As Dang Dinh Bach’s Hunger Strike Continues, His Family Faces Potential Forced Eviction: Letter from Tran Phuong Thao, Bach’s Wife, May 16, 2023

Dang Dinh Bach

In this letter, Tran Phuong Thao provides an update on her husband Dang Dinh Bach‘s conditions in prison and the ongoing harassment of their family, including forcible seizure of their assets and potentially their home. Bach is currently on a partial hunger strike to protest his unjust imprisonment and has vowed to begin a full hunger strike to the death starting on June 24, the second anniversary of his arrest. An NGO leader and climate activist, Bach is currently serving five years in prison on charges of tax evasion, which we have argued are politically-motivated.

Directly below is the English version of the letter, followed by the Vietnamese text.

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May 16, 2023,

Dear friends,

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all friends, colleagues, and international organizations, who have always cared for, followed, and accompanied us to advocate for my husband– environmental activist Dang Dinh Bach– during all this time. Your sincere understanding and sympathy have given me strength, so I feel that I am not alone.

My name is Tran Phuong Thao, the wife of activist Dang Dinh Bach, who was unjustly sentenced to five years in prison for the crime of “tax evasion.” Since being arrested on June 24, 2021, Bach has never stopped showing his determination to seek justice for himself and has even launched three hunger strikes while in prison in Hanoi (once, he went on a 24-day hunger strike). Now, I would like to provide the latest information about Bach and my family to all interested parties, hoping for your understanding and to share Bach’s message with the world.

On March 17, during my visit with Bach at Detention Center No. 6, Nghe An, Bach announced that he would go on a hunger strike starting on March 17 to “demand that justice be done;” he will only eat one meal a day until June 24 (which is the second anniversary of his arrest), and then he will go on a total hunger strike to send these three messages to the world, as follows:

“I am praying to send true love to all species and people beyond all differences in space, time, country, ethnicity, and religion. I hope that all mankind will use that love to join hands to preserve Mother Earth. Please give my life to protect the freedom and life of others.

I strongly urge the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese state to reconsider the view of NGOs and social activists as a threat to political security and to stop unjustified arrests and wrongful convictions. At the same time, I ask them to ensure the sustainable development goals in a substantive and responsible manner, including but not limited to acting on climate change, environmental protection, and human rights.

I will go on a hunger strike to the death, demanding justice and freedom for me immediately and unconditionally.”

On the same day, Bach informed me that he had received a “judgment enforcement decision”(JED) from the Hanoi Civil Judgment Execution Department (HCJED) requesting to pay back the alleged tax evasion amount of VND 1,381 billion. He wrote his opinion that: “I disagree with the first-instance and appellate court judgments. Currently, my family and I are in the process of exculpation. All coercive activities related to the case may affect my legitimate rights and interests, so involved individuals and parties need to be held accountable and re-consider before proceeding [in said activities].”

After that, the HCJED requested to work with me on the matter. They asked my family to immediately pay the alleged tax evasion amount of VND 1,381 billion as stated in the JED, saying that otherwise they would take coercive measures, like selling items at auction. Bach’s car and our house will be repossessed, which means evicting my family from the house.

On March 24, Bach called me, and he insisted that he refused to receive the prison’s breakfast and lunch rations since March 17. He asked me to send him Oresol to rehydrate him and provide electrolytes to his body. He told me that from then on, he would send me two letters every month, and if I don’t receive the two letters from him every month, it means he is in danger.

At the next visit on April 15, 2023, Bach confirmed that he still maintained a partial hunger strike, eating only one meal a day. He looked thinner than before, but he still claimed to be healthy. He asked me to rewrite these following messages that he wanted to send out:

“I have accompanied many on the journey to seek justice for abused communities across Vietnam. I have witnessed so many painful stories of poverty, destitution, and terrible diseases that weigh on poor people; they are deprived of their land and livelihood, they are bullied and denied information, and they do not have the opportunity to speak out for justice and the right to be human in the face of environmental pollution– especially in places with coal-fired power plants. To prevent dissent, conceal the truth, and threaten the voice of people, the Vietnamese authorities have arrested, convicted, and unjustly detained environmental and human rights activists in defiance of national and international law.

Specifically, the allegations of corporate income tax evasion against me are fabricated, fake allegations and in serious violation of the legal process. I urgently request the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to coordinate with interested individuals and organizations to investigate and bring a case to the International Criminal Court, adjudicating the human rights violations of Colonel Dam Van Khanh, who has the head of the Investigative Security Agency of the Hanoi City Police at the time I was arrested.

