Nguyen Trung Truc

Nguyen Trung Truc was arrested at his home in Quang Binh province on August 4, 2017, just days after the arrests of several other members of the Brotherhood for Democracy. 

April 2018:

Nguyen Trung Truc's lawyer submitted a petition to be able to meet with Truc to prepare his defense. At the time, Truc, the spokesperson for the Brotherhood for Democracy, had not been able to meet with his lawyer since being arrested in August 2017.  

September 2018:

Nguyen Trung Truc was sentenced to 12 years in prison in Quang Binh province on September 12. His lawyer reported that Truc maintained his innocence and said he would appeal the verdict. His trial had been set for August 17, but was postponed unexpectedly.

December 2018:

On December 26, a court in Da Nang denied the appeal of Nguyen Trung Truc. 

January 2019:

Nguyen Trung Truc was transferred from Quang Binh to Thanh Hoa Province. Truc may now be imprisoned at Detention Center 5, notorious for harsh treatment for political prisoners. The family was not notified in advance of the move. The sudden transfer came as the Lunar New Year approached, making it harder for his family to visit him.

July 2019:

More political prisoners went on hunger strike to protest against mistreatment in prison. On 2 July 2019, Nguyen Trung Truc‘s family visited him in Prison No. 5 in Thanh Hoa province, under heightened monitoring by prison staff. They were able to see him and learned that after two weeks of hunger strike, Truc’s health has deteriorated heavily and he needed medical care. Truc told his son that he would continue his hunger strike to protest the mistreatment of political prisoners and the unjust sentences imposed on them. July 10 was the 14th day of his hunger strike.  

On July 26, 2019, Truc made a phone call to his family to announce that he had stopped his hunger strike. He is now in poor health, and he is not allowed to watch television or go outside often. He also told his family that if they come visit him in the future and cannot see him, something bad must have happened to him.

August 2018:

A source close to the family reported that Truc was having problems with his eyesight and was generally in poor health. 

April 2018:

Take action for Nguyen Trung Truc, Nguyen Van Tuc, and Tran Thi Xuan with The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture. Use their guide and contact information to write to the Vietnamese government to call for the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners, the improved treatment of human rights defenders, and Vietnam’s compliance with international human rights agreements.

September 2018:

Amnesty International condemned Truc's 12-year sentence, saying, "All Nguyen Trung Truc is guilty of is speaking out for human rights and advocating for democracy in Viet Nam," and Human Rights Watch called him "yet another victim of the Vietnamese government’s campaign against people who advocate human rights and democracy." The US Embassy in Vietnam also released a statement criticizing the decision.

July 2019:

During summer 2019 hunger strikes by political prisoners, Vietnamese civil organizations issued an “Urgent appeal against Torture and Maltreatment of Prisoners of Conscience in Vietnam,” urging the Vietnamese government to “immediately order an end to the torture and maltreatment of prisoners in every prison across Vietnam, especially Prison Camp No. 5 and 6 and to “conduct visits to the above-mentioned prison camps for inspection and scrutiny, and punish those who violate the UNCAT.” As of July 2, 2019, twelve civil society organizations and more than 550 individuals had signed the urgent appeal.

Viet Nam: Arbitrary detention and sentencing of six members of Brotherhood for Democracy, The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, April 9, 2018

Vietnam Court Rejects Activist’s Appeal of Lengthy Subversion Sentence, Radio Free Asia, December 26, 2018

Vietnamese Democracy Advocate Moved to New Prison Far From Home, Radio Free Asia, January 29, 2019

URGENT APPEAL AGAINST TORTURE AND MALTREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE IN VIETNAM, Defend the Defenders, June 28, 2019

Urgent Actions Needed for Political Prisoners in Month-Long Hunger Strike in Nghe An Province and Elsewhere, The 88 Project, July 11, 2019

Two Vietnamese Activists Now in Failing Health in Prison, Radio Free Asia, December 20, 2019