Human Rights Violations in Vietnam

(Vi phạm nhân quyền tại Việt Nam)

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(This section is presented by Vietnam Human Rights Network)

[2023-11-18] Vietnam Human Rights Network Released Its Report on Human Rights in Vietnam 2022-2023 and Announced The 2023 Vietnam Human Rights Award Results.

During a meeting with Vietnamese media and representatives of several community organizations on November 18, 2023, the Vietnam Human Rights Network released the Report on Human Rights in Vietnam 2022-2023 and announced the results of the Vietnam Human Rights Award 2023.

[2023-11-16] Vietnam police arrest outspoken official

The police in Vietnam’s Thai Binh province have detained a former National Assembly delegate known for his outspoken views. They issued an arrest warrant for Luu Binh Nhuong on Nov. 14 along with an order to search his home.

[2023-11-16] UN expert accuses Vietnam of targeting human rights defenders

An independent UN expert on Wednesday accused Vietnam of targeting human rights defenders, after a spate of high-profile arrests and convictions.

[2023-11-15] Redemptorists in Vietnam demand return of Hanoi monastery

Redemptorists in Vietnam have voiced opposition to renovation work on their former monastery in the capital Hanoi — now a state-run hospital — and called on the communist government to return the property instead.

[2023-11-13] Petition to save two death row prisoners in Vietnam

Hundreds of lawyers and activists have called on the communist government in Vietnam to review the three fiercely disputed cases of death sentences.

[2023-11-06] Vietnam releases 4 independent Protestants after 5 days’ detention

Police in Vietnam have released four independent Protestants who were detained for five days after inviting President Vo Van Thuong to observe one of their religious services. Y Nuer Buon Dap, Y Thinh Nie, Y Cung Nie and his son Y Salemon Eban returned home on Saturday.

[2023-11-06] Detained Vietnamese blogger allowed to send letter to family

A blogger who mysteriously went missing in Bangkok, Thailand, and later ended up in Vietnamese police custody was allowed to send a letter to his mother, who told Radio Free Asia that his case is still under investigation.

[2023-11-02] Unofficial Vietnamese church members languish in detention

Four members of an unofficial church in southern Vietnam’s Dak Lak province who invited the country’s newly appointed president to attend their services remained in custody Thursday, in violation of a law that requires detainees be released within three days, said a religious watchdog group.

[2023-11-02] 2023 U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue

The 27th U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue was held November 1-2 in Washington DC. Senior Official for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Erin Barclay and H.E. Mr. PHAM Hai Anh, Head of delegation, Director-General, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs led their respective delegations in the dialogue.

[2023-10-31] Vietnamese police arrest dozens of construction site protesters

Hundreds of police officers broke up a construction site protest in northern Vietnam Tuesday by beating several demonstrators with batons and arresting about a dozen of them, the protesters told Radio Free Asia.
[2023-10-31] Vietnam sentences Facebook user to 3 ½ years for videos

Authorities in Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced a Facebook user to three and a half years in prison for his live-streamed videos that were critical of the government, state media reported.

[2023-10-27] Rights lawyer arrives in US one year after police blocked departure

A well-known Vietnamese human rights lawyer and his family have arrived in the United States a year after they were stopped by police from boarding a flight to New York.
[2023-10-25] URGENT APPEAL : Land rights defender Trinh Ba Phuong continues to be tortured in prison

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Vietnam.

[2023-10-25] Family of executed Vietnamese man receives his final letter

The family of a man executed in Vietnam in spite of his claims of innocence told Radio Free Asia this week they would continue to fight to clear his name, honoring a request in his final letter to them.

[2023-10-19] In Vietnam, climate arrests spark calls to halt energy transition deal

A multi-billion dollar climate deal to help Vietnam shift from coal to clean energy should be put on hold until the government stops a crackdown on environmentalists that threatens efforts to support communities hit by the transition, activists said.

