Become a Member for $9.99/month

On August 17 , the Hanoi People’s High Court upheld its previous conviction in an appeals hearing for the two land rights activists, Trinh Ba Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam, previously convicted of “making, storing, and distributing anti-State information, materials, and products” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.

After their first-instance trial on December 15, 2021, Phuong was sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence and five-year probation, while Tam received a six-year prison sentence and three years probation.

Phuong and Tam, farmers from Duong Noi Commune, Hanoi, were prominently known for defending land rights and campaigning against the Vietnamese authorities’ illegal land confiscations in their hometown in the mid-2000s. The two land activists also raised their voices regarding police raids in Dong Tam Village, another land conflict hotspot, which resulted in the deaths of three police officers and the village leader, Le Dinh Kinh.

Trinh Ba Phuong was also a co-author of the “Dong Tam Report,” which helped shed light on what actually happened in Dong Tam on the early morning of January 9, 2020, when the violent conflict happened. Phuong also met with representatives from the U.S Embassy in Vietnam on February 6, 2020, to raise concerns about the arrests of 27 Dong Tam villagers and call for an independent investigation into the case.

The Vietnamese government has consistently branded the Dong Tam land protestors as “terrorists” and accused them of murdering the deceased police officers. It also intimidated and arrested those who sought to contest this narrative or call for an independent investigation.

The families of Phuong and Tam were barred from entering the courtroom by plainclothes police agents. Their earlier requests to attend the trial were ignored by court authorities. The Hanoi appellate court had earlier declared that the trial would be a public one.

Do Thi Thu, Phuong’s wife wrote on Facebook that the plainclothes police chased them away when the police van carrying her husband approached the court gate area. Thu added that a plainclothes policeman allegedly grabbed her by the nape and pulled her away from the court area while cursing at her. “One policeman even slapped me,” Thu wrote.

Nguyen Thanh Mai, Tam’s daughter, wrote on social media that the Tam family was also not allowed to attend the appeal hearing.

“Vietnam’s hollow promise to support the country’s farmers by providing them with land is exposed by the authorities’ rights abusing treatment of Trinh Ba Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam,” wrote Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director of Human Rights Watch, one day before the appeal hearing.

“In their single-minded pursuit of power and profits, government and Communist Party of Vietnam officials have forgotten that farmers were among the original supporters of the revolution, and now they are throwing farmers’ interests out the window,” he added.

Phil Robertson also urged Vietnam’s international donors, UN agencies, and Hanoi-based diplomats to “vocally oppose rights abusing treatment of Trinh Ba Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam, and demand the appeals court quash their unjust convictions for actions that simply constituted peaceful advocacy using their civil and political rights.”

Convictions of Trinh Ba Phuong And Nguyen Thi Tam Upheld In August 17 Appeal Hearing

RELATED POSTS

Việt Nam Land Rights: Three of Trịnh Bá Phương’s Family Jailed, a Fourth May Be Next

Gia Bình Airport Project Relocations: Interviews with Affected Residents Contradict Government Claims of ‘High Consensus’

Land Rights in Việt Nam: Three Systemic Reasons Why Vietnamese Citizens Can Easily Lose Their Property

thereporter

Related Posts

Hồ Chí Minh City Police Post Photo, Inviting Mockery Against Transgender Resident Despite Negative Drug Test

“We Can’t Sell, and Repairs Are a Struggle”: Red River Residents Voice Frustration on Construction and Property Freeze

Department of Performing Arts Director Xuân Bắc Urges Artists to Praise the Party for Việt Nam Culture Day

Ministry of Education Bans Schools From Teaching ‘The Sorrow Of War’ Following Denunciation Campaign

Việt Nam’s Public Security Ministry Proposes Digital ID Expansion for ‘Events, Transactions, And Actions,’ Drawing Opposition From Multiple Agencies

Việt Nam Police Propose Internet Cutoffs for Unpaid Fines

Vietnam Briefing August 22, 2022: Vietnam’s New Decree On Cybersecurity Requires Tech Companies To Store Users’ Data Locally

Vietnam: Appellate Court Upholds Journalist Pham Doan Trang’s Nine-Year Imprisonment

OPINIONS

Transnational Repression and Diplomatic Partnerships Under Tô Lâm

Vietnamese Schools Are Teaching Everything Except Freedom

Police Cleared the Flowers, but They Could Never Suppress Justice

POPULAR STORIES

Religion Bulletin – April 2026 – Việt Nam Passes Amended Religion Law As Authorities Prosecute Four Independent Protestants

Hà Nội ‘Justice Tree’: Social Media Users Demand Investigation into Former Lawmaker Nguyễn Sỹ Cương

Việt Nam Culture Ministry Blocks Threads Posts Accusing Nguyễn Sỹ Cương

Post-1975 Tragedy: The Grim Reality of Life in Vietnam’s Re-education Camps

The Strait of Hormuz Crisis: How Việt Nam is Handling the 2026 Global Oil Shock