Vietnam Sentences Music Teacher Dang Dang Phuoc To Eight Years Imprisonment On Anti-State Charges

A Vietnamese court in Dak Lak Province on June 6 sentenced Dang Dang Phuoc, a music teacher and social critic, to eight years of imprisonment on a charge of “distributing anti-State materials” under Article 117 of the Penal Code. The trial of Phuoc reportedly began at 7.30 a.m. and concluded at 2.30 p.m. on the same day. The Dak Lak music teacher must also serve four years of probation after his release.

Phuoc, 60, was arrested in September 2022 and was charged under Article 117. He became a music teacher at the Dak Lak College of Pedagogy after serving in the Vietnamese Army for four years when he was stationed in Laos. According to rights advocate Human Rights Watch (HRW), Phuoc has spoken about social, political, and environmental issues in Vietnam while campaigning against corruption and abuse of power at the grassroots level. He also defended the rights of Vietnamese land rights petitioners and ethnic minority groups.