The Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also released a statement condemning the January 5 trial of three independent journalists.
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January 5, 2021
Trial of Three Independent Journalists in Ho Chi Minh City on January 5, 2021
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January 1, 2021
Journalist Pham Thanh was moved from a medical facility back to Hoa Lo Prison on New Year’s Day without notice.
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January, 2021
Human Rights Watch issued its 2021 World Report, describing 2020 as “another abysmal year in Vietnam."
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January, 2021
Ngo Van Dung was transferred to Bo La Detention Center, Binh Duong Province
December 21, 2020
Trial of Tree Facebookers in Ho Chi Minh City on December 21, 2020
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Writer Pham Van Troi‘s wife went to visit him and reported that fellow prisoner Ho Duc Hoa, a social activist, was then on his 5th day of a hunger strike and was in poor condition
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December 7, 2020
The trial for Facebookers Huynh Anh Khoa and Nguyen Dang Thuong was moved to December 21 after Thuong requested a delay due to poor health.
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December 3, 2020
Dinh Thi Thu Thuy finally was finally allowed to see her lawyers for the first time. Attorneys Nguyen Van Mieng and Trinh Vinh Phuc said her mental health was poor due to being held incommunicado.
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Amnesty International issued a report describing how tech giants such as Facebook and Youtube have “become tools of the Vietnamese authorities’ censorship and harassment of its population.”
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December, 2020
Reporters sans Frontières published its 2020 report on freedom of the press: “For the second year in a row, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Syria represent the world’s five largest prisons for journalists.”
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December, 2020
Father Peter Nguyen Thanh Tung from Thi Nghe Parish sued the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City for passing into public hands land and two schools that have belonged to the parish since the 1950s.
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December, 2020
It was reported that political prisoner Nguyen Trung Linh was being held in a mental health facility.
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November 30, 2020
Tran Huynh Duy Thuc's family visited him during his hunger strike and reported that he was extremely weak. He asked his family to share a public message.
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November 30, 2020
The first-instance trial for Tran Duc Thach was canceled without warning; his family was told he was unfit to stand trial due to health issues.
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November 27, 2020
Nguyen Van Hoa ended his hunger strike after eight days, along with Nguyen Bac Truyen and Pham Van Diep.
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November 23, 2020
Hoang Duc Binh’s family was denied a visit with him again at An Diem Prison, allegedly due to Binh’s refusal to wear a prison uniform, as he insists that he is not a criminal. The same thing happened the previous month.
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November 23, 2020
Four activists were transferred to An Phuoc Prison in Binh Duong. They are: Do The Hoa, Tran Thanh Phuong, Hoang Thi Thu Vang, and Doan Thi Hong. Phuong was able to call his wife on that day, and he reported that he is suffering from high blood pressure.
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November 23, 2020
Tran Huynh Duy Thuc started a hunger strike to protest the authorities’ failure to respond to his petition for a reduction of his sentence based on changes to the 2015 Criminal Code.
November 21, 2020
US-based Vietnam Human Rights Network (VHRN) awarded its 2020 prizes to the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam and political prisoners Nguyen Nang Tinh and Nguyen Van Hoa
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November 20, 2020
Three political prisoners started a hunger strike at An Diem Prison protesting prison conditions.
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November 19, 2020
Reuters revealed increasing pressure on Facebook from Vietnam's censorship requests
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November 18, 2020
Truong Duy Nhat was transferred to Prison No. 3 in Nghe An Province, where he was confined to a small cell and suffering from health issues.
November 15, 2020
ASEAN approved the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal.
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November 10, 2020
UN Special Rapporteurs sent a petition to the Vietnamese government concerning the cases of five people arrested for their activism in the aftermath of the violent police raid in Dong Tam Commune in January 2020
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November 6, 2020
Vietnam’s Ministry of Information announced that a policy to govern social media activities is in the works.
