Nguyen Van Trang
Current Status: At risk
Other Names: Nguyễn Văn Tráng, Vô Danh Khách
Date of Birth: March 1, 1991
Gender: M
Occupation: Student
March 2024:
Democracy activist Nguyen Van Trang has been granted political asylum and emigrated to Switzerland. Wanted by Vietnamese police in 2018, Trang escaped to Thailand. In 2022, the police in Thanh Hoa issued a warrant for his arrest although he was no longer in the country. Trang was a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, a civil society group not recognized by the state.
September 2023:
Democracy activist Nguyen Van Trang, who’s been in Thailand since 2018 seeking asylum, reported to Project88 that he continues to be harrased by Vietnam’s police. In 2016, he was fired from his teaching job at Hong Duc University. In 2017, Trang and three other men were allegedly attacked by unknown assailants with acid in Cambodia; Trang suffered severe injuries and took quite a long time to recover. In 2018, Thanh Hoa police charged him with “attempting to overthrow the government” based on Article 119. In December 2019, they changed the charge to “prostitution broker,” believed by some observers to be a way to force the Thai government to extradite him. Since 2021, Trang’s mother and his family in Hau Loc, Nghe An, have constantly been harassed by police (home visits, police invitations for questioning etc.) as the police try to get Trang to turn himself in.
January 2022:
Nguyen Van Trang, a dissident currently seeking political asylum in Thailand, says local police in his hometown in Thanh Hoa Province have issued a warrant for his arrest even though they know he’s been living in Thailand for the past three years. The police have also urged his fellow villagers to publicly denounce Trang so he can’t return.
Details - Background, History of Activism, Contact Information.
Nguyen Van Trang is living in Thanh Hoa province. He is a student of Hong Duc University.
Profile photo source: Facebook Trang Nguyen
Nguyen Van Trang is a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, in charge of its activities Thanh Hoa province and nearby areas.
Chính quyền kêu gọi ông Nguyễn Văn Tráng ra đầu thú khi đang tị nạn chính trị ở Thái Lan, RFA Vietnamese, January 25, 2022
November 27, 2018: wanted by the authorities
- freedom of expression
- freedom of association
On November 27, Nguyen Van Trang was prosecuted by investigation security agency of Thanh Hoa province. Because of his absence at his residence, the police of Thanh Hoa province released a wanted notice on December 5, accusing him of “conducting activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration."
Besides participating in demonstrations, he was alleged to incite others as well as create, post, and share distorted contents against the regime on his Facebook account, Trang Nguyen.
Trang is a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, in charge of its activities in Thanh Hoa province and nearby areas. Therefore, his prosecution could be part of the crackdown against the Brotherhood for Democracy.
On December 10, security forces of Thanh Hoa Province read the wanted notice, dated December 5, to Nguyen Van Trang's family members and friends. Trang was prosecuted under the charge of “conducting activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration," Article 109 of the 2015 Penal Code.
December 2019:
Radio Free Asia reports that Nguyen was “formerly charged with ‘activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration’ but now [is] accused of procuring prostitutes.” The Vietnamese government is changing charges against political activists to crimes like “procuring prostitutes” in order to make them easier to extradite and prosecute. The tactic is apparently being used with the aim to make processes like applying for asylum claims and garnering local and international support for their cases more difficult for the activists. This is especially relevant in the cases of activists who have fled abroad fearing arrest who may now be more easily deported back to the country under the new charges.
Defend the Defenders noted that the Vietnamese government is changing charges against political activists to crimes like “procuring prostitutes” in order to make them easier to extradite and prosecute. The tactic is apparently being used with the aim to make processes like applying for asylum claims and garnering local and international support for their cases more difficult for the activists. This is especially relevant in the cases of activists who have fled abroad fearing arrest who may now be more easily deported back to the country under the new charges. “This criminalization of political activities will put political activists in a difficult situation,” Trang Van Nguyen, a member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, told Radio Free Asia. RFA reports that Nguyen was “formerly charged with ‘activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration’ but now [is] accused of procuring prostitutes.”
Công an Thanh Hóa truy nã đối tượng Nguyễn Văn Tráng, An Ninh Thu Do newspaper, December 12, 2018
Allegations against Many Activists Suddenly Changed from Political to Criminal, Defend the Defenders, December 22, 2019
Vietnamese Activists Are Now Charged as ‘Criminals’ in a Government Bid to Destroy Support, Radio Free Asia, December 27, 2019
January 3, 2022: targeted for public denunciation in his hometown
- Persecution while seeking asylum abroad
- Wanted by authorities
- Intimidation
January 3, 2022
Public security
Thanh Loc ward, Hau Loc district, Thanh Hoa province (map)
respect of privacy, family, home, and correspondence
Nguyen Van Trang, who was currently seeking political asylum in Thailand, says local police in his hometown in Thanh Hoa province issued a warrant for his arrest even though they know he’s been living in Thailand for the past three years. The police have also urged his fellow villagers to publicly denounce Trang so he can’t return.
Chính quyền kêu gọi ông Nguyễn Văn Tráng ra đầu thú khi đang tị nạn chính trị ở Thái Lan, RFA Vietnamese, January 25, 2022
Profile last updated: 2024-03-19 18:39:31