Bui Van Thuan

Immediate Concerns

The Vietnam Human Rights Network has given three political prisoners -- Do Nam Trung, Bui Van Thuan and Dang Dang Phuoc -- the Human Rights Defender Awards for 2024. Last month, Thuan and several others at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An staged a hunger strike that resulted in some improvements to conditions for their fellow prisoners. Each awardee will be given a $3000 prize; however, organizers emphasize that the real value of these awards, which have been issued annually for the past 22 years, is more spiritual than monetary.

Oct. 2024:

The weeks-long group hunger strike at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An by Trinh Ba Tu, Bui Van Thuan and Dang Dinh Bach ended after 21 days and appears to have had some success. Tu’s sister, Trinh Thi Thao, spoke with her brother over the phone on Oct. 30. and was told that conditions have partially improved. The tiger cage door had been left open for a week, he said. On Friday morning and Sunday morning and evening, all four cells were opened so everyone could go out to the courtyard to play chess, play sports, sing, and talk to each other for about two hours. Tu and everyone in Group A of section K1 of the prison wished to thank “all the foreign diplomats, democratic governments, independent media and concerned friends” who provided moral support and helped protect them as they continued their difficult journey.

The group hunger strike at Prison No. 6 called for an end to the “tiger cages,” among other demands. Dang Dinh Bach had to withdraw after 10 days due to failing health. The other two prisoners — Trinh Ba Tu and Bui Van Thuan — continued on, although Thuan’s health also became an issue, according to Tu’s sister, Trinh Thu Thao, who visited them on Oct. 16. Thuan was suffering from joint pains so severe that he can hardly sleep, Thao said. His cellmates in the division called Group A also asked officials to immediately improve prison conditions. On Oct. 14, Lt. Col. Nguyen Van Du said he would let prisoners exercise for a few hours on Sundays but also said he would have to ask for permission from his superior to completely remove the “tiger cages” (which are only used for political prisoners).

Trinh Ba Tu received good results from a health check on Oct. 13 that showed his blood pressure at 125/70 and his heart rate at 80bpm, even though his weight had gone down from 68kg to 59kg. Tu said that aside from occasional dizziness and blurred vision, he was feeling strong enough to continue the hunger strike. However, he said he would end it if Thuan’s health was in danger. Thuan’s wife, Trinh Thi Nhung, told Project88 that the package of supplies she sent her husband arrived on the day Thuan began the hunger strike, so he sent it back. A surprise search of Tu’s and Thuan’s personal belongings on Oct. 9 revealed that neither man had any food stored away.

Earlier in the month:

Three prominent political prisoners held at Nghe An’s Prison No. 6 are staging a group hunger strike to demand an end to cruel treatment and the release of political prisoners. According to their families, Trinh Ba Tu, Dang Dinh Bach and Bui Van Thuan began their strike on Sept. 28, just days after fellow inmate Tran Huynh Duy Thuc was forcibly released from Prison No. 6 right before President To Lam’s first visit to the U.S. All three activists have engaged in prior protests against prison conditions and harassment of their family members. 

The group specifically called out two wardens — Thai Van Thuy and Nguyen Van Du, for what they allege are arbitrary and discriminatory practices against political prisoners. In a formal letter, Bach made a series of demands, including an end to “tiger cage” confinement that “devastates our physical and mental well-being.” Tran Huynh Duy Thuc had reported that the group had been held in the tiger cages since the spring.

Bui Van Thuan‘s wife, Trinh Thi Nhung, visited Thuan on Sept. 25. She told Project88 that on Aug. 28, a four-person U.S. delegation, including one person from the State Department, visited her husband at Prison No. 6. According to Nhung, their inquiry “focused on the harsh treatment by prison officials and the health conditions of political prisoners held here.” The delegation emphasized that they had to “overcome many roadblocks in order to get to Nghe An from Washington D.C.”