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November 5, 2020
The 88 Project released its report on torture and inhumane treatment of political prisoners in 2018-2019
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November, 2020
German member of Parliament Martin Patzelt agreed to sponsor political prisoner Bui Van Tham.
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November, 2020
Vietnam abstained from voting on a UN resolution opposing the death penalty.
November, 2020
Pham Chi Thanh was reportedly moved to the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry for a mental health evaluation despite having no history of mental illness.
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November, 2020
Huynh Duc Thinh suffered a brain hemorrhage just a few weeks before finishing his prison sentence and was transferred to a hospital.
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October 21, 2020
US citizen Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen was released from prison early and returned to the United States
October 20, 2020
Lawyer and political prisoner Nguyen Bac Truyen was awarded the Stefanus Prize 2020.
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Fifteen US representatives wrote a letter to the Secretary of State expressing their concerns about the Dong Tam land dispute and the trial of 29 villagers.
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Political prisoner Tran Huynh Duy Thuc told his family that he had begun a hunger strike for the last three days to demand that the High Court review his request to have his sentence reduced based on changes in the Penal Code of 2015.
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October 6, 2020
The US and Vietnam held their 24th annual Human Rights Dialogue via virtual sessions; just hours later, Pham Doan Trang was arrested
Le Van Hai arrested, charged under Art. 331 (2015 Code).
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September 18, 2020
The EU External Action Service issued a statement expressing its serious concerns regarding “the conditions and proceedings of the trial” against the Dong Tam defendants.
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September 17, 2020
Nguyen Quang A - detained and questioned by police while on his way to meet the US Ambassador.
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September 7, 2020
29 villagers faced trial in Hanoi on charges of murder and resisting officials resulting from a violent, early-morning police raid in Dong Tam Commune in January 2020.
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September, 2020
64 EU Members of Parliament sent a letter to the EU trade commissioner urging the body to rectify past mistakes in signing the EVFTA trade agreement without sufficiently demanding that Vietnam abide by its commitments toward protecting human rights.
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September, 2020
The UN issued its 2020 report on intimidation and reprisal against individuals who report human rights abuses, including several cases from Vietnam.
September, 2020
Authorities transferred Nguyen Duc Quoc Vuong from Trai Mat prison, Lam Dong Province, to An Phuoc detention center in Binh Duong Province, without prior notice and more than 300 km from his family’s home.
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August 22, 2020
Thich Dong Quang - harassed for commemorating victims of violence based on religion and belief.
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Legal Initiatives for Vietnam launched a Database on Religious Freedom in Vietnam.
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July 16, 2020
A blogger reported that hospital staff beat and fastened Le Anh Hung to a chair before forcibly injecting him with medication.
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July 12, 2020
Political prisoner Nguyen Van Tuc’s wife tried to visit him but was unable to due to the prison’s restrictive policies.
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July 9, 2020
Independent journalist Pham Doan Trang announced on her Facebook page that she has formally resigned from Liberal Publishing House, citing harassment and increased pressure from security police against her, her colleagues, and the organization.
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Two US Senators sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asking him to designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern in terms of religious freedom and also review the possibility of applying Magnitsky Act sanctions.
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Crackdown against members of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam
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June 22, 2020
The 88 Project released our first ever annual human rights report covering arrests, trials, incidents against activists at risk, and prison conditions during 2019.
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June 22, 2020
The police told attorney Nguyen Van Mieng that Khoa had waived his right to an attorney. Khoa’s wife was confused because he had asked her to hire Nguyen Van Mieng.
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June 18, 2020
A Lam Dong court granted permission for Nguyen Duc Quoc Vuong‘s family to visit him, so Vuong’s older brother and the attorney went, but the prison didn’t allow them to see Vuong.
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June 13, 2020
Arrests leading to "Trial of Tree Facebookers in Ho Chi Minh City on December 21, 2020"
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June 12, 2020
Nguyen Van Mieng, Nguyen Duc Quoc Vuong’s attorney, went to Trai Mat prison, Lam Dong Province, to have his first meeting with Vuong since his September 2019 arrest.
