Hoang Thi Thu Vang

On October 2, 2019, Vang’s family received an announcement of her arrest written by police on September 14. She was to be temporarily detained for at least four months under the charge of “disrupting security”. During this time, she was not able to meet her relatives nor her lawyer.

July 2019:

On July 18, 2019, the families of five activists -- Ngo Van Dung, Ho Dinh Cuong, Tran Thanh Phuong, Doan Thi Hong, and Hoang Thi Thu Vang -- sent a letter to the Prime Minister and many other government institutions denouncing the fives' unlawful arrests and detentions over a period of more than 10 months. According to the letter, in September 2018, all of the five activists were arrested without official warrants. Since their arrests, they were held in Ho Chi Minh City's detention center. The public security of Ho Chi Minh City announced to the families that four of them were charged with “disrupting public order” under Article 118 Penal Code, with a possible sentence of between seven and 15 years in prison. 

October 2019:

Relatives of five detained members of the Hien Phap group were planning to sue the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department, alleging that their loved ones were arrested without warrants and held for many weeks in unknown locations before the families were notified. The five cases represented are those of Ngo Van Dung, Doan Thi Hong, Hoang Thi Thu Vang, Ho Dinh Cuong, and Tran Thanh Phuong. The families also say that they had not received notice on the various extensions of the fives' investigation periods. All were arrested in September 2018 and remained in pre-trial detention until July 2020. They were also not permitted to meet with their lawyers and were only allowed to meet with their families for the first time in September 2019.

February 2020:

Eight activists were scheduled to face trial by the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on March 10 on charges of "disrupting security" under Article 118 of the 2015 Criminal Code. The eight had been detained without trial for almost a year and a half. Authorities previously postponed the trial twice. The group of eight defendants includes Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh, Hoang Thi Thu Vang, Do The Hoa, Ho Dinh Cuong, Tran Thanh Phuong, Ngo Van Dung, Doan Thi Hong and Le Quy Loc. Some are members of the Hien Phap group, established on June 16, 2017, with the aim to promote peoples' understanding of their human rights under the 2015 Constitution. 

July 2020:

After several postponements, on July 31, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City sentenced eight defendants, some of whom are members of the Hien Phap constitutional rights group, to prison sentences ranging from two and a half years to-eight years on charges of “disrupting security.” The sentences were as follows:

• Ngo Van Dung: five years in prison and two years of probation
• Hoang Thi Thu Vang: seven years in prison and three years of probation
• Do The Hoa: five years in prison and two years of probation
• Ho Dinh Cuong: four and a half  years in prison and two years of probation
• Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh: eight years in prison and three years of probation
• Tran Thanh Phuong: three and a half years in prison and two years of probation
• Le Quy Loc: five years in prison and three years of probation
• Doan Thi Hong: two and a half years in prison and two years of probation

Family members and supporters were not allowed to attend the trial, and neither were US government representatives. One representative of the German Embassy was allowed to attend.

August 2020:

The US State Department released a statement condemning the imprisonment of Hien Phap group members, saying: “Although we have seen the Government of Vietnam take some positive steps on human rights in certain areas in Vietnam over the past few years, we are troubled about the growing trend of arrests of and harsh sentences for peaceful activists since early 2016.”

HCM City-based Female Activist Charged with Disruption of Security, Facing Lengthy Imprisonment, Defend the Defenders, October 2, 2018

Gia đình của Tù nhân Lương tâm Ngô Văn Dũng tố cáo bưu điện CSVN, Dan Lam Bao

Eight Vietnamese Democracy Activists Given Long Terms in Prison, Radio Free Asia, July 31, 2020

Eight Members of Constitution Group Convicted, Sentenced to Total 40.5 Years in Prison and 20 Years of Probation, Defend the Defenders, July 31, 2020