August 2024:

Bui Van Thuan‘s wife, Trinh Thi Nhung, visited her husband in Prison No. 6 in Nghe An and reported that Thuan has lost about 5 kg due to having become a vegetarian for the past three months. However, Thuan said he felt fine.

July 2024:

Bui Van Thuan’s wife, Trinh Thi Nhung, and his parents visited him at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An in early July. Thuan said he’s been a vegetarian for a month and asked the family to stop sending him any non-vegetarian food. Thuan told them he was feeling better physically and more relaxed mentally “since I don’t really have any choice but to adapt to the harsh climate here."

May 2024:

Trinh Thi Nhung, Bui Van Thuan’s wife, confirmed to Project88 that her husband began a hunger strike on May 18 to protest the mistreatment that fellow prisoner Tran Huynh Duy Thuc had mentioned, particularly the prisoners’ inability to share time together on weekends as previously permitted. Nhung asked Thuan to write a letter instead to the warden requesting him to lift this ban, but Thuan refused. He said there’s no point asking for something that is their legal right to begin with but was illegitimately taken away.

Earlier in the month, Thuan had reported that his cell lacks ventilation while temperatures routinely go over 100F, and that he had not been allowed to go outside to exercise. 

Other prominent political prisoners at the same prison, including Tran Huynh Duy Thuc and Dang Dinh Bach, have also complained about recent mistreatment and have staged multiple hunger strikes. 

Earlier in the month:

Trinh Thi Nhung, wife of Bui Van Thuan, and his parents, travelled 300km from Hoa Binh to visit him at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An Province. Thuan’s health was stable, but he was being kept in a windowless cell with a tin roof. Temperatures outside had been above 40C, turning the cell into “an oven,” he said. Thuan has not been allowed to go outside to exercise or to meet other prisoners on the weekend as before. To protest the harsh treatment, Thuan had been refusing to receive prison food.

March 2024:

Bui Van Thuan’s wife, Trinh Thi Nhung, and their young daughter, visited Thuan at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An Province on March 9. Thuan appeared to be in good spirits and appeared to have regained some weight, Nhung said. He immediately asked her about the arrests of Nguyen Vu Binh and Nguyen Chi Tuyen (Anh Chi), which had just been shown on TV. Nhung explained that the two were arrested more than 10 days earlier, but that state media delayed reporting the news.

February 2024:

Trinh Thi Nhung, the wife of Bui Van Thuan, told Project88 that during the Tet holidays she was suddenly summoned to the police station on Feb. 16 without a reason. Once there, they showed her a Facebook account using her name but which had been created only one day earlier; the account contained posts that could potentially be deemed “anti-state propaganda.” She denied it was hers and refused to sign an affidavit. Since that day, the police have allegedly been posting men around her house. She reported that unknown men wearing face masks have also been following her and her young child everywhere. At night, they even allegedly asked her neighbors to shine their lights on her house “all through the night.”

Background

Bui Van Thuan is from the Muong ethnic minority. He used to be a teacher, and now lives in Hoa Binh Province.

Profile photo source: Facebook Thuan Van Bui

History of Activism

Thuan has a Facebook page called “Cha Dà Dân Tộc,” which is a word play on “Cha Già Dân Tộc” (Father of the Nation, i.e. Ho Chi Minh), with over 25,000 followers. On his page, Thuan posts news, jokes, and parodies that criticize the Communist Party and the corruption in government, sometimes using colorful language. More recently, he’s been focusing his criticisms on how the government is handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thuan joined the Brotherhood for Democracy (BFD) in 2013 through fellow activist Pham Van Troi. Between 2014-2016, he participated in protests against China’s 9-dash line territorial claim. In June 2017, together with Nguyen Vu Binh and Le Anh Hung, Thuan founded a group called Legal Research whose purpose was to design a new “democratic model” for Vietnam. In October 2017, he became a member of the Communication group within BFD, in charge of Facebook and Fan Page administration.

Family Situation

He is married as has a daughter.