[2023-10-17] Imprisoned Vietnamese activist ‘Onion Bae’ denied family visits

Bui Tuan Lam, the Vietnamese activist known as ‘Onion Bae,’ has not been allowed to see his family since his unsuccessful appeal on Aug. 30, his wife told Radio Free Asia.

[2023-10-16] Alleged Vietnam spyware targeting foreign officials ‘unacceptable’: EU

Foreign officials have expressed concern that Vietnam allegedly tried to surveil politicians’ and reporters’ phones in the U.S., Taiwan and the EU, telling Nikkei Asia such a cyber breach would be “unacceptable.”

[2023-10-15] Guards beat Vietnamese political prisoners for staging protest

Two prisoners of conscience – Trinh Ba Phuong and Phan Van Hai – were beaten and had their feet shackled in a Vietnamese prison, the family of one of the inmates told Radio Free Asia

[2023-10-09] Vietnam-aligned hackers attempted to hack US lawmakers and journalists

Hackers aligned with Vietnam tried to use social media platforms X and Facebook to install spyware on the phones of dozens of high-profile targets, including US lawmakers, United Nations officials and CNN journalists, Amnesty International said Monday.

[2023-10-08] Vietnam’s Arrest of Environmentalists Draws Fire Amid Surge of Funding for Green Transition

A spate of arrests of leading Vietnamese environmentalists is drawing criticism of Hanoi during an infusion of international aid to support the country’s shift away from coal.

[2023-10-05] RSF urges for release of journalist Pham Doan Trang on the third anniversary of her arrest

Detained for three years, prominent Vietnamese journalist and writer Pham Doan Trang is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence on trumped-up charges of “anti-state propaganda”. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Vietnamese regime to release.

[2023-10-04] Vietnam sentences Christian to 8 years for ‘undermining unity’

A court in Vietnam’s Gia Lai province sentenced a Christian to eight years in prison and three years probation for “undermining the unity policy” under Article 116 of the criminal code.

[2023-09-29] UN rights office condemns crackdown on climate activists

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday expressed grave concern at the spate of recent arrests and convictions of human rights defenders pushing for clean energy reforms in Viet Nam.

[2023-09-29] US condemns Vietnam’s jailing of prominent climate activist on tax charges

The US State Department has condemned the jailing of one of Vietnam’s most prominent environmental activists for tax fraud in a ruling human rights activists claimed was a “total sham.”

[2023-09-29] How distressed call to BBC helped rescue of six women trapped in refrigerated lorry in France

Six women have been rescued from the back of a lorry in France, after the BBC helped track them down and alert the police. The four Vietnamese and two Iraqis, thought to be migrants, were trapped inside, panicking and struggling to breathe. One of them spoke to the BBC from inside the lorry.

[2023-09-29] Hammered: Vietnamese gets 6 years after cursing Uncle Ho when drunk

A 60-year old Vietnamese activist was sentenced to six years in prison for making a short drunken tirade video that cursed the Communist Party and revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, the country’s first leader, his lawyer told Radio Free Asia.

[2023-09-28] Vietnamese climate activist jailed in ‘unjust’ government crackdown

A Vietnamese climate activist has been jailed for tax fraud as the country’s authoritarian government cracks down on environmentalists while developing a multi-billion dollar clean energy transition plan with rich nations.

[2023-09-25] Vietnam music teacher loses appeal against 8-year sentence

In an appeal that only lasted two hours, the High People’s Court in Vietnam’s Dak Lak province on Tuesday upheld an eight-year prison sentence for music lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc, his wife Le Thi Ha told Radio Free Asia.

[2023-09-25] UN worried about Vietnam arrest of energy expert after Biden’s visit

The U.N. human rights office has expressed concern about the arrest of a Vietnamese green energy expert, who had collaborated with U.N. and U.S. agencies, just days after President Joe Biden signed business and human rights deals with Hanoi on a visit.

[2023-09-23] Vietnam executes death row prisoner Le Van Manh

Death row prisoner Le Van Manh was executed on Friday morning, lawyer Le Van Luan posted on Facebook, in a case with evidence which lawyers said was not clear enough to convict.

