Tran Duc Thach at trial on December 15, 2020, Source: AFP
Poet Tran Duc Thach, 69, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with three years of probation for “activities aimed at overthrowing the government.” The trial lasted less than three hours, and his wife and son were allowed in the courtroom. Thach was a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, many of whose members have also been imprisoned. Ha Huy Son, his lawyer, argued that he was not allowed to review materials related to his client, that the prosecution violated trial procedures and failed to produce any incriminating evidence or witnesses, and that some of the charges actually predate Article 109 of the 2015 Criminal Code and therefore should be thrown out.

Pham Van Troi and Ho Duc Hoa

Writer Pham Van Troi‘s wife went to visit him on December 13, 2020. She said that Troi’s health is stable. She also said that Ho Duc Hoa, a social activist, was then on his 5th day of a hunger strike and was in poor condition. Hoa has been on a hunger strike previously because he wasn’t allowed to practice his Catholic faith in jail. Troi is serving seven years in prison, and Hoa is serving 13 years.

Journalist Truong Chau Huu Danh was arrested in Can Tho Province on December 16 and charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the 2015 Criminal Code. The 38-year-old has worked for several state-run newspapers. In recent years, he became better known for supporting the BOT tollbooth anti-corruption protests and for Facebook posts about the violent police raid in Dong Tam Commune and other social unrest. Colleagues describe him as an even-keeled, objective reporter and expressed surprise at his arrest.

Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Pham Chi Dung, and Le Huu Minh Tuan

Vietnam will put three prominent journalists on trial on January 5, 2021. The men — Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Pham Chi Dung, and Le Huu Minh Tuan — are members of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam. They have been charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code. The trial in Ho Chi Minh City will allegedly be open, and relatives of the plaintiffs have been invited to attend. Dung has already been in pre-trial detention for over a year, and Tuan and Thuy have been in detention since the first half of 2020.

Huynh Anh Khoa

The trial for Facebookers Huynh Anh Khoa and Nguyen Dang Thuong, scheduled for December 7, will now take place on December 21 after Thuong requested a delay due to poor health. Thuong, 63, and Khoa, 38, were charged with “abusing democratic freedoms,” according to Article 331 of the 2015 Criminal Code and for administering a Facebook page called “Economic and Political Discussions.” Both were arrested on June 13, 2020.

This week, we remember the trial anniversaries of the following political prisoners:

Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung

• Military veterans and democracy activists Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung, tried on December 16, 2016, and sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison on charges of alleged “subversion”

• Montagnard Christian activist Siu Thai, tried December 2011 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for “undermining the unity policy”

Father Peter Nguyen Thanh Tung from Thi Nghe Parish has sued the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City for passing into public hands land and two schools that have belonged to the parish since the 1950s. The properties were supposedly “borrowed” by the government after the Communist takeover in 1975. A joint communique issued by the government and church officials at the time stated that “the archdiocese agreed to transfer to the government the right to use its educational facilities from the academic year 1975-1976 to serve educational purposes,” and “the local church retains the ownership of those facilities.”

At the award ceremony for the 2020 Stefanus Prize, Bui Thi Kim Phuong, the wife of recipient Nguyen Bac Truyen was only able to send a video statement since she’s not allowed to travel abroad. The human rights lawyer is currently serving an 11-year sentence at An Diem Prison. The Stefanus Prize was established by the Norwegian NGO Stefanus Alliance International. It is awarded every other year to a person who has made a great contribution to human rights.

Human Rights Watch put out a statement on dissident poet and government critic Tran Duc Thach before his recent trial. The article gives a thorough look at his background as a PLA soldier and member of the Brotherhood for Democracy. Days after this HRW article was published, Thach was given a 12-year sentence.

Reporters sans Frontières has published its 2020 report on freedom of the press: “For the second year in a row, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Syria represent the world’s five largest prisons for journalists.” The report, in French, emphasizes that the number of female journalists in detention has increased 35 percent since last year, from 31 to 42 people, including the 2019 RSF Prize winner Pham Doan Trang.

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