And at the same time, I request an investigation to clarify the motives and relationships with other individuals and organizations involved in my prosecution. I hope that the International Criminal Court’s ruling will contribute to eliminating the politicization of human rights issues, as well as the act of preventing the arresting and bullying of human rights activists in Vietnam and all around the world.”

In addition, Bach also said that he received a notice from the HCJED about the freezing of all four of his personal bank accounts to collect and remit the alleged tax evasion amount. After that, I contacted the bank and the HCJED and was confirmed to by phone that the HCJED had recovered all the money in Mr. Bach’s four accounts, but up until now neither Bach nor my family has received any written confirmation. In fact, Bach and I do not know the exact amount of money that the HCJED has forcibly collected from his four accounts. In further discussion, Mr. Bach advised me and our family: “Not even a penny should be paid to the Judgment Enforcement Department, because he is innocent, and he never pleads guilty; just let them do whatever they want… He never compromises with wrong and bad things.”

After this, I met twice with the HCJED enforcer, Nguyen Thi Thuy, to speak about my family’s inability to pay the alleged tax evasion amount. My family disagrees with the verdict and is filing a complaint to a higher level. Moreover, since the house is the joint property of Bach and myself, and it is currently the only residence for me and my nearly two year-old son and Bach’s parents, I request that the coercive measures to recover the property be stopped– to ensure the rights of women and children and the right of all Vietnamese people to have a place to live. However, the HCJED continues to threaten and intimidate me; they said that they would come to my house to verify and confiscate assets, including Bach’s car and the house, if the family fails to pay the full amount as soon as possible.

At 9 am on April 28, my husband called home to talk to me and his parents. When I asked about his health, my husband said he was still on a hunger strike. Since starting his hunger strike on March 17, he has lost 4kg. His weight then was 50kg (he has lost more than 10kg since he was arrested). At about 10 am on the same day, when I was out of the house, suddenly a group of four people came to my house, without an appointment. At that time, only Bach’s parents were at home to witness. They said that the people were from the Hanoi Civil Judgment Enforcement Bureau and the police in the area where I live. They listed all valuable assets in the house and forced my father to sign the list; my family could not view or keep any documents.

The most recent time I met with my husband at 9 am on May 14, 2023, I was really shocked because I have never seen Bach so thin. I could hardly recognize my husband because he has changed so much. I am sure that he has lost weight compared to last month. I expressed concern, but he said that he is still feeling very well and confirmed that he is currently not eating or only eating very little. The following is the original excerpt from Bach’s letter to Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, dated March 27, 2023, which was not approved by the prison and not sent. “I write to you these heartfelt messages: I do not expect that you will use political power to interfere to exonerate me. However, I want you and I to slow down and observe the flow of the times, the flow in which you have the opportunity to fulfill your oath, to bring this Vietnamese beautiful country in tune with the hearts of all mankind in the light of a new era that is approaching, the era of integrity, understanding, and compassion”.

We have discussed about making a complaint to the cassation court level, but according to my understanding, the content of the case needs to have “novelty” for the application to be accepted, so Bach’s lawyer suggested that he write a petition. Bach agreed but he has no hope of the petition being approved by the prison to send it to his family or send it to the places he wants, such as: President Vo Van Thuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the Committee National Assembly Judiciary, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, and the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People’s Procuracy (his prior letter to the President was not reviewed by the prison and was not even sent to his family).

Once again, Bach reiterated that he would go on a complete hunger strike starting on June 24, asking me not to send food to him from now on, with this action serving three purposes:

“1. Protest against my unjust sentence, demanding immediate and unconditional release. Ask the WGAD of UN to rule on my innocence.

2. Inspire everyone in the world to wake up and take action to save the Earth. I want the world to monitor this hunger strike; sign me up for the Guinness World Record for a man fasting to protect the environment and climate change and to speak up for justice, freedom, and life.
3. Send a message to the world about protecting the rights of women and children, in this case my wife and children.”

My husband was sentenced to five years in prison by the Vietnamese government to silence him for his environmental protection activities and efforts to protect people’s health.  And the reality of me and my family members, including my parents-in-law (who are over 70 years old) and a son less than two years-old, is that we are being threatened and can be kicked out of the house at any time by the Hanoi Judgment Department. I have no choice but to ask for help from the international community. My family is living in confusion and is extremely worried about my husband’s health and life and the risk of being deprived of our only place to live.

I respectfully ask all friends, colleagues, and international organizations to pay attention to, support, and accompany me in campaigning for my husband’s freedom and stopping the property seizure enforcement measures against my family.

Yours faithfully,

Tran Phuong Thao (Mrs)