[2023-09-22] Diplomatic missions call on Vietnam to stay inmate’s execution

The European delegation to Vietnam and the Canadian and U.K. Embassies have urged Vietnamese authorities to halt the execution of death row inmate Le Van Manh, whose family was told this week to make preparations to receive his body after his sentence is carried out.

[2023-09-22] Vietnamese NGOs shy from UN engagement fearing government reprisal

Vietnamese humanitarian and non-governmental organizations are increasingly less inclined to work with the United Nations due to fear of reprisal from their government, according to a new report by the global body’s human rights agency.

[2023-09-20] Days after Biden’s visit, Vietnam detains energy expert

Vietnam detained an energy expert a few days after U.S. President Joe Biden visited and announced multiple joint initiatives including on protecting human rights, the 88 Project charity said on Wednesday.

[2023-09-19] Vietnam orders People’s Committees to eliminate controversial church

Vietnam’s government has ordered Peoples’ Committees nationwide to root out a church group already outlawed in the country, seeking to eliminate the controversial group which has increasingly been organizing recruitment activities.

[2023-09-18] Vietnam activists to seek US refuge after Biden administration deal: US officials

Two Vietnamese activists who the Biden administration believes were wrongly detained by the country’s government are relocating to the United States under an agreement negotiated ahead of the president’s recent visit to Hanoi, US officials told Reuters.

[2023-09-17] Jailed Vietnamese activist punished after unsuccessful appeal

Prisoner of conscience Bui Tuan Lam, known as ‘Onion Bae,’ is being punished after unsuccessfully appealing his five year sentence, his wife told Radio Free Asia.

[2023-09-15] Early release of a prominent Vietnamese journalist: RSF insist that he should never have been imprisoned

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes the recent release of independent Vietnamese journalist Mai Phan Loi 18 months before the end of his sentence, and urges for the release of the 39 other journalists and press freedom defenders detained in the country.

[2023-09-13] Vietnam releases activist 18 months early

Vietnamese authorities have released independent journalist Mai Phan Loi 18 months before the end of his 45-month sentence, a family friend told Radio Free Asia this week. Loi was freed on Sunday, the day U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Hanoi for two days of meetings with Vietnamese leaders.

[2023-09-11] Biden accused of sidelining Vietnam and India rights over strategic interests

The White House fact sheet issued during President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam weighed in at over 2,600 words. The section on human rights contained just 112 words, including a sub-heading.

[2023-09-09] Vietnam: Biden Should Raise Rights on Hanoi Visit

Unites States President Joe Biden should publicly urge Vietnam’s leaders to immediately release all political prisoners and reform abusive laws during his planned visit to Hanoi on September 10, 2023, Human Rights Watch said today.

[2023-09-08] Vietnam tries to force ethnic minority church members to recant faith

In the video that went viral in Vietnam recently, a police officer forbids a church member of a group not recognized by the government from joining online services – and threatens his family members if he doesn’t obey.

[2023-09-08] Release from prison in Vietnam: Human rights activist freed

Vietnamese human rights activist Nguyen Bac Truyen was released from prison in Vietnam on Friday through mediation by the German government. He should arrive in Germany with his wife late Friday evening.

[2023-09-07] In a first, Vietnam admits government accountability in Dak Lak attacks

State mismanagement was among the causes of deadly attacks on government facilities in Vietnam’s Dak Lak province, a top security minister said, in the first official acknowledgement that reasons other than “incitement” by hostile forces were to blame for the incident.

[2023-09-06] Vietnamese political prisoner Dang Dinh Bach ‘assaulted by jailers’

Political prisoner Dang Dinh Bach has been assaulted by policemen after telling his family he’d been threatened by other inmates, according to fellow inmate Tran Huynh Duy Thuc who was visited by his family this week.

