Le Anh Dung

Current Status: Sentenced to probation

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Other Names: Lê Anh Dũng

Date of Birth: 1962

Gender: M

Ethnicity: Kinh

Occupation: Retired

Areas of Activism:

Anti-corruption
Freedom of expression

Highlighted Human Rights Concerns:

Prolonged Incommunicado Detention
Online commentator

Immediate Concerns

April 2022:

After five days of deliberation, a court in Quang Tri Province sentenced journalist Phan Bui Bao Thy and businessman Le Anh Dung to one year each of “non-custodial re-education” for allegedly defaming government officials.

March 2022:

On March 30, a court in Quang Tri Province put three men on trial for the second time for “abusing democratic freedoms.” Their first trial in October 2021 was adjourned prematurely so that the prosecution could gather more evidence to press more charges.

The defendants are: Phan Bui Bao Thy, 50, former journalist with the publication Education Of The Times; ex-police officer Nguyen Huy, 44, who worked for Quang Tri Public Security; and Le Anh Dung, 56, a businessman in Ho Chi Minh City. The plaintiffs include: Nguyen Van Hung, former chairman of the Quang Tri People’s Committee and current Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; Vo Van Hung, chairman of the Quang Tri People’s Committee; Tran Duc Viet, former Chief of Public Security in Quang Tri; and several others. According to Tuoi Tre Online, none of the plaintiffs appeared at the trial, but it was still allowed to proceed.

Details - Background, History of Activism.

Background

Dung lives in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. He previously worked as a driver for the Vietnam Fatherland Front of Quang Tri Province.

History of Activism

From early 2020 to November 2020, Dung and Thy wrote and posted on their Facebook accounts criticisms against high-ranking governors of Quang-Tri Province, including Tran Duc Viet (head of Quang-Tri Province Police Department), Nguyen Van Hung (party secretary and chairman of Quang Tri People’s Committee at the time, currently Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism); Vo Van Hung (chairman of Quang Tri People’s Committee); Le Duc Tien (vice-chairman of Quang Tri People’s committee); and Do Van Binh (director of Quang Tri’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department).

Le Anh Dung met Huy in November 2020 and recruited him to provide them with insider information about several governors in Quang Tri Province.

From the on, Huy supported Dung and Thy to continue posting about those mentioned above.

Resources

Bắt nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy điều tra hành vi đứng sau Facebook ẩn danh bôi nhọ lãnh đạo, Tuoi Tre Online, February 9, 2021

Khởi tố nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy, Phap Luat Online, February 10, 2021

Vì sao Việt Nam bắt nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy? Sputnik Online, February 10, 2021

Khởi tố nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy cùng đồng phạm, February 10, 2021

Hai cán bộ công an tỉnh bị đình chỉ vì liên quan đến vụ nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy, Tuoi Tre Online, February 11, 2021

Xét xử cựu nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy vì lập Facebook nói xấu bí thư, chủ tịch tỉnh Quảng Trị, Toui Tre Online, November 2021

Arrested February 6, 2021. Sentenced to 1 year 6 months probation under Art. 331 (2015 Code).

Arrest February 6, 2021

Charges

Art. 331 (2015 Code)

Authority of Arrest Quang Tri public security, Quang Tri province

Location District 2, Ho Chi Minh City (map)

Trial March 30, 2022

Court of First Instance The People’s Court of Quang Tri Province

Defense Counsels

Sentence 1 year 6 months probation

Expected Release

Actual Release

Rights Violated

freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention
liberty and security of the person
freedom of expression
fair trial

Actions Taken By

Details of Imprisonment

The Quang Tri police report and their press release accused Phan Bui Bao Thy and Le Anh Dung of running many Facebook accounts, namely “Ly Tu Duong”, “Thu Ha”, “Hoang Le”, “Quang Tri 357”, and “Quang Tri 246”, that were involved in a so-called “discreditation campaign” against the Party leadership of Quang Tri Province. The report did not discuss the evidence that would support Thy’s accusation.

Thy was arrested after being invited to work with Quang Tri public security on this matter. Five days after his detention, the authorities officially announced his arrest under Article 331 of the 2015 Criminal Code for "abusing democratic freedoms." His pre-trial detention will last two months and is subject to further extension. His house and workplace in Da Nang were also searched. The authorities alleged that Thy and his accomplice, Le Anh Dung, prepared 10,000 pages of documents to “defame” the leadership.

Nguyen Huy was also arrested and accused of being an accomplice to Thy and Dung.

***

October 2021:

On October 29 Phan Bui Bao Thy, a former journalist for the state-run online magazine Giáo Dục và Thời Đại (Education and the Times), was put on trial with two co-defendants — Nguyen Huy and Le Anh Dung. They were accused of setting up several Facebook pages for the purpose of smearing the reputation of the police chief of Quang Tri Province by posting 79 articles exposing his supposed wrongdoings. The three men were initially charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331, but after two days of hearing, the court asked the prosecutors to revise the charges and add “libel” to the case.

On October 31, 2021,after two days of trial, the Chief of Secretariat for the province, Nguyễn Khánh Vũ, returned the case to the Procuracy and declared that the defendants’ actions “did not affect the credibility or leadership ability of Quang Tri Province executive committee.”

The reasons given were that the process of investigation and the evidence gathered did not meet the law’s requirements; the charge that defendants violated Article 331 does not reflect the true severity of the harm done; the act of “slander” was omitted.

The trial was suspended.

Supporting Documents