CIVICUS 2024: Escalating Harassment and Suppression of Trade Unionists, Activists, and Journalists in Vietnam

On July 18, CIVICUS - a global alliance of organizations and activists dedicated to citizen action and strengthening civil society - released an update on the current state of freedom of association and expression in Vietnam. This update occurred after the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) scrutinized Vietnam's human rights record during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on May 7. The report details numerous arrests of individuals accused of violating various laws. Vietnam remains classified as “closed,” indicating a complete shutdown of civic space and ongoing repression of dissent and criticism.

The update highlights that the UNHRC provided the Vietnamese government with 320 recommendations to improve its human rights record during the UPR. However, as illustrated by CIVICUS, these recommendations appear to have been largely ignored.

In its July 2024 update, CIVICUS highlights the arrests of Nguyen Van Binh, Vu Minh Tien, Tran Dinh Trien, and Nguyen Thi Bach Hue. The report also draws attention to Le Huu Minh Tuan's current situation and the travel restrictions imposed on Khmer Krom activist Trieu Sieu, which prevent him from leaving the country.

According to CIVICUS, Nguyen Van Binh was arrested in April 2024 and charged with leaking state secrets under Article 337 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. He was the Director General of the Ministry of Labor’s legal department and a prominent reformer who fought to expand the protection of workers’ rights before his arrest. 

The 88 Project reports that his incarceration is part of “a new wave of repression” brought about by senior government leaders pushing back against alleged “foreign interference.” Additionally, The 88 Project claims that his arrest was motivated by his efforts to ratify ILO Convention 87, giving workers the right to form independent trade unions without government authorization. 

Vu Minh Tien, head of Policy and Legal Affairs at the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) and director of the Institute for Workers and Trade Unions (IWTU), was arrested on May 20, 2024, under Article 337 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. He was charged with the “deliberate disclosure of classified information; appropriation, trading, [and] destruction of classified documents.” The 88 Project states that his arrest follows that of Nguyen Van Binh (above) and aligns with the Vietnamese Communist Party's new directive, Directive 24, which “codifies the violation of the human rights of the country’s 100 million citizens as the official policy of the state.”

According to CIVICUS, before his arrest, Tien worked to “bring Vietnam’s labor law into line with international standards” and amend the Trade Union Law.

Attorney Tran Dinh Trien, former deputy director of the Hanoi Bar Association and current head of the Vì Dân Law Offices, was arrested in June 2024. He faces charges under Article 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state and the legitimate rights and interests of others.”

According to CIVICUS, Trien was known for defending individuals involved in political cases, which may have been a factor in his targeting by the Vietnamese government.

CIVICUS also reports that a 60-year-old woman, Nguyen Thi Bach Hue, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by a local court in Long An Province for “activities against the people's government.” The Vietnamese Magazine reports she was accused of joining the U.S.-based Provisional National Government of Vietnam, which has been declared a “terrorist group” by the Vietnamese Public Security Ministry. 

Vietnamese state media further accused her of receiving 10 million dong to “slander, defame, and insult the government and the leaders” and using social media platforms to “overthrow the Vietnamese state.” 

CIVICUS also provided an update on Le Huu Minh Tuan, an independent journalist, human rights defender, and member of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), who was sentenced to 11 years in prison and four years on probation in 2021. Since his arrest, his health has deteriorated due to poor living conditions, substandard medical treatment, and the refusal of prison officials to give him medication sent by his family. 

Khmer Krom activist Trieu Sieu was denied a passport, as reported by CIVICUS and Radio Free Asia. The Khmer Krom are an ethnic minority group from southeastern Cambodia, now part of modern-day Vietnam. CIVICUS states that they “face serious restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, association, information and movement.” Additionally, Vietnam has banned all Khmer Krom human rights publications and controls this ethnic group's religious practices. 

RFA reports that Trieu Sieu cannot obtain a passport until he is removed from Vietnam’s exit ban list, which