[2023-09-05] Family blames police brutality for death of 28-year-old Vietnamese man

Hours after being detained by police on Sunday, a 28-year-old Vietnamese man died. Family members accuse officers of beating him to death, saying his body was covered with bruises.

[2023-09-01] Human Rights Organizations Urge President Biden To Raise Human Rights Issues With Vietnamese Authorities

The following is a joint open letter of four Vietnamese human rights organizations addressed to President Biden before his upcoming visit to Vietnam on September 10, 2023.

[2023-09-01] Political prisoners in Vietnam’s Prison No. 6 face threats from inmates

Inmates of Vietnam’s notoriously harsh Prison No. 6 in Nghe An province threatened four prisoners of conscience including lawyer Dang Dinh Bach, his wife told Radio Free Asia Friday.

[5-15-2019] US Says Vietnam Blocks Dissidents From Contact With Rights Delegation

[5-14-2019] Jailed Vietnamese Activist Nguyen Van Hoa is Attacked, Put in Solitary

[5-10-2019] Jailed Vietnam Blogger is Returned to Mental Hospital, Forcibly Medicated

[4-10-2019] Vietnamese Boy Refuses to Support Government Propaganda Justifying His Forced Eviction

[4-9-2019] Retired Vietnamese Official Caught Allegedly Molesting Girl in Elevator

[4-2-2019] Vietnamese Prison Refuses to Mail Jailed Activist’s Appeal Request

[3-22-2019] Vietnam Broke Its Own Laws in Arrest of Blogger Spirited from Thailand-Experts

[3-20-2019] RFA Blogger Who Disappeared in Bangkok is Being Held in Hanoi, Says Daughter

[3-15-2019] Human Rights Watch Calls For Immediate Release of Six Jailed Vietnamese Activists

[3-12-2019] NGO Hits Back at Vietnam’s Denials of Rights Abuses

[2-26-2019] Vietnamese Activists Kept Under Wraps During US-North Korea Summit in Hanoi

[2-5-2019] Radio Free Asia Vietnamese Blogger Missing Amid Abduction Reports

[1-30-2019] Video of Alleged Police Beating in Vietnam Goes Viral

[1-10-2019] Homes Destroyed, Residents Evicted in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City

[1-9-2019] Jailed Vietnamese Environmental Activist in Declining Health-Brother

[12-28-2018] Vietnamese Activist Given Five-Year, Six-Month Prison Term for Defaming Government

[12-20-2018] Vietnam: Big Brother Is Watching Everyone – Draft Cyber Security Decree Will Seriously Undermine Rights

[12-07-2018] Jailed Vietnam Activist Punished for Not Pleading Guilty

[11-30-2018] Vietnamese Blogger to Serve Almost Three Years For Defacing Flag

[11-20-2018] Human Rights Watch Urges Vietnam to End Crackdown on Freedom of Expression

[11-14-2018] Vietnam’s ‘Consistent Policy’ is to Pressure Political Prisoners Into Exile: Freed Blogger

[11-9-2018] Vietnamese Police Torch Farm Equipment of Dissident Religious Figure

[11-2-2018] Vietnamese Blogger, Rights Activist Vy to be Tried on Flag Affront Charges

[10-24-2018] Letter: Jailed Vietnamese Activist Nguyen Van Hoa Suffers Abuse in Prison

[10-24-2018] Jailed Vietnamese Dissident’s Husband Files Second Protection Plea

[10-23-2018] Jailed Vietnamese Activist in Failing Health, Unable to Walk

[10-17-2018] Vietnamese Blogger Mother Mushroom Released, Exiled to US

[10-12-2018] Jailed Vietnamese Activist Sentenced to Five More Years on Separate Charge

[10-5-2018] Vietnamese Activists Given Long Prison Terms After One-Day Trial

[10-3-2018] Vietnam: End Repression Against Activists – Vietnam National Self-Determination Coalition Members on Trial

[09-26-2018] Vietnam Jails 15 Protesters For Violent Demonstration in Binh Thuan Province

