Huynh Thi To Nga

Immediate Concerns

April 2025:

On April 14, 2024, former political prisoner Huynh Thi To Nga left Vietnam, arriving in Thailand on April 17, 2024, before resettling in Canada on April 3, 2025. In Thailand, the UNHCR granted Nga refugee status, facilitating her resettlement in Canada. However, on March 18, 2025, Nga and her daughter were detained for 15 days at the Bang Khen Immigration Detention Center (IDC) and fined for illegal entry. After relocating to Canada, she shared her IDC experience with Project88. Read more about Nga's experience in her profile, below. 

March 2025:

Former political prisoner Huynh Thi To Nga has relocated to Canada, she confirmed to Project88. Alleging she was abducted by police at the hospital where she worked in 2019, To Nga was arrested and imprisoned for five years for her online postings, despite having a child under 36 months old at the time of her arrest. Her brother, Huynh Minh Tam, is serving nine years in prison under the same charge.

September 2024:

In a surprise announcement on Facebook, former political prisoner Huynh Thi To Nga revealed that she has been living in exile in Thailand for the past six months with her daughter, and that her husband and their son were able to escape Vietnam to join them last week. Nga said that after her release in early 2023, after serving almost five years in prison under Article 117, both she and her husband had been constantly followed and harassed by secret police, and that even her children were subjected to harassment at times. Nga said she had to leave the country in order to continue her work of speaking out against injustices in Vietnam.

September 2023:

Former political prisoner Huynh Thi To Nga told Project 88 that she and her husband have been constantly harassed by police who kept sending her “invitations” to come to the police station without cause. On Sept. 15, they even went to the hospital where her husband works and “invited” him to come in for a talk, which he refused. Nga believes the police want her to stop posting her personal story on social media, which violates no law.

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Huynh Thi To Nga described to Project 88 the horrendous conditions inside An Phuoc prison camp. Nga said she was released 10 months early for good behavior and for doing prison labor without pay making joss sticks. Nga said the prison food was so poor and lacking in nutrition that she had to stage protests to demand better food. Her health also suffered and her eyesight deteriorated due to being kept inside too long.

March 2023: Huynh Thi To Nga was released early from prison, 10 months before her five-year sentence was up. The doctor and single mom was arrested around the same time as her brother, Huynh Minh Tam, in 2019, both convicted of spreading “anti-state propaganda.” Tam remains in prison.

The authorities have not given any official reason for why To Nga was released early. She declined an interview with RFA after her release. We are attempting to contact her for more information.

Background

She is a doctor and mother of two children.

Profile photo source: Facebook Bao Nhi Le

A Refugee’s Journey: From Vietnam to Canada via Thailand

On April 14, 2024, Huynh Thi To Nga fled Vietnam, arriving in Thailand on April 17, 2024. She was granted refugee status by the UNHCR and accepted for resettlement in Canada, where she settled on April 3, 2025. However, her journey was marked by significant challenges, including a 15-day detention at Thailand’s Immigration Detention Center (IDC) starting March 18, 2025, alongside her daughter, for illegal entry. They were also fined for the violation.

At the Bang Khen IDC, the area for women with young children was relatively clean but overcrowded. Nga encountered a group of Vietnamese refugees, including members of the Ede ethnic minority. Among them was Linh, the wife of activist Y Quynh Bdap, who is fighting extradition from Thailand to Vietnam where he faces a 10-year jail sentence for terrorism. Linh and the couple's children had been arrested in Thailand while attending a funeral for her recently deceased mother. Linh shared that their family struggled financially to support their children, refuting the Vietnamese authorities’ accusations that Y Quynh Bdap was involved in terrorism and purchasing weapons.

Nga described the food at IDC as sufficient but lacking in nutrition, with no option to purchase additional meals in the short-term detention area. Despite these conditions, she noted that the IDC was a significant improvement over the prison she had experienced in Vietnam. Detainees were isolated from outside communication and granted only 20–30 minutes of outdoor time every few days. Guards were more lenient with refugees like Nga, who were resettling, but stricter with others. During this time, Nga spoke with her daughter about the importance of law and their detention experience, viewing it as a profound and unforgettable lesson.

After their 15-day detention at Bang Khen IDC, Nga and her daughter were transferred to Suan Phlu IDC to finalize paperwork. With assistance from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), they were escorted to Suvarnabhumi Airport for their flight to Canada. On the prison transport, Nga was joined by a Myanmar refugee also bound for Canada, four Singaporeans, and a German national facing deportation. The mood on the bus was unexpectedly uplifting, with the group sharing a sense of hope and anticipation for freedom. Nga bonded with a young Singaporean over shared snacks, a moment that reminded her of friendships forged during her imprisonment in Vietnam.

Nga’s year in Thailand, particularly her time at IDC, was a transformative experience. It taught her about resilience, the value of friendship, Thai culture, and the country’s strict immigration laws, while also revealing the kindness of its people. At Suvarnabhumi Airport, each traveler carried a unique mix of emotions—some returning home, others embarking on new beginnings. Upon arriving in Canada with her Myanmar friend, Nga looked forward to building a brighter, more secure future for herself and her family.

History of Activism

She owns two Facebook accounts. A sharp commentator on Vietnamese politics, she frequently shares her views online that are critical of the regime.

Family Situation

She is the sister of Facebooker Huynh Minh Tam, pwho was arrested in early 2019 for his Facebook activities and tried in the same trial. 

While working as a medical professional, Nga is a single mom of two children. People are worried about her children after the People’s Court of Dong Nai Province sentenced both her and her older brother to such severe prison terms. Nga was arrested when one of her children was under 36 months old.