The arrest of Anh is part of Vietnam's ongoing crackdown on local dissent which started in late 2015 with the arrest of prominent human rights advocate Nguyen Van Dai and his Le Thu Ha on charge of conducting anti-state propaganda. Last year, Vietnam arrested and convicted 40 activists. It has detained ten activists so far this year, mostly on allegations of anti-state propaganda and subversion in the national security provisions of the Penal Code, and convicted 20 activists with imprisonments of between two and 20 years in prison. In addition, Vietnam has also detained hundreds of people participating in peaceful demonstrations and imprisoned 35 of them with jail sentences of between eight months and 42 months. Mr. Anh is facing imprisonment of between five and 20 years in prison, if is convicted, according to the current Vietnamese law.

On 4 September 2018, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a local shrimp farmer who was actively posting in Facebook to slander the ruling communist party and its government, was detained and arrested.

Defend the Defenders: Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have detained independent blogger Ngo Van Dung when he was making live stream program on Facebook in the city's center, according to his fellows. Mr. Dung was repotedly arrested at noon of Tuesday and now is held in the police station of Ben Nghe ward, District 1. It is unclear whether he will face criminal charge or not, activists said. Six months ago, Dung was detained by the police in his home province of Dak Lak when he was covering news on the demonstration of sacked school teachers in the province. Police took himand his fellow namely Nguyen Uy Thuy into custody for interrogation for hours and released them on late afternoon of March12. However, policeconfiscated their cell phones the activists used for filming the demonstration. Meanwhile, in response to online calls of exiled Facebookers for mass demonstration on the occasion of the 73th Independent Day (September 2), security forces in major cities are put on alert. Hanoi and HCM City are de facto placed under state of emergency as police, including riot police and militia are deployed to patrol large streets to prevent public gatherings. Many streets have been barricaded while numerous activists have been placed de factor under house arrest since late August. On June 9-11, tens of thousands of Vietnamese rallied on streets in Hanoi, HCM City, Danang, Nha Trang and Binh Thuan and other locations to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. This was the largest demonstrations in many in the communist nation where spontanous gatherings are not welcomed by the government while participants have been facing harassment and imprisonment. On June 17, authorities in HCM City detained hundreds of people walking in the city's center, taking them into custody where most of them were subjects of torture and interrogation for hours. Vietnam has also convicted around 40 individuals participating in the mass demonstration in mid June on allegation of "causing public disorders," giving them imprisonments of between eight and 42 months in prison.

On 4 September 2018, Ngo Van Dung, independent blogger and HRD was arrested when he was making live stream program on Facebook in the city's center.

PETALING JAYA: Vietnam has refused entry to Malaysian human rights activist Debbie Stothard to attend the World Economic Forum to be held in the country next week. Stothard, who is secretary-general of Swiss-based International Federation for Human Rights, arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to attend the event. "Whatever inconvenience I am being subjected to is nothing compared to the attacks on Vietnam human rights defenders and the media," she said in a tweet. "I hoped that hosting the prestigious WEF would help them realise that pluralism, human rights and freedom are necessary to economic development." Meanwhile, WEF spokeswoman Fon Mathuros told Reuters that she regretted the government's decision to block Stothard. "Her invitation to the meeting stands and we will continue to facilitate her participation in the meeting," Mathuros said. Hanoi is hosting the WEF on Asean from Sept 11 to 13

On 9 September 2018, Debbie Stothard, WHRD, who was attending the World Economic Forum was denied entry into Vietnam

