Dang Dinh Bach

Bach’s arrest and charge were announced on July 2, the same day as Mai Phan Loi’s. He was charged under Article 200 for “tax evasion.” 

On June 24, 2021, Bach was detained by the police in Hanoi for questioning, along with the LSPD accountant on vaguely formulated charges of “tax evasion.” There was not any arrest warrant shown at the time of his arrest. The accountant was released after the investigation. According to the court indictment issued on November 29, 2021, both Bach’s house and his workplace were searched and items confiscated.

Both places were examined by police at the same time, at 10 am on June 24, 2021, his wife, Thao said. There was not any search warrant presented. The police and law enforcement did not give any specific reasons for holding Bach other than a generic statement saying that he had violated Article 200 of the 2015 Criminal Code, which was sent to the family one day later, on June 25, 2021.

His wife received the court announcement document on July 5, 2021 by post, three days after its issued date. Thao shared that on July 10, 2021, she was called by a Hanoi Court investigator and handed Bach’s letter from the detention center. In his letter, written on July 8, 2021, Bach insisted that he was innocent. He is a victim, and he was targeted because he was involved in the Son La Hydroelectric plant. He collected complaint documents of the Son La victims and submitted them on their behalf to relevant stakeholders; that might be also another reason he was jailed, his wife said.

It is also argued that allegations against Bach and Loi are a response to their attempts to build up a connection of NGOs under the regulation of EVFTA. These organizations could play an important role in monitoring Vietnam’s obligations under EVFTA. Read our analysis here.

January 2022:

On January 24, Bach was sentenced to five years in prison and no probation. He did not know of his trial date until his lawyers visited him on January 14. His family was not allowed to attend. He was also ordered to pay a fine of VND 1,381,093,134 (~ US$ 60,922).

The family has not been allowed to see him. They said because Bach is a vegan, he has been eating very little while in prison. His lawyer said Bach has gone on a hunger strike since January 10 to protest against his prolonged detention and not being allowed family visits. Bach has also demanded to be released on bail. 

On January 18, 2022, Thao and attorney Huong went to the Hanoi Court to submit a document saying that Bach’s family would pay compensation (on the accusation of tax evasion) before the trial, amounting to VND 500,000,000 (~US$ 22,000). However, they were told that they need to ask for the judge’s signature to be allowed to do so. As of the time of this writing, the family still had not received the approval needed to pay the fine. The family was advised by their attorneys that they should propose again at trial to pay the compensation with the hope that Bach will receive a minor sentence. It is refundable if Bach is proven innocent. 

February 2022:

Bach’s lawyers and the family have still not been allowed to see him since the trial. Also, they have not been informed by the authorities if Bach was transferred to another prison. They have no updates on Bach’s current physical and mental health situation. Bach’s request to appeal his conviction was approved on February 14, 2022 but his lawyers, Nguyen Van Hung and Nguyen Thi Huong, did not receive the court’s notice until February 21. 

August 2022:

Dang Dinh Bach’s wife, Phuong Thao, told The 88 Project she was able to see her husband on August 31 for about 20 minutes, their first meeting since his arrest. Bach said he was being held in a cell with 20 other people, and that he needed some books to read. Their conversation was cut off when Bach tried to tell Thao that he was innocent and needed the international community to help exonerate him. After a warning from the prison police, they were allowed to resume their conversation.

Earlier in the month, a court upheld the five-year sentence against Bach.  Thao said she was not allowed into the courtroom, but caught a glimpse of her husband. She told The 88 Project Bach had been on a 24-day hunger strike to protest the incommunicado detention and that he looked like he’d lost 10 kgs. Bach’s lawyer told Thao that before the trial someone from the court whispered in his ear that he should stop defending Bach because “everyone knows it’s not about tax evasion.” 

Bach's appeal trial was originally scheduled for May 2022 but postponed.

October 2022:

Dang Dinh Bach‘s wife, Tran Phuong Thao, updated The 88 Project on his prison conditions after a recent visit. Read the update here.

November 2022:

Dang Dinh Bach was moved to a new prison without the family’s knowledge. Bach’s wife only found out when she went to visit him at Detention Center 1 in Hanoi, where he had been held since his arrest in June 2021.

January 2023:

On Jan. 18, 2023, an officer from the Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement of Hanoi called Bach's wife, Thao, and told her to pay the alleged tax amount owed of VND 1,381,093,134 ($58,059). He said if the money was not paid, the department would confiscate property belonging to the family. Thao told The 88 Project that she had no intention of paying the money, as Bach continues to maintain his innocence.

March 2023:

Dang Dinh Bach’s wife, Tran Phuong Thao, reported that her family’s housing situation is precarious. She said the local government had been threatening to freeze her bank accounts and force her to sell her house, her car, and other possessions if she refuses to pay the tax they allegedly owe ($58,000 USD) (Bach was accused of tax evasion). Because Bach’s bank accounts have been frozen and his credit cards have been locked since his conviction, Thao cannot access them to take care of financial matters; the utilities company has even threatened to cut off her electricity.

Thao visited Bach on March 17. There were five officials watching Bach on his side, and two watching on her side. Bach had prepared a piece of paper listing everything he wanted to tell Thao, which had been reviewed by officials beforehand:

1. Truth and love to everyone and everything, rising above all differences based on religion, race, politics etc. and willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good;
2. The party and the state must reconsider its view of NGOs and civil society as a threat to its power, leading it to prosecute and imprison innocent people, at the same time guarantee sustainable growth that respects individual freedom and rights;
3. “I will go on a hunger strike to the death. I demand justice and freedom unconditionally.”

Thao said that prison officials have not let Bach receive any of the traditional medicine she sent for his asthma on the grounds that only Western pharmaceutical products are allowed. Bach announced that beginning March 17 he will start a partial hunger strike by refusing breakfast and lunch until June 24. After that date, he will refuse to eat completely to mark what he says are his two years of wrongful imprisonment.

Update: Bach reported that despite his hunger strike, he is nevertheless healthy and stable. In a call home, Bach asked his wife to alert the UN and other international advocacy groups that his case is a political one because he claims there is an official directive from the Central Internal Affairs Committee. Though difficult to corroborate, we will try to get more information about this claim.

April 2023:

Tran Phuong Thao reported that she met with her husband Bach on April 15. Bach has been on a partial hunger strike since March 17 to demand justice. Bach maintained his innocence and said that if nothing was done about his case, he would go on a full hunger strike starting on June 24 to coincide with the two year anniversary of his arrest. He requested that the family not send him any supplies after that point, adding that he would not yield until he achieved his goal. Thao said her husband has already lost more than 10 kg and appeared emaciated.

In a written statement obtained by Project 88, Bach asked that the UN Human Rights Commission and other rights organizations coordinate with the Vietnamese government to have his case investigated by an international judicial body. In particular, Bach requested that Dam Van Khanh, head of the Hanoi Investigative Agency, be prosecuted for violating human rights regulations. Bach also suggested that the government of Vietnam be investigated for having an ulterior political motive for imprisoning him and three other NGO leaders on tax charges.