{"id":56331,"date":"2025-09-30T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queme.org\/?p=56331"},"modified":"2025-10-03T17:11:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T17:11:56","slug":"vietnam-new-sentencing-of-land-rights-defender-trinh-ba-phuong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vietnam-new-sentencing-of-land-rights-defender-trinh-ba-phuong\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam: New sentencing of land rights defender Trinh Ba Phuong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The\nObservatory has been informed about the second conviction and prison sentence\nof imprisoned land rights defender Mr Trinh Ba Phuong<\/strong>. Mr Ba Phuong has\ncampaigned against land grabbing and to highlight its impact on small-scale\nfarmers across the country, along with his mother Ms Can Thi Theu<\/strong> and\nbrother Mr Trinh Ba Tu<\/strong>. All three of them have been arbitrarily\nincarcerated since June 24, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 27\nSeptember 2025, the People\u2019s Court in Danang City held the trial of Mr Trinh Ba\nPhuong on charges of \u201cpropaganda against the state\u201d<\/em> (Article 117 of the\nCriminal Code), in connection with an A4 paper with the slogans \u201cDown with\nthe Communist Party that Violates Human Rights\u201d<\/em> and \u201cDown with the Court\nthat Convicted Me,\u201d<\/em> which police found in Mr Trinh Ba Phuong\u2019s prison cell\nin November 2024, while he was serving another prison sentence in An Diem\nPrison, in Quang Nam Province. Mr. Trinh Ba Phuong denied writing those\nslogans. After about three hours of proceedings, the court found Mr Trinh Ba\nPhuong guilty of the charges and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. Trinh Ba\nPhuong\u2019s lawyers were not allowed to present their defense and Mr Trinh Ba\nPhuong himself was not allowed to make his final statement. Neither family members\nnor foreign diplomats were allowed to attend the hearing. The courtroom was\nsurrounded by hundreds of security and police officers, and all access points\nwere blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nObservatory recalls<\/a> that Mr Trinh Ba Phuong was already\nserving a 10-year prison sentence and five years of probation in An Diem\nPrison. With this new sentence, Mr Phuong must now serve a total of 21 years in\nprison and five years of probation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Trinh Ba\nPhuong was arbitrarily arrested in Hanoi on June 24, 2020, on charges of\n\u201cpropaganda against the state\u201d under Article 117 of the Criminal Code. On the\nsame day, in Hoa Binh Province, his mother Ms Can Thi Theu, and brother Mr\nTrinh Ba Tu, were arbitrarily arrested on the same charges. They were all\narrested and detained for denouncing on social media the excessive force used\nby the authorities against farmers of the Dong Tam Village near Hanoi, during a\ndeadly police raid conducted in January 2020, in which a farmer and three\npolicemen were killed. During the investigation, Trinh Ba Phuong was subjected\nto acts of torture and ill-treatment, and was detained in a psychiatric ward\nfor one month in March 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On December\n15, 2021, Trinh Ba Phuong was sentenced<\/a> to 10 years in prison and five\nyears of probation. On August 17, 2022, his conviction and prison sentence were\nupheld<\/a> by the Hanoi High People\u2019s Court\nand the sentence was final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Thi\nTheu and Trinh Ba Tu were sentenced<\/a> by the Hanoi People\u2019s Court to\neight years of imprisonment each under Article 117 of the Criminal Code on May\n5, 2021. Their convictions and prison sentences were upheld on December 24,\n2021, and were final. At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, they\nremained detained in Thanh Hoa Prison No. 5 and Thanh Hoa Prison No. 6,\nrespectively, and their detention conditions remained unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October\n2023, Trinh Ba Phuong reported he and two fellow inmates had been\nsubjected to torture and ill-treatment<\/a> in September 2023, and had not received any\nmedical care afterwards. Until the date of publication of this urgent appeal,\nthe Observatory is not aware of any investigations into these abuses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nObservatory expresses its grave concern over the high risks of torture and\nill-treatment Trinh Ba Phuong, Can Thi Theu, and Trinh Ba Tu face while in\ndetention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nObservatory expresses further concern about the physical integrity and\npsychological well-being of the three human rights defenders\u2019 families, who\nhave been subjected to threats and\nshort periods of detention<\/a> to intimidate them and prevent them from attending the trials of their\nrelatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nObservatory further notes that Trinh Ba Phuong remains detained 850 km away\nfrom his home, while Trinh Ba Tu and Can Thi Theu are detained 300 km and 120\nkm from their homes, respectively. The continued detention of the\nabove-mentioned human rights defenders in remote prisons has a punitive effect\non them and their families, as each prison visit requires high traveling costs\nand onerous journeys, and consequently cannot take place regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nObservatory urges the Vietnamese authorities to protect and respect Trinh Ba\nPhuong, Trinh Ba Tu, and Can Thi Theu\u2019s right to be free from torture and other\nacts of ill-treatment, and to carry out an immediate, thorough, and impartial\ninvestigation into the above-mentioned allegations of torture and ill-treatment\nand hold those responsible accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nObservatory further condemns their ongoing arbitrary detention and calls on the\nauthorities to quash their prison sentences and to immediately and\nunconditionally release them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nObservatory urges the Vietnamese authorities to stop using Article 117 of the\nCriminal Code to prosecute human rights defenders and silence dissent in\nVietnam, and recalls that several United Nations Special Procedures mandate\nholders declared<\/a> that this article is \u201coverly broad\nand appears to be aimed at silencing those who seek to exercise their human\nrights to freely express their views and share information with others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How you\ncan help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please\nwrite to the authorities of Vietnam, asking them to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Guarantee, in all\n circumstances, the physical integrity and psychological well-being of\n Trinh Ba Phuong, Trinh Ba Tu, Can Thi Theu, their relatives, and all other\n human rights defenders in Vietnam; <\/li>
  2. Immediately and unconditionally\n release Trinh Ba Phuong, Trinh Ba Tu, Can Thi Theu, as their detention is\n arbitrary and is merely aimed at punishing them for their legitimate human\n rights activities; <\/li>
  3. Carry out an immediate,\n thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation into the alleged acts\n of torture and ill-treatment against Trinh Ba Phuong and Trinh Ba Tu, in\n order to hold those responsible accountable; <\/li>
  4. Quash the prison sentences of\n Trinh Ba Phuong, Trinh Ba Tu, and Can Thi Theu, and put an end to any act\n of harassment, including at the judicial level, against them, their\n relatives and all human rights defenders in Vietnam, and ensure in all\n circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate activities\n without any hindrance or fear of reprisals; <\/li>
  5. Repeal or significantly amend\n Article 117 of the Criminal Code to bring it into line with Vietnam\u2019s\n international human rights obligations, and ensure prison regulations\n uphold and facilitate the rights of people in detention or imprisonment\n and comply with international standards on the treatment of detainees and\n prisoners, including the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of\n Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules). <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Addresses<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n