Bach Hung Duong

The non-profit Media in Educating Community (MEC) is a prominent NGO. It has worked to promote free and critical thinking, freedom of information and civic education. Their partners include the Embassy of the United Kingdom and the Embassy of the United State of America in Vietnam. Duong was the Director of MEC from 2014 to 2021.

According to the official indictment, Duong has been an accomplice and supported Mai Phan Loi’s tax evasion activities. Specifically, the Public Security insisted that MEC did not properly operate the NGO in accordance with the tax standards of the country. 

On January 11, 2022, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced Bach Hung Duong to 30 months in prison on charges of “tax evasion” under Article 200 of the 2015 Criminal Code. As with Loi, Duong has been given a “ban of undertaking managerial positions, and will be prevented from practice or work in the field of taxation within a period of five years after his release.” 

State media reported that from 2014 to 2021, Duong had supported Loi in evading more than VND 878 million dong (US $38,640) from financial contributions worth nearly 20 billion dong (US$ 880,200) that the MEC had received from domestic and foreign donors. As Duong only received a salary from MEC as the director and legal representative of the organization, and did not benefit from the “tax evasion activities,” therefore, the full amount of compensation of 2 billion dong (US$ 88,020) will be on Loi’s account. 

According to the Procuracy, Duong was fined because he has a B.A. degree in economic law, and must have been aware of the amount of money that MEC received from domestic and foreign organizations and should have declared and paid taxes according to regulations.

Many believe that the ongoing crackdown against these NGOs is connected with their attempts to build up a coalition of NGOs under the EVFTA framework. These organizations can play an important role in monitoring Vietnam’s obligations under EVFTA. Read our analysis of the situation here. 

Note: We believe that his arrest date was June 24, 2021, the same as Mai Lan Phoi, however we are unable to verify this date. We will update this if further information becomes available.

Note: Duong was originally sentenced to 30 months in prison, which was reduced to 27 months on appeal. 

August 2022:

At his appeal trial, Mai Phan Loi had his sentence reduced from 48 months to 45 months. The former chairman of the Committee for Scientific Affairs of the Center for Media in Educating Community (MEC) was convicted of tax evasion. He’s said to have returned about $50,000 of the $80,000 in taxes owed.

At the same trial, MEC’s director Bach Hung Duong also had his sentence reduced from 30 months to 27 months. The reduction was due to Duong not receiving any benefit from the evasion, and also because he was suffering from an unspecified illness.

According to the wife of political prisoner Dang Dinh Bach, the appeal trials of Mai Phan Loi and Bach Hung Duong were originally scheduled for May 2022 but postponed. 

August 2022:

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) urges international rights groups to oppose the arrest and conviction of environmental NGO leaders using vague “tax evasion” charges. The FIDH “strongly condemns the unfair convictions, ongoing arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Dang Dinh Bach, Mai Phan Loi, Bach Hung Duong and Nguy Thi Khanh, as it seems to be only aimed at punishing them for their legitimate environmental and human rights activities.”

Hoàn tất cáo trạng truy tố nhà báo Mai Phan Lợi về tội 'trốn thuế' — Tiếng Việt, RFA Vietnamese, December 16, 2021

Tuyên phạt bị cáo Mai Phan Lợi 48 tháng tù về tội "Trốn thuế", Báo Yên Bái, January 11, 2022 

Ông Mai Phan Lợi cùng đồng phạm bị cáo buộc trốn thuế gần 2 tỷ đồng, Tiền Phong, December 16, 2021

Ông Mai Phan Lợi bị phạt 48 tháng tù, VNExpress, January 11, 2021

Vietnam appeals court reduces jail terms for two NGO workers, Radio Free Asia, August 11, 2022

Vietnam: Ongoing arbitrary detention and judicial harassment against four environmental rights defenders, FIDH, August 17, 2022

Weaponizing the law to prosecute the Vietnam Four, Project 88, April 21, 2023

Vietnamese summary of report and Vietnamese full version of report-- Việt Nam vũ khí hoá Luật Hình sự nhằm truy tố Bộ Tứ

Washington Post Editorial Board article, April 2023