On August 15, Vietnam's authorities kidnapped former political prisoner Nguyen Anand held him in a secret place for nearly two weeks until August 27, his daughter Nguyen Thi Tra My has told Defend the Defenders. Ms. My said police from Quang Trung commune, Thong Nhat district in Dong Nai province together with plainclothes agents from the province's Police Department detained Mr. An at around 4.30 PM while he was having a drink at a cafeteria about two kilometers from his village Le Loi. The cafeteria owner witnessed the detention and informed his family. Police took him to the Quang Trung communal police station. When his family came to ask about him, they said they would release him soon. At 7 PM of the same day, a seven-seat van with the registration number 50A-005.34 belonging to the Ho Chi Minh City's Police Department came and police dragged him into the car and sped away. The family couldn't chase the vehicle. In next days, his family went to the communal police station to question police chief Cang but the officer refused to answer, just saying Nguyen An had been taken to HCM City. On August 20, My and her mother Dao Thi Hue went to the Investigation Branch of the HCM City Police Department station in Phan Dang Luu No. 4, Phu Nhuan district to ask about him but police officers told them that they did not have him, saying he maybe held by the police unit under the authority of the Ministry of Public Security. When the family went to the Southern Region's Representative Office of the ministry, they met a police officer named Phuc who the family recognized as one of police officers participating in Mr. An's abduction the previous week. Phuc told them that the police would release An soon. Four days later, the family returned to the office but received the same answers. In late night of August 27, Ms. My informed that her father came home unexpectedly. However, she did not answer Defend the Defenders' questions about her father's detention. Mr. An, 60, isa former soldier of the Vietnam Republic's Army. He was arrested in 1979 and charged with subversion. Later, he was sentenced to four years in prison, and released in 1983. My told Defend the Defenders that her father participated in the peaceful mass demonstration on June 10 this year to protest two bills on Special Economic Zone and Cyber Security. About one month prior to his detention, he was summoned by the local police for interrogation, however, he was busy and did not go to meet with police as they asked.

On 15 August 2018, Vietnam's authorities kidnapped former political prisoner Nguyen Anand held him in a secret placefor nearly two weeks until August 27, his daughter Nguyen Thi Tra My has told Defend the Defenders.

Hua Hoang Anh, who participated in many peaceful protests in 2014-2018 on various issues, had committed suicide which led to his death in early August, his wife Huynh Thuy Hang told Defend the Defenders. Mrs. Hang said on August 2, while police in Chau Thanh district, Kien Giang province, conducted house search of their private residence in Binh Loi village, Minh Hoa commune, her husband took a knife to cut his throat. She witnessed the incident and tried to prevent his act but failed. Her husband was taken to the district general hospital but died on mid way, possible due to blood loss. Hang said at 9.30 PM of August 1, police came to their house and detained her husband and took him to the district police headquarters for questioning about an explosion carried out by her husband one month before in a field not too far from their house. Police questioned him overnight and at 10.30 AM of August 2, they took him back to his house and searched it. She said after his death, police cheated her, telling her that they returned his body to her family for burying, but they took his body to the province's funeral house for autopsy which lasted more than five hours. Police did not allow her nor other family's members to participate in the autopsy, and returned his body covered with clothes. During his funeral, local authorities deployed a large number of police officers and plainclothes to station near his house, banning relatives, friends and local residents from taking pictures and making videos. The photographer hired by the family to record the funeral was forced by police to delete all pictures and videos he made, Hang said. Police have closely monitored their house before and after his funeral, and paid special attention for people coming from other areas, she said, adding she is still under close surveillance of the police. Hua Hoang Anh participated in many peaceful demonstrations, including the mass demonstration against two bills Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security in HCM City on June 10, 2018 and the gathering in HCM City in 2014 to protest China's violations of Vietnam's sovereignty in the South China Sea. He was summoned by local police to the communal police station many times for his social activities, his wife noted. Hang said she is very upset of her husband's suicide and she couldn's explain his act. She suggested that he committed the act under great pressure from police during the long interrogation from the evening of August 1 to the noon of next day.

On 2 August 2018, Hua Hoang Anh, who participated in many peaceful protests in 2014-2018 on various issues, had committed suicide after being harassed by state actors.