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The International Publisher’s Association, in a virtual ceremony, announced that the Liberal Publishing House won the 2020 Prix Voltaire Award.
June, 2020
Neither his family nor the Australian government had contact with jailed Australian retiree Chau Van Kham in over four months, despite him suffering from multiple health ailments.
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June, 2020
Nguyen Van Duc Do’s family has filed a petition against the notorious Xuan Loc Prison after Do was tortured in prison for asking for time outside in the sun on weekends.
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June, 2020
The US government released its annual report on religious freedom across the globe. In it, they continued to list concerns for Vietnam’s protection of religious freedom
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June, 2020
Almost five months after the raid on Dong Tam Commune, those arrested were still being denied visits from their families.
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May 26, 2020
10,000 workers went on strike in Binh Duong Province at a company that makes shoes for Adidas protest impending layoffs as a result of the pandemic’s economic toll.
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Ngo Van Dung’s attorney visited him at the Chi Hoa Detention Center. Dung’s wife reported that he had been brutally tortured by prison officials and had to be hospitalized.
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May 11, 2020
Le Thanh Tung’s reported that Tung and other prisoners were enduring 100-degree temperatures in their cells at Nam Ha Prison. Tung was also denied medication and letters.
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Trial of Two BOT Protesters in Hanoi on May 8, 2020
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May 8, 2020
Nguyen Ngoc Anh called his wife and told her that the running water is heavily contaminated; the prisoners protested this but were threatened with retaliation.
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May 8, 2020
Vietnam’s Supreme Court upheld the lower court decisions in the case of Ho Duy Hai, who was convicted of murder in a case that some argue was riddled with legal inconsistencies.
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Facebook removed two of Radio Free Asia’s Vietnamese news service posts. The posts included content that cited sources critical of the regime.
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May, 2020
Prison officials in Xuan Loc Prison Camp in Dong Nai Province beat six political prisoners after they petitioned to be able to work outside more frequently during the weekends. The six were also placed in solitary confinement.
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Vu Dat Phong - taken into custody for questioning about Facebook posts.
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April 15, 2020
A new decree in Vietnam took effect in which Vietnam will halt executions if lethal drug injections are ineffective 10 minutes after the third try.
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April 14, 2020
Tran Quoc Hien - summoned for questioning about his Facebook posts.
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Amnesty International released its report “Death Sentences and Executions 2019.” Vietnam did not report its number of executions in 2019, but it did sentence at least 76 people to death in 2019.
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April, 2020
Vietnam ranked 175/180 countries on Reporters Without Borders’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
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April, 2020
It was reported that Facebook agreed to drastically increase censorship of posts deemed to have “anti-state” content in exchange for Vietnam increasing performance for local Facebook access.
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April, 2020
Luu Van Vinh reported that due to COVID-19, families were not allowed to visit, so in the prison camp, many people were in need of everything; Vinh himself was in isolation.
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Nguyen Nang Tinh was on hunger strike before this trial
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March 2, 2020
Nguyen Van Tuc's health worsened and he had not received proper medical treatment from the prison.
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March 2, 2020
The High People’s Court, Ho Chi Minh City branch, upheld the sentences of Chau Van Kham, Nguyen Van Vien, and Tran Van Quyen.
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March, 2020
Freedom House again listed Vietnam as “Not Free” in terms of political rights and civil liberties.
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March, 2020
Safeguard Defenders released "Coerced on Camera: Televised Confessions in Vietnam," which documents cases of people forced to confess in recordings later often played for the public.
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March, 2020
The investigating agency extended the pre-trial detention period of Nguyen Van Nghiem for another three months.
March, 2020
Prison authorities again increased Le Anh Hung’s anti-psychotic medication against his wishes.
