Tran Quang Hai
Trần Quang Hải
Current Status: Likely released - at risk
No image
Date of Birth: 1991
Gender: M
Ethnicity: Kinh
Occupation: Driver
Activist Focus:
- Anti-corruption
- Freedom of expression
- Press
Details
Background
Hai, a taxi driver, lives and works in Que Vo, Bac Ninh Province.
History of ActivismHai is an ordinary citizen with no prior activism record. He simply feels unjust about the location of the Pha Lai tollbooth and how it deals with surrounding local residents, hence his participation in a civil dispute with the management of Pha Lai tollbooth.
BOT is a lucrative business in Vietnam where the corporates bid to work on certain infrastructure in exchange for the right of charging fees on the users. From 2017, a wave of national protests against these toll booths has emerged. Until now, dozens of activists and citizens have been jailed for opposing the installation and operation of these tollbooths across the country.
Sentenced to 1 year 6 months in prison under Art. 318 (2015 Code). Expected Release is July 3, 2020.
July 30, 2019 - Date of trial
1 year 6 months in prison
July 3, 2020
Details of Imprisonment
Local residents began to protest against Pha Lai tollbooth right after the central government allowed the tollbooth to charge road users, starting on December 24, 2018. Several of the protests were recorded and published online. On December 29, 2018, activist Ha Van Nam contacted Mr Nguyen Huynh Phong to ask how he can help the local residents. On December 31, 2018, Nam and Nguyen Quynh Phong, Le Van Khien, Nguyen Tuan Quan, Vu Van Ha, Ngo Quang Hung, and Tran Quang Hai, with over 100 local drivers, drove to BOT Pha Lai and refused to pay the tickets. There was no brawl or excessive measures used by the protesters. These drivers drove away at the end of the day, and the alleged damage of the tollbooth was only at 27 million Vietnam Dong.
However, somehow, the public security forces finished their “investigation” in 3 day and formally charged them on January 3, 2019. With this simple and mostly civic-related dispute.
The first six suspects were arrested in January, 2019 and Ha Van Nam was arrested on March 05, 2019, two months later. They were tried in the same trial on July 30 2019, and considered “accomplices” by the authority.
ResourcesKhởi tố, tạm giam 6 đối tượng gây rối tại trạm BOT Phả Lại, Dan Tri, January 9, 2019
Update of Attorney Tran Thu Nam, Tran Thu Nam’s Facebook Account, January 11, 2019
Bắt tiếp đối tượng gây rối trật tư công cộng tại trạm BOT Phả Lại, Dan Tri, March 7, 2019
Hà Văn Nam là ai, tại sao nhiều người phản đối việc bắt giữ anh?, BBC Vietnamese, March 3, 2019
Nhóm gây rối trật tự công cộng tại trạm BOT Phả Lại lãnh án, Nguoi Dua Tin, July 30, 2019
Nhóm phản đối BOT Phả Lại bị tuyên án tù giam, MSN, July 30, 2019
Phản đối BOT, Hà Văn Nam bị 30 tháng tù vì tội ‘gây rối’, BBC Vietnamese, July 30, 2019
Profile last updated: 2024-06-13 20:34:06