Jailed Vietnamese human rights defender Tran Thi Nga has received beatings and death threats from a cellmate assigned to her by authorities, her husband told RFA's Vietnamese Service on Monday after writing a petition to law enforcement officials. Noted in Vietnam for her online activism, Nga, 40, was sentenced in July 2017 to nine years in prison for spreading "propaganda against the state" under Article 88 of Vietnam's penal code, a provision frequently used to silence dissident bloggers and other activists. Her appeal was rejected in December. "On August 17, Nga called me and told me that she has been beaten and threatened to be killed. I decided to write a petition to authorities," Nga's husband, Phan Van Phong, told RFA. Phong sent his petition to Gia Trung prison, the ministry of police, the supreme people's procurator, Gia Lai province judicial authorities, and international organizations, he said. Nga, who is allowed to talk to her family by telephone five minutes a month from Gia Trung prison in Gia Lai Province, had called home on July 26 and told her husband that she was placed in a cell with another prisoner, whose surname is Hai and is nicknamed Hai Ho. Former prisoner of conscience Bui Thi Minh Hang, who served time at Gia Trung prison, told RFA that she knows Hai after sharing a cell with her. "She is famous for being very aggressive and violent. They made me stay with her (and) she had threatened to kill me," Hang told RFA. "When I was there they (prison authorities) let other prisoners threaten me and attack me. I had to go on hunger strike for two months to protest," she said. "They (authorities) know everything and give other prisoners a signal to do such things because they are in charge of arranging our cellmates," added Hang. Amnesty International urged the Vietnamese community to "call and write to the Gia Trung prison urging them to ensure Tran Thi Nga's safety." Meanwhile, in Nghe An province, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 52, started a hunger strike on Aug. 14 to protest police pressure on him to plead guilty in exchange for amnesty. He was jailed in 2010 for 16 years for writing online articles criticizing the government under Article 79 of Vietnam's penal code and is serving at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An province. "(We) visited him at prison and was told that he has been on hunger strike for five days and he would continue until august 23. He said he would continue his hunger strike after that if his demands are not addressed," Tran Huynh Duy Tan, Thuc's brother, told RFA that he and Thuc's wife visited Thuc in prison on August 18. Thuc told his family that he'd rather stay in prison than plead guilty, he said. "He'd rather stay in there until the end of his sentence. He said he is innocent," said Tan. Tan also told RFA that about two months ago the prison brought in a new manager, who created more difficulties for Thuc. He is now not allowed to write as many letters to his family as before, and his petitions to authorities have been limited in frequency. "They had failed in pressuring Thuc to plead guilty, so they are resorting to their usual trick, which is to create more difficulties for him in prison," activist Le Cong Dinh wrote on social media. Tan said the family is worried about Thuc's health because he looked very tired. "He said that he would conduct a 10-day hunger strike, but his health got worse. We are very worried about his decision. We want him to stop the hunger strike soon to protect his health and his life," the brother added.

On 17 August 2018, Tran Thi Nga, jailed Vietnamese human rights defender, was reportedly beaten and threatened in prison.

A court in central Vietnam's Nghe An province convicted a dissident writer and activist on Thursday of trying to overthrow the country's communist government, handing him a 20-year prison term after a one-day trial in which witnesses who might have cleared him were blocked from appearing. Le Dinh Luong, 53, a Catholic, was taken into custody on July 24, 2017, and accused by authorities of membership in the U.S.-based Vietnamese opposition party Viet Tan, which Vietnam regards as a terrorist organization, and of calling for a boycott of parliamentary elections in 2016. A veteran of Vietnam's 1979 border war with China, Luong had also written on Facebook calling for compensation for fishermen affected by the April 2016 waste spill by Taiwan-owned Formosa Plastics Group's steel plant. The environmental disaster destroyed livelihoods across Vietnam's central coast and led to widespread protests and arrests in Nghe An and other coastal provinces affected by the spill. Speaking to RFA's Vietnamese Service after Thursday's trial, defense lawyer Ha Huy Son slammed the sentence handed down to his client, saying the court had presented "no evidence" to show that Luong had worked to overthrow the government, a charge frequently brought under Article 79 of Vietnam's Penal Code to arrest and imprison democracy and human rights activists in the country. "They based their decision on the testimony of two witnesses, Nguyen Van Hoa and Nguyen Viet Dung," Son said. "But both of them have retracted what they said in earlier testimony." "They now say that they were beaten and forced to say what they did," he said. Also speaking to RFA, defense lawyer Dang Dinh Manh said that Luong's attorneys had asked that both men be brought to court so they could be questioned on their previous testimony. "However, a police officer came forward and said that Nguyen Van Hoa had a sore throat and Nguyen Viet Dung had a stomach ache, and so neither of them were fit to testify," he said. 'More will step forward' Writing in an Aug. 15 statement, Phil Robertson-Deputy Asia Director for the international rights group Human Rights Watch-called for Luong's immediate release and demanded that Vietnam drop all charges against him. "The government should understand that locking people up for simply exercising their rights isn't working, and[that] more activists will continue to step forward to speak their mind and hold protests against government injustices." "Vietnam is well on its way to having the largest population of political prisoners in Southeast Asia, and foreign trade partners and donors should demand this rolling crackdown stop," Robertson wrote. "Le Dinh Luong has done nothing wrong and the People's Court of Nghe An province should drop all charges and release him immediately." Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Viet Tan organization on Thursday condemned what it called Luong's "unjust conviction," saying the charges against him were "vague" and based mainly on police investigations of his Facebook postings and community organizing activities. "Criminalizing peaceful activism and the use of Facebook is a violation of human rights and civil liberties," Viet Tan said. Rights group Amnesty International estimates that at least 97 prisoners of conscience are currently held in Vietnam's prisons, where many are subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.