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February 28, 2020
Y Ngun Knul was in critical health and suffering severe kidney failure, gastritis, foot issues, and high blood pressure after his release from prison.
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February 21, 2020
The People’s Court of Khanh Hoa Province denied Tran Vu Hai and his wife Ngo Tuyet Phuong’s appeal of their one-year house arrest sentences for tax evasion.
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Prison officials were checking the contents of Hoang Duc Binh's letters before sending them and even interrogating him about the contents of the letters.
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Nguyen Van Dien started a hunger strike to protest maltreatment of prisoners.
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September 20, 2019
Nguyen Thi Hue, sister of political prisoner Nguyen Van Hoa, reported that prison authorities threatened Hoa that they would cut the tendons in his legs back in July 2019 while he was in solitary confinement.
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September 19, 2019
Representatives of the Interfaith Council of Vietnam recommended that the US re-designate Vietnam as a “Country of Particular Concern."
September 19, 2019
International groups voiced their criticism of the human rights situation in Vietnam during the 42nd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
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Freedom Now and the international law firm Dechert LLP sent a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), accusing the Vietnamese government of violating international laws when arresting and prosecuting blogger Phan Kim Khanh.
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September 14, 2019
Nguyen Van Hoa was released from solitary confinement on September 14, 2019 after four months.
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September 14, 2019
Pham Doan Trang and her friends harassed during a party to celebrate her winning Reporters Without Borders's Prize for Impact
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September 12, 2019
Reporters Without Borders awarded dissident writer Pham Doan Trang, founder of Luat Khoa magazine and editor of The Vietnamese, their Prize for Impact .
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September 9, 2019
Dam Ngoc Tuyen - Dam Ngoc Tuyen’s family threatened by public security.
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September 6, 2019
Nguyen Ngoc Anh's wife reported that Anh has had difficulties with his cellmates, who are believed to be encouraged to mistreat him in order for reduced sentences and other lenience.
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Lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan met with detained blogger Truong Duy Nhat for the first time since Nhat’s abduction from Thailand in January 2019 and subsequent arrest in Vietnam.
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August 28, 2019
Nguyen Van Tuc's wife reported he was in very poor health and had requested to be transferred away from a cellmate who was harassing him.
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August 23, 2019
Duong Thi Lanh tried, sentenced to 8 years in prison and 2 years probation.
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August 22, 2019
Dinh Van Hai - summoned to work on his Facebook activities.
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Political prisoners ended their hunger strike in Nghe An province after 41 days
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July 20, 2019
Luu Van Vinh's family was denied a visit with him for the third time.
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July 18, 2019
The families of five activists sent a letter to government institutions denouncing the fives’ unlawful arrests and detentions over a period of more than 10 months.
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July 17, 2019
The People’s Court of Binh Thuan Province denied the appeals of prison sentences from the first instance trial of three June 2018 protesters.
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July 15, 2019
More than 50 lawyers signed a petition asking for an investigation into the actions and charges against lawyer Tran Vu Hai.
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July 12, 2019
Attack on supporters of prisoners on hunger strike near Prison No. 6, Nghe An, on July 12, 2019
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July 9, 2019
Nguyen Kim Thanh, wife of political prisoner Truong Minh Duc, met with representatives of the embassies of the US, Australia, and the EU while her husband was on hunger strike.
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July 3, 2019
Tran Huynh Duy Thuc released solitary confinement at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An province.
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Arrests leading to "Trial of Two Citizens in Sam Son City, Arrested for Speaking at Local Meeting, on November 27, 2019"
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July, 2019
Vietnamese civil organizations issued an “Urgent appeal against Torture and Maltreatment of Prisoners of Conscience in Vietnam" following mass hunger strikes by political prisoners.
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July, 2019
The 88 Project presented its Map of Human Rights Violations as part of the Geoffrey Nice Foundation’s Master Class on Mapping, Documenting, and Prosecuting Mass Atrocities, invited by the Transitional Justice Working Group‘s project Access Accountability.
