Tran Long Phi

Details of Imprisonment

Tran Long Phi's account of his arrest and prison time, edited and abridged, relayed to Project88 in December 2024:

I was kidnapped by security police on July 7, 2018, but was not formally arrested until July 14, charged with "attempting to overthrow the government" (Article 109). In court, my defense lawyer asked why I had been held for seven days. Prosecutors said I was not arrested, only "invited to work" [ Vietnamese euphemism for being summoned to a police station]. The judge agreed it was not an arrest, just "an invitation to work."

The trial took place in Ho Chi Minh City on June 26, 2019. I was senteced to eight years in prison plus three years of probation. I was released on Oct. 23, 2024, 21 months early. I was not told ahead of time. They just ordered me to come to the office and immediately let me out. They said it was because of my good behavior and for not violating prison rules.

Since my release, the local authorities have not bothered me [as of date of this interview, Dec. 23, 2024]. I've been called twice to report to the district police office as part of the probation process.

In the first seven days of my detention at Phan Dang Luu detention center No. 4, I was interrogated by the detective unit of the police. The men were not wearing uniforms; they told me their names but not their positions or ranks. Sometimes they interrogated me at night; they tried to get me to admit to activities they could charge me with. After seven days, I was transferred to a jail cell. No one in my family knew where I was. I don't remember when they were finally notified, but at one point during my detention, I received some stuff from my sister.

The detention cell was very small, about four square meters, holding two people, and was locked 24/7. I was only let out to go to the interrogation room. There was only one small hole in the door to put food through. It was very hot and claustrophobic. I was very stressed out and confused. My cellmate tried to ask me questions about my arrest, but I avoided answering, because I suspected he worked for the police.

After I was transferred to the pre-trial jail cell (a different cell in the same facility), the interrogation only happened during work hours and was conducted by a different person. The food at the detention center was terrible; the meat and fish were smelly and almost impossible to eat.

On Sept. 19, 2019, I was transferred to Gia Trung Prison and put into section K5 -- the "national security" area reserved for political prisoners. I shared a 12 square meter room with another prisoner. The door was unlocked twice a day-- 06:00 to 10:45, and 12:45 to 16:45. The room had a fan and a TV. The TV was turned on only when the door was locked and showed only two state-run channels (VTV1 and VTV3). There was no camera in the room to monitor us. The food was bad. Fish and meat often had strange odors; some prisoners had to ask the kitchen to recook them so that they could eat it. But we were given pen and paper for writing, and there was no physical abuse.

On Sept. 26, 2023, I was transferred to Chau Binh Prison in Ben Tre province, where I stayed until I was released. The rooms were slightly larger, about 4mx15m, and held between 4-7 people. There was a camera in every room, plus the TV. We were let out twice a day, but only for one hour each time. The commisary only opened once every two weeks. The food was better. Each morning, we were given a small baguette with nothing else. For lunch, we had rice and boiled vegetables. Dinners sometimes included eggs, fish or meat.

I have not gone to see a doctor since my release because my body is not showing any bad signs and because the request procedures are fairly complicated for someone on probation like me. But more importantly, I can't afford it. /end

***

Phi was said to be arrested on July 7, 2018, the same day with Huynh Duc Thanh Binh, when they were on the way back to Ho Chi Minh City from a tour of Hue and Danang. However, it is unclear whether he will be criminally charged or not.

Police did not announce his arrest to his family or state media but accused him of “coming back Vietnam to overthrow the government” in a search order directed towards Thomas Quoc Bao.

According to Huynh Duc Thanh Binh's mother, Phi is being detained together with her son and Michael Nguyen at 4 Phan Dang Luu street, Ho Chi Minh city.  

After some effort, the family was able to send clothes to Phi, but they were not allowed to see him before the trial.

June 2019:

The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City tried Michael Nguyen, Huynh Duc Thanh Binh, Tran Long Phi, and Huynh Duc Thinh (Binh's father) on Monday June 24, 2019. Michael Nguyen was sentenced to 12 years, Huynh Duc Thanh Binh to 10 years, Tran Long Phi to eight years, and Huynh Duc Thinh to one year. Nguyen will be deported after completing his sentence. All except Thinh were convicted of subversion for allegedly planning to incite protests and attack government offices. The four were arrested in July, 2018. Another person, Truong Quoc Bao (Thomas Quoc Bao), was also arrested at the same time, but he managed to escape when the police took him back to his home for a search. There is no news on his whereabouts. It was a short and speedy trial in Ho Chi Minh city. Scheduled to be a two day trial, it was finished in less than four hours.

The 88 Project is aware of and investigating the claims of violence involved in these cases. However, in the absence of a free press environment, the defendants should be given the benefit of the doubt, and any accusation by the authorities against them should not be taken for granted.

Resources

Vietnam arrests US citizen, four locals on subversion allegation amid Growing social dissatisfaction, Defend the Defenders, July 28, 2018

Việt kiều Mỹ bị bắt cùng 4 nhà bất đồng chính kiến, Tiếng Dân Newspaper, August 2, 2018

Một người Mỹ gốc Việt nghi bị mất tích tại Việt Nam, Tiếng Dân Newspaper, July 31, 2018

Young Activist Huynh Duc Thanh Binh charged with Subversion, Defend the Defenders, August 8, 2018

In Vietnam, U.S. Citizen Gets 12-Year Sentence for Trying to Overthrow State, The New York Times, June 24, 2019

Vietnam jails American for 12 years on charge of attempting to overthrow state, Reuters, June 24, 2019