[09-25-2018] Five Vietnamese Activists Will go on Trial in October

[09-17-2018] Vietnam’s Rights Violations Put Trade Deal with EU at Risk

[09-12-2018] Vietnam: Drop Long Prison Sentence Against Activist – Appeals Court Should Defy Ruling Party, Release Democracy Campaigner

[09-10-2018] Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Rights Campaigner – Brotherhood for Democracy Member on Trial

[09-07-2018] Three Vietnamese Facebook Users Missing, Feared Detained

[08-27-2018] Vietnamese Businessman in ‘Good Health’ Dies in Police Custody

[08-23-2018] Another Activist Beaten by Police

[08-23-2018] Concern for Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang After Police Beating, Harassment

[08-16-2018] Vietnamese Activist Given 20-Year Term For Seeking Regime ‘Overthrow’

[08-10-2018] US Lawmakers Call on Vietnam to Release Detained American Citizen

[08-09-2018] Vietnamese Blogger, Rights Activist Detained by Police

[07-30-2018] Twenty Sentenced in Vietnam For Their Role in June 10 SEZ Protests

[07-26-2018] Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Environmental Activist – Rights Campaigner Le Dinh Luong Faces Harsh Sentence

[07-24-2018] Vietnamese Blogger Mother Mushroom’s Health Condition Unclear Amid Hunger Strike

[07-23-2018] UN Should Press Vietnam to Release Political Prisoners, Honor Rights Pledge: HRW

[07-20-2018] Vietnam’s Censorship Expands to Popular, Official News Website

[07-18-2018] Vietnam: US Citizen in Televised ‘Confession’ – American on Trial Before Party-Controlled Court

[07-17-2018] US Lawmakers Urge Facebook, Google Not to Comply With Vietnam Cybersecurity Law

[07-12-2018] Vietnamese Blogger Mother Mushroom Moved From Cell, Still Refuses Food

[07-11-2018] US Calls on Vietnam to Free Jailed Rights Activists, Other ‘Prisoners of Conscience’

[06-19-2018] In Vietnam, distrust of government’s China policy fuels protests

[06-13-2018] Hundreds of Vietnamese Protestors Arrested, Beaten During Nationwide Demonstrations, Crackdown Continues

[05-27-2018] Japan: Urge Vietnam to Respect Human Rights

[05-17-2018] Provincial Police Level Phony Charges Against Vietnamese Catholics Attacked by Thugs

[05-17-2018] AI: URGENT ACTION: SERIOUS HEALTH CONCERNS FOR PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE

[05-15-2018] Vietnamese Party Member Given Suspended Sentence For Child Molestation
[05-11-2018] Catholic Nuns Beaten in Vietnam in Protest Over Disputed Land
[05-08-2018] Vietnamese Catholics Petition Police Over ‘Cover Up’ For Officials Who Ordered Attack
[04-24-2018] Vietnamese Environmental Activist’s Sentence Upheld on Appeal

[04-20-2018] VIETNAM 2017 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT (USA)
[04-20-2018] Hundreds of Villagers Hold Officials Hostage Over Vietnam Power Plant Plans
[04-12-2018] Vietnam Jails 3 More Democracy Activists, Drawing Condemnation From Rights Defenders
[04-10-2018] Criticized by Activists, Facebook Denies Favoring Vietnam Government in Content Policies
[04-09-2018] Vietnamese Activists, Journalists Cry Foul After Being Hit by Facebook’s Takedown Policy

[04-05-2018] Six Vietnamese Activists Sentenced For ‘Subversion’ in Hanoi Trial

[04-04-2018] HRW: Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Human Rights Defenders

[04-04-2018] International Organizations Demand Release of Six Vietnamese Activists Ahead of ‘Subversion’ Trial

[03-29-2018] As Vietnam Clamps Down, Hanoi Artist Sings Out

[03-28-2018] Rights Group Urges US Attention to Vietnam’s ‘Red Flags’ Groups

[03-27-2018] Vietnam Briefly Detains Dissident Singer After European Tour

[03-26-2018] Online Vietnam Democracy Group Slams Government Move to Try Dissidents