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June 30, 2019
The European Union signed a free trade agreement with Vietnam.
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Political prisoners began a hunger strike in Prison No. 6 Nghe An province to protest prison conditions during heat wave.
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June 11, 2019
Taiwanese lawyers filed a lawsuit against the Taiwanese company Formosa on behalf over 7,000 Vietnamese plaintiffs demanding U.S. $4.46 million in compensation.
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June 6, 2019
Nguyen Ngoc Anh tried, sentenced to 6 years in prison and 5 years probation.
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Twenty-five members of the US Congress sent a letter to the US Secretary of State urging the US to press for better protections for freedom of expression in Vietnam.
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May 28, 2019
Twenty-five members of the US Congress sent a letter to the US Secretary of State urging the US to press for better protections for freedom of expression in Vietnam.
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Forty-four activists in Vietnam jointly issued a “Collective Declaration by Those Whose Freedom of Movement Has Been Violated”
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May 22, 2019
Thich Dong Long - detained while protesting violations of religious freedom.
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May 20, 2019
BOT protesters harassed and detained at Bac Thang Long-Noi Bai toll booth on May 20, 2019
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May 18, 2019
Four Facebookers fined in Thanh Hoa province on May 18, 2019
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May 17, 2019
The European Union Delegation to Vietnam released a statement condemning the trial of female activists Vu Thi Dung and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong.
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May 15, 2019
Rah Lan Hip arrested, charged under Art. 116 (2015 Code).
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May 13, 2019
Hoang Duc Binh, held in An Diem Detention Center, the same place as Nguyen Van Hoa, called his family and revealed that detention officers gripped Hoa’s neck and beat him harshly..
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Several international human rights organizations sent a letter to top EU leaders as negotiations continued on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, urging Vietnam to Nguyen Bac Truyen from prison.
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Detained US citizen Michael Nguyen‘s wife, Helen Nguyen, attended the US’s State of the Union address, invited by Rep. Katie Porter of California.
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February 1, 2019
Nine members of the European Parliament sent a letter to Vietnam’s President urging the release of environmental and labor rights advocate Hoang Duc Binh.
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Two activists detained on January 20, 2019 for t-shirt slogan
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January 19, 2019
Activists harassed on January 19, 2019 while honoring soldiers of the former South Vietnam
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January 18, 2019
A group of international NGOs, including Vietnamese groups, have called on the EU to delay ratifying a proposed free trade agreement with Vietnam.
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January 17, 2019
The High People’s Court of Hoa Binh Province held an appeal trial against Dao Quang Thuc, reducing his sentenced from 14 to 13 years.
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Human Rights Watch called on the European Parliament and the European Council to delay ratifying the proposed EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.
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January 8, 2019
The land-grabbing at Loc Hung vegetable garden on January 4 and 8, 2019
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January 7, 2019
Hoang Duc Binh was in poor health in prison, with rashes, back pain, and diminished eyesight from a lack of light.
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January 5, 2019
Tran Hoang Phuc’s family visited him and said that he was in good health and spirits; however, Phuc revealed that he had been harassed by other prisoners since his first instance trial.
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January 4, 2019
Arrests leading to "Trial of Seven BOT Protesters in Bac Ninh province on July 30, 2019"
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January 4, 2019
Phan Kim Khanh's family visited him in prison and reported he was in good health and spirits; prison officials allowed him to receive some supplies but denied others.
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Vietnam's Law on Cybersecurity went into effect.
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January, 2019
The authorities told Nguyen Hong Nguyen‘s family that he was transferred to prison Z30D, Ham Tan, Binh Thuan Province, but he was transferred to Xuan Loc prison in Dong Nai Province.
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January, 2019
Ngo Hao, 75, had a stroke in prison, and the authorities failed to notify his family.
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