Profile

Vu Tien Chi

Vũ Tiến Chi

Detainment Type: Sentenced to prison

Photo of Vu Tien Chi

Other Names: Vũ Tiến Chi

Date of Birth: August 15, 1966

Gender: M

Ethnicity: Kinh

Activist Focus:

  • Anti-corruption
  • Democracy
  • Human rights
  • Sovereignty

Details

Immediate Concerns

December 2021:

On December 17, an appeals court in Ho Chi Minh City upheld the 10-year sentence against Vu Tien Chi from Lam Dong Province.

 

Background

Chi was born in Nam Dinh. He now lives and works in Bao Loc City, Lam Dong.

June 27, 2018: beaten harshly after visiting activist Do Thi Minh Hanh

Assault
June 27, 2018
Lien Dam commune, Di Linh district, Lam Dong province (map)

On June 27, 2018, Vu Tien Chi, with Dinh Van Hai, went to visit Minh Hanh because she was being attacked harshly at that time. After Dinh Van Hai live-streamed at Minh Hanh’s house, showing her dangerous situation in her house, Chi and Hai went back home.

At around 12:00 pm, two thugs followed and attacked them with wooden and iron sticks when they were at National Way 20, Lien Dam Commune, Di Linh District, Lam Dong Province. After Hai and Chi fell off their motorbike, they continued beating them harshly, causing Hai’s broken right hand and left clavicle shoulder.

Sentenced to 10 years in prison and 3 years probation under Art. 117 (2015 Code). Expected Release is June 24, 2030.

June 24, 2020
  • Art 117
Provincial/city
His home in Bao Loc City (map)
March 31, 2021 - Date of trial
10 years in prison and 3 years probation
June 24, 2030
Details of Imprisonment

Vu Tien Chi is a vocal activist for democratization and human rights. He usually utilizes Facebook and other online tools to voice his concerns about various issues including the South China Sea and corruption. Chi also attended several protests in 2016 and 2018 in Ho Chi Minh City. When arrested, the public security said that Chi was in the middle of a live-stream defaming the party and its leaders.

March 2021:

After a short one-day trial, Facebooker Vu Tien Chi, 55, was given a 10-year prison sentence for conducting  “propaganda against the state” under Article 117 of the 2015 Criminal Code. He was arrested in June 2020 and accused of sharing 338 articles and 181 videos on his social media to “distort and defame the people’s administration, infringe the interests of the Communist Party of Vietnam and state.”

Resources

Khởi tố Vũ Tiến Chi về hành vi chống phá Nhà nước, Cong an Nhan dan Online, June 25, 2020 

Khởi tố, bắt tạm giam đối tượng tuyên truyền chống phá Nhà nước, Bao Lam Dong, June 24, 2020

Vietnam jails Facebook user for 10 years for anti-state posts, Reuters, March 31, 2021

Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly Report from March 29-April 4, 2021: Five Facebookers Convicted for Online Posts, One Anti-corruption Journalist Charged with “Abusing Democratic Freedom," Defend the Defenders, April 4, 2021

Y án 10 năm tù đối với người “nói xấu” lãnh đạo Đảng và Nhà nước, RFA Vietnamese, December 17, 2021

Profile last updated: 2024-06-13 20:34:05

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