Profile

Nguyen Huy

Nguyễn Huy

Detainment Type: Released - at risk

No image

Other Names: Nguyễn Huy

Date of Birth:

Gender: M

Occupation: Public institutions employee

Activist Focus:

  • Anti-corruption

Details

Immediate Concerns

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.

Nguyen Huy was warned for his actions and convicted but not sentenced to prison time. He was released from prison after trial.

Background

Huy was a team leader in the Criminal Technical Division of the Quang Tri Provincial Police.

History of Activism

Le Anh Dung met Huy in November 2020 and recruited him to provide Dung and journalist Phan Bui Bao Thy with insider information about several governors in Quang-Tri Province.

Back to the period of time 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).

From November 2020 on, Huy supported Dung and Thy to continue posting about those mentioned above.

On February 10, 2021, Phan Bui Bao Thy was arrested, along with Le Anh Dung, for using several Facebook accounts to allegedly discredit high-ranking officials in Quang Tri Province. Around the same time, Nguyen Huy was also arrested and accused of being an accomplice to Thy and Dung.

Charged under Art. 331 (2015 Code).

February 10, 2021
  • Art 331
Provincial/city
Quang Tri Province (map)
March 30, 2022 - Date of trial
Details of Imprisonment

October 2021:

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. 

Resources

Vietnam Net article 

Tòa trả hồ sơ điều tra bổ sung vụ nói xấu lãnh đạo ở Quảng Trị, Phap Luat, October 30, 2021

Xét xử cựu nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy vì lập Facebook nói xấu kãnh đạo tỉnh Quảng Trị,  Canh Co, October 29, 2021

Cựu nhà báo Phan Bùi Bảo Thy được đưa ra xét xử lần 2 vì 'nói xấu lãnh đạo', Toui Tre, March 30, 2022

Việt Nam xét xử nhóm cựu nhà báo, công an ‘nói xấu lãnh đạo’, VOA Vietnamese, March 30, 2022

Profile last updated: 2024-06-13 20:34:07

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