Known Prison(s): Khanh Hoa Province Detention Center (March 30, 2021 - present)
Activist Focus:
Anti-corruption
Democracy
Freedom of expression
Sovereignty
Press
Details
Immediate Concerns
March 2021:
The People’s Court of Khanh Hoa Province handed down harsh sentences for three people charged with “propaganda against the state.” Nguyen Thi Cam Thuy, 45, received nine years in prison, Ngo Thi Ha Phuong, 25, five years, and Ngo Viet Hoa, 55, three years. Cam Thuy was accused of distributing videos and live streams that defamed Ho Chi Minh and the Party, burning the national flag, displaying the flag of the former South Vietnam government, and other offenses. The other two were charged with acting as accomplices.
Background
She lives and works in Cam Lam District, Khanh Hoa Province.
Thuy was a math teacher at a vocational college in Khanh Hoa. She resigned from her job in the mid-2010s and started to publicly advocate for democracy in 2018.
She is known for intensely criticizing the local government of Khanh Hoa Province in its management of land purchases by Chinese nationals. She also opposes the way the Vietnamese government handles its sovereign disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Sentenced to 9 years in prison under Art. 117 (2015 Code). Expected Release is June 24, 2029.
According to the Public Security of Khanh Hoa Province, the local Investigation Agency arrested Nguyen Thi Cam Thuy and communicated the decision of prosecution against her in the afternoon of June 24, 2020.
The authorities accused her of flag desecration (both of the national flag and Communist Party flag), and live-streaming to defame and offend the Party - State during the Tet in holiday 2020 and the anniversary of 45 years of Vietnam’s reunification. They also insisted that she has stored dangerous materials in her house including two electric batons, knives, machetes, five 12kg-gas cylinders, and 120 litres of gasoline. We cannot verify the original source to see whether the violence accusation was true. However, considering that public security forces have tried to use this tactic to discredit Hue Nhu (Dang Thi Hue) and many other activists, we note that the government allegations of violence cannot be taken for granted in the absence of a free press environment.
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