NGO leader Hoang Ngoc Giao arrested on “tax evasion” charges

• On December 20, the investigation agency of the Hanoi Police Department officially indicted Hoang Ngoc Giao, a Vietnamese NGO leader and a legal expert, on charges of “committing tax evasion” under Article 200 of the Penal Code, State media reported. But earlier, three anonymous sources told RFA Vietnamese that Giao was arrested on December 16 for “providing classified information to foreign entities.” The Hanoi People’s Procuracy reportedly approved the arrest of Giao.
• Hoang Ngoc Giao is also the director of the Institute for Policies on Law and Development (PLD), a locally registered NGO that carries out research on Vietnam’s development policy. The organization remains under the management of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology (VUSTA), a government-controlled agency. The investigation agency of the Hanoi Police Department has not provided preliminary investigation results regarding Giao’s alleged “tax evasion.”
• The NGO leader is also an advisor who regularly assists the government in improving the country’s legal framework. Last month, Giao chaired a workshop proposing amendments to Vietnam’s Land Law at the Government Guest House in Hanoi. In early 2020, he demanded an independent investigation into the police raid of Dong Tam Village, a land conflict hotspot. Last October, Giao was elected chairman of the Vietnam – China International Trade Arbitration Center (VCITAC).
• The director of PLD is the latest NGO leader indicted on “tax evasion” charges. Previously, four directors from different Vietnamese nonprofit organizations were charged and imprisoned on similar charges. They include the prominent environmental activist Nguy Thi Khanh, who won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018 for her anti-coal advocacy. Convicted tax evaders face up to seven years of imprisonment in Vietnam.

Hanoi Police finish investigation into “anti-State activities” of activist Truong Van Dung

• According to a Facebook update from the Vietnamese blogger and activist Truong Van Dung family, the Hanoi Security Investigation Agency finished investigating his case on December 13, nearly seven months after his arrest.
• Dung, 64, was arrested on May 21 for “distributing anti-State propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s former 1999 Penal Code. He frequently published content on his personal Facebook account, nicknamed Dung Truong, on multiple issues, ranging from the suppression of human rights in Vietnam and maritime sovereignty issues between Hanoi and Beijing.
• The activist’s family was not allowed to visit or send him medicine while he was being investigated. Dung is aged and has many underlying medical conditions. After bringing his health issues to the investigation agency, his family was told by the investigator of his case that the detention center has medical staff so they can “rest assured.”
• Although the investigation has been completed, his family is still not allowed to see him. Only Dung’s lawyer can access him and his case file. According to the lawyer, Dang Dinh Manh, the trial will possibly be scheduled after the 2023 Lunar New Year, which begins in January next year.

Central Inspection Committee proposes discipline for Vietnam’s foreign minister and diplomats regarding the repatriation flight scandal

• After its 24th meeting session on December 20 and 21, Vietnam’s Central Inspection Committee suggested the Politburo reprimand Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son following his misconduct in organizing repatriation flights for Vietnamese citizens stranded abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• According to the announcement, the inspection committee found that the Party Civil Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which Minister Son is a committee member, “had violated the principles of democratic centralism and working regulations,” while also “lacking responsibility and leadership” in organizing rescue flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Vietnam’s COVID-19 rescue flight program, initiated by the government in late 2020, was tainted with corruption. Vietnamese diplomats and consuls overseas had cooperated with travel companies to overcharge Vietnamese ticket buyers applying for such flights. Flight operators were reported to have profited by up to two billion dong (US$86,100) from each of these flights, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
• As a result, a considerable number of Vietnamese diplomats and officials have either been punished or reprimanded for their involvement in corruption.
• Nguyen Hong Ha, consul general of Vietnam in Osaka, Japan; Ly Tien Hung, the former officer of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia; Nguyen Le Ngoc Anh, an officer of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia; and Vu Ngoc Minh, the former officer of the Vietnamese Embassy in Angola were all reportedly expelled from the Party, according to VnExpress.
• Meanwhile, Tran Viet Thai, the Vietnamese ambassador to Malaysia, was dismissed from all positions in the Party for the 2020-2025 term. Nguyen Hoang Linh, an officer at the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia, was reprimanded.

Freedom of religion in Vietnam: What happened last week?

• Le Tung Van, head monk of Tinh That Bong Lai, requests suspension of imprisonment due to his weakening health.

Vietnam’s state media reported on December 19 that the Long An Provincial Court had received a petition from Le Tung Van, head monk of the independent Buddhist monastery Tinh That Bong Lai, requesting the court suspend his prison sentence due to his poor health. Previously, on December 16, the chief justice of the People’s Court of Duc Hoa District, Tran Thi Kim Thanh, approved the decision to carry out Van’s penal punishment officially.

Le Tung Van was sentenced to five-year imprisonment on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms.” Other monks and the temple’s landowner received sentences ranging from three to four years. On November 3, the Long An Provincial Appellate Court rejected the Buddhist monastery’s appeal, upholding the earlier sentences.