Le Quoc Quan

Le Quoc Quan has long been an advocate for human rights and multi-party democracy in Vietnam, often drawing the ire of authorities for his work. He has defended vulnerable populations as a lawyer and also maintained a blog about political and social issues prior to his 2012 arrest. On June 8, 2017, just days after meeting with the late US diplomat John McCain, Quan was harassed by a group of men who threatened to harm his family if he didn’t cease his social activism. He believes the group was led by the same man who threatened him in July of 2016, prohibiting him from attending an event hosted by the US Embassy in Vietnam. He has been arrested and charged twice for his activism. He was also briefly been arrested in 2011 after attempting to attend the trial of fellow political activist Cu Huy Ha Vu. Even after being imprisoned, Le Quoc Quan has continued working for human rights in Vietnam.

Le Quoc Quan was in prison from 2007-2018 and 2012-2015. He was first arrested on March 8, 2007, right after returning from serving a National Endowment for Democracy fellowship in the US. He was charged under Article 79 of the 1999 Criminal Code for subversion. Thanks in part to overwhelming international pressure, he was released from prison in June 16, 2007. He was later arrested on December 27, 2012 on charges of tax evasion while dropping off his daughter at school, just days after having posted written commentary on a provision of the Vietnamese Constitution that allocates power to the Communist Party. The article had been published on the BBC Vietnamese language news page. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison on October 2, 2013, in a very brief and closed-off trial, after his original trial was postponed. He appealed the sentence, but the appeal was denied. He was released from prison after completing his sentence on June 27, 2015.

Le Quoc Quan has faced harassment and physical attacks over the years, including being beaten severely by suspected plainclothes police in August 2012, which sent him to the hospital. While in prison, he underwent a hunger strike shortly after being arrested in late 2012 and also in 2014.