[03-22-2018] Vietnam Transfers Political Prisoner Tran Thi Nga to Jail Far From Her Home Province

[03-20-2018] Attack on Hmong Christians Underscores Vietnam Religious Freedom Shortcomings

[03-19-2018] Vietnam Transfers Political Prisoner Nguyen Van Oai to Remote Jail

[03-15-2018] Police Detain And Beat Vietnamese Activist Over China Battle Memorial

[03-01-2018] State-Linked Thugs in Vietnam Attack Parents Questioning School Fees

[03-01-2018] Vietnamese Democracy Advocate’s Health Failing in Prison, Wife Says

[02-28-2018] ‘I Won’t Leave Vietnam,’ Detained Blogger Says, Promising to Stay to Work For Change

[02-27-2018] Jailed Vietnamese Activist in ‘Good Spirits’ And Set to Appeal His Sentence

[02-27-2018] Well-known Vietnamese journalist hounded, facing imminent arrest

[02-26-2018] Vietnamese Activist Blogger Placed Under House Arrest in Hanoi

[02-12-2018] Vietnam: Jailed Vietnamese Blogger Mother Mushroom in Poor Health

[02-12-2018] Vietnamese Authorities Transfer Jailed Blogger Mother Mushroom to Remote Prison

[02-09-2018] Hoa Hao Buddhist Family, Friends Handed Prison Terms in Vietnam

[02-07-2018] Hoa Hao Buddhists to be Tried in Vietnam For ‘Disrupting Public Order’

[02-07-2018] Jailed Vietnamese Blogger Mother Mushroom in Poor Health

[02-07-2018] Vietnam: Activist jailed for for livestreaming pollution march

[02-06-2018] Vietnamese Environmental Activists Handed Prison Terms in Nghe An

[02-06-2018] Vietnam jails environmental blogger for 14 years

[02-03-2018] Vietnam: Four Vietnamese Southern Dissidents Convicted of “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda,” Sentenced to Total 31 Years in Prison

[02-02-2018] Vietnam jails blogger for anti-state propaganda
[02-02-2018] Vietnam Hands Blogger Ho Van Hai Four-Year Jail Term For ‘Anti-State Propaganda’
[02-02-2018] Trafficked, beaten, enslaved: the life of a Vietnamese cannabis farmer
[01-31-2018] Vietnam jails 3 activists for comments critical of state
[01-28-2018] Pre-trial Detention of Vietnamese Retired Teacher Dao Quang Thuc Likely Extended
[01-25-2018] Vietnam Jails Four for Flying Flag of ‘Saigon Regime’
[01-25-2018] Fishermen Again Protest in Central Vietnam Over 2016 Toxic Spill Payout
[01-24-2018] Vietnam: Crackdown on Rights Activists
[01-23-2018] Thailand: Imminent risk of deportation of Cambodian and Vietnamese UNHCR- recognised refugees
[01-21-2018] Vietnam: Renewed Crackdown on Rights Bloggers, Activists
[01-20-2018] US Exit from Trade Pact Was Followed by Sweeping Vietnam Rights Crackdown: HRW
[01-20-2018] Interview: ‘They Are Very Sick But The Illness Cannot Be Treated With Medicine’
[01-19-2018] Human Rights Watch Report in 2017: Vietnam

[01-18-2018] Court upholds five year prison sentence for Nguyen Van Oai

[01-16-2018] Vietnam Seeks Upper Hand on Dissent with Rules On Foreign Internet Services

[01-14-2018] Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Nguyen Van Oai

[01-12-2018] Christian persecution: Vietnam ranks 18th in the world
[01-12-2018] Denouncing Vietnamese authorities for preventing Brotherhood for Democracy members to their right to legal access

[01-08-2018] Vietnam’s Human Rights Report 2017: Government Intensifies Crackdown on Local Activists

[01-02-2018] Muted cry for good governance in Vietnam