On 16 August 2018, Le Dinh Luong, environmental rights defender, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In the evening of August 15, police in Ho Chi Minh City stopped a live show of dissident singer Nguyen Tin, detaining many activists and beating them brutally on the scene and in custody before releasing them, Defend the Defenders has learned. Among detained and beaten activists were prominent dissident blogger Pham Doan Trang, activist Dinh Nhat Uy, blogger Tran Phuong and Tran Dai, Ms. Diem Hang and Ms. Thuong Huyen and the singer. Police confiscated the IDs of many detainees before releasing them. Nguyen Tin, who is famous among Vietnamese dissent with patriotic songs and charity activities, held his first-ever liveshow in a music bar namely Cafe Casanova in 61 C Tu Xuong, Ward 7, District 3 with participatation of many local activists and ordinary clients. The liveshow was publicized on social networks. From the beginning of the show started at 8.30 PM of Wednesday, local authorities deployed large numbers of police, militia and thugs to block the areas near the cafeteria. According to female activist Vo Hong Ly, police stumped in the cafeteria at 9 PM to film the event. Their behaviors were very aggressive, she said. Feeling the police intervention may not be good for the audience which included many children and elderly, the MC of the show asked police to act peacefully. After requesting the cafeteria owner to show his license and stop the show, police requested the participants to show their IDs. Well-known activists were demanded not to leave the cafeteria, Ms. Hong Ly said. At 9.45, police started their brutality. Firstly, they approached Doan Trang to ask her not to film their aggressive acts. They knocked her down and detained her. Tran Phuong was also beaten and detained after recording police's attacks against Doan Trang with his cell phone. Many activists were beaten while trying to protect Doan Trang and others, Ly said, adding Diem Hang were beaten on her head while Ms. Thuong Huyen was assaulted on her left eye. Police requested most of the audience leave the cafeteria but kept singer Nguyen Tin, blogger Nguyen Dai and many others police think they are organizers of the liveshow. Plainclothes agents and militia were very aggressive and ready to beat anyone, including female, Ly said. Police took Doan Trang to the police station in Ward 7 for interrogation. During questioning, she was beaten by police officers. At the end of the interrogation, police brought a man in medical clothes to examine her health. Doan Trang suspected that he is not a medical worker since he failed to prove his medical capacity. The man concluded that she suffered light injuries. Police confiscated her ID, laptop, ATM card and a wallet with several hundreds of thousands of dong. Police took her into a taxi car and got out of the station. Later, they asked her to get out of the car, and continued to beat her, using a motorbike helmet to attack her on her head before leaving. Trang suffered severer injuries from the second assault. Before leaving the scene, police requested her to come to the police station on Thursday to get back her items. Police also detained singer Nguyen Tin and Nguyen Dai to the police station in Ward 7 where they confiscated their ID and beat them. Later, they dragged the two men into a car to drive to a rubber plantation in Tan An Hoi commune in Cu Chi district. After asking them to get out of the car by force, they called police in the commune to come to demand ID checking. Tin was detained because of having no ID and he was held until 2.30 AM of Thursday while Dai managed to get home at 4.30 AM. This is the second police assault against singer Nguyen Tin within two months. In mid-June, he was detained at his house and held in police station for several days due to his participation in the mass demonstration against two bills Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security, in which hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were detained and tortured. During interrogation, Nguyen Tin was beaten and mistreated by police officers. In order to prevent the formation of opposition parties, Vietnam's security forces are willing to use forces to intervene meetings of activists, including gatherings for cultural purposes. Dissident singer Do Nguyen Mai Khoi's shows with closed audience were closely monitored and stopped in several occasions.

On 15 August 2018, dissident singer Nguyen Tin, was stopped from performing by police who detained her and many of the activists who attended her show. They also beated them brutally on the scene and in custody before releasing them.