Nguyen Trung Linh
Nguyễn Trung Lĩnh
Detainment Type: Sentenced to prison
Other Names: Nguyễn Trung Lĩnh
Date of Birth: 1967
Gender: M
Ethnicity: Kinh
Occupation: Engineer
Known Prison(s):
Hanoi Police Detention Center No. 1, Hanoi (July, 2020 - present)
Activist Focus:
- Democracy
- Sovereignty
Organizational/Political Party Affiliation:
Details
Immediate Concerns
December 2020:
The People’s Court of Hanoi sentenced democracy activist Nguyen Trung Linh to 12 years in prison. Linh was tried back in July in a trial unknown even to his family. He was tried without a lawyer and convicted under the charge of “propaganda against the state,” Article 117 of the 2015 Criminal Code. According to Defend the Defenders, he is currently likely to be held in a mental health facility. Prior to arrest, and as a result of Linh’s many years of activism, “police threatened to take him back to mental health facilities if he continues to write to advocate for multi-party democracy. Hanoi police also disseminated the wrong information saying he is suffering from a mental disease in a bid to isolate him from other activists and people in his area.”
BackgroundHe is an engineer by training and received his education in the Czech Republic.
History of ActivismLinh was previously a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy and has also run for political office; he has faced intensive harassment from authorities in recent years.
Sentenced to 12 years in prison under Art. 117 (2015 Code). Expected Release is May 17, 2030.
July, 2020 - Date of trial
None -- no legal representation
12 years in prison
May 17, 2030
Details of Imprisonment
He has been detained since late May 2018, when he was taken into custody in Hanoi following his attempt to rally peaceful protests in response to maritime sovereignty disputes with China.
July 2018:
Nguyen Trung Linh was 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 Criminal Code. Linh will now await trial in detention center no. 1 in Hanoi. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
December 2020:
The People’s Court of Hanoi sentenced democracy activist Nguyen Trung Linh to 12 years in prison. Linh was tried back in July in a trial unknown even to his family. He was tried without a lawyer and convicted under the charge of “propaganda against the state,” Article 117 of the 2015 Criminal Code. According to Defend the Defenders, he is currently likely to be held in a mental health facility. Prior to arrest, and as a result of Linh’s many years of activism, “police threatened to take him back to mental health facilities if he continues to write to advocate for multi-party democracy. Hanoi police also disseminated the wrong information saying he is suffering from a mental disease in a bid to isolate him from other activists and people in his area.”
ResourcesThe 88 Project's archives
Hanoi-based Pro-democracy Campaigner Nguyen Trung Linh Charged with "Conducting Anti-state Propaganda," Defend the Defenders, July 9, 2018
Hanoi-based Democracy Campaigner Nguyen Trung Linh Secretly Convicted of “Conducting Anti-state Propaganda,” Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison, Defend the Defenders, December 8, 2020
Profile last updated: 2024-06-13 20:34:04