Truong Van Dung

Immediate Concerns

June 2024:

Truong Van Dung’s wife, Nghiem Thi Hop, confirmed to us her account in RFA, that her husband was shackled for allegedly “violating prison regulations.” She received a notice from Gia Trung Prison authorities, dated June 21, telling her that Dung was disciplined for “insulting another person according to section 2, article 1 of prison rules.” The notice did not say which individual was insulted. Hop believes her husband must have responded to wrongdoings by someone in authority at the prison and so was punished for it. In addition to being shackled for a week, Dung was prohibited from contacting the family or buying supplies from the canteen from June 20 to August 20. After that date, and until the prisoner “displays good behavior,” Dung will only be allowed family visits every two months instead of monthly. ” He was allegedly also held in solitary confinement for month from Jan.-Feb. 2024.

Luu Van Vinh confrimed this account, telling his wife Le Thi Thap at a June visit that his cellmate, Truong Van Dung, was disciplined and put in shackles for seven days.

January 2024:

Truong Van Dung is allegedly under a one-month disciplinary solitary confinement for arguing with prison officials. Luu Van Vinh, a fellow prisoner, told his wife Nguyen Thi Thap over the phone on Jan. 22 that Dung asked him to tell his family the news. During this time in disciplinary confinement, Dung will not be allowed to buy food from the canteen, receive mail or supplies, nor have visits from the family until Feb. 16. Vinh said Dung and officials got into an argument when the package sent by his family was carelessly torn open by guards not wearing gloves and the contents spilled all over the floor. He also loudly protested when they did not let him keep a photo because it had the “Viet Tan” logo in it.

Background

Living in Hanoi at the time of this writing, Truong Van Dung works as a motorbike driver, while his wife is a hairdresser working from home.  

Profile photo source: Facebook Dũng Trương

History of Activism

Truong Van Dung is a democratic activist and co-founder of Hoi Bau Bi Tuong Than (“Mutual support among countrymen”). This association was established by Dung and nine others in 2013 to financially and spiritually support political prisoners, victims of state-sanctioned injustice (Vietnamese Dan Oan), and their families.

Dung has advocated against forced evictions, even having his own home confiscated in the early 2000s.

In addition, he also is involved in human rights issues and Chinese maritime sovereignty issues, participating in anti-China demonstrations, memorials regarding the border war between Vietnam and China; and also a ceremony honoring the lives lost in a Chinese-Vietnamese naval conflict in 1988. He has been repeatedly harassed by police, such as:

8/11/2013: he was assaulted to the point where Hanoi police broke his ribs..

22/03/2014: being beaten in the face by four people

09/04/2015: being detained for nine hours in Dong Da police station, Hanoi

21/12/2015: being attacked by a man with acid

17/07/2016: being beaten by a plainclothes police after participating in an anti-Chinese demonstration.

According to Facebooker Nguyễn Tường Thụy, it was the sixth time on March 14, 2018 that Dung Truong was beaten right in the police station, in addition to countless times being attacked on the street.

October 2019:

An Ninh ("Security") TV (antv.gov.vn), a state-owned channel dedicated to security-related news, was airing a series of programs to defame well-known political activists. On October 27, 2019, An Ninh TV aired a program in which it identified several activists as “subversives,” among them: Le Trung Khoa, Le Dung Vova, Nguyen Thuy Hanh, Pham Doan Trang, and Dung Truong. The program also provided ways to recognize those activists on social media. On October 31, 2019, Le Dung Vova and his CHTV channel were publicly-accused of igniting some people to question the government.