Profile

Nguyen Truong Thinh

Current Status: At risk

Photo of Nguyen Truong Thinh

Other Names: Nguyễn Trường Thịnh

Date of Birth: 1980

Gender: M

Ethnicity: Kinh

Occupation: Artist

Areas of Activism:

  • Artistic freedom
  • Environment
  • Human rights

Known Affiliations:

Details - Background, History of Activism, Contact Information.

Thinh Nguyen is a prominent independent artist and filmmaker. 

Profile photo source: Thinh Nguyen Facebook

Thinh Nguyen is known for his creation of the video interview series “Thinh’s Stories” (Chuyện của Thịnh), which give wrongfully convicted prisoners, death row inmates, political prisoners, and their families a chance to tell their stories and their concerns with the hope that it could grab the public's attention.

Thinh has also been an active member of Green Trees (“Vì một Hà Nội Xanh”), a civil society movement focusing its activities on protecting green spaces in Ha Noi. Established in 2015, Green Trees quickly became a leading force in environmental protection in Vietnam and received widespread support.

Artist Nguyen Thinh arbitrarily detained, The 88 Project, October 25, 2019

Nghệ sĩ tự do Nguyễn Thịnh bị bắt ở Hà Nội, VOA Tiếng Việt, October 25, 2019

October 25, 2019: detained and belongings confiscated because of artistic work

  • Police interrogation
  • Detention
  • Property confiscation
  • Physical assault in a public space
October 25, 2019
Public security
Thinh’s private apartment in Ha Noi (map)

  • freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention
  • liberty and security of the person
  • freedom of expression
  • respect of privacy, family, home, and correspondence

According to journalist Pham Doan Trang and our local sources, when Thinh stopped by a grocery store nearby his home around 11:30 am, he was violently captured by public security officers and then escorted back to his home and forced to open the door. 

A video captured by a security camera showed Thinh handcuffed and coerced into his own house by a group of ten men, of whom only one was wearing a police uniform. After 15 minutes searching his house, at noon, the public security took Thinh away without any arrest warrant.

Thinh was released later in the evening, but his two computers, cameras, phones, and other electronics and books were confiscated. He told AFP that, during the detention, the security officers asked a lot of questions about his work. He refused to answer without the presence of a lawyer.

He was released later in the evening of the same day of his detention, but he is still facing a high risk of re-arrest.

Profile last updated: 2020-01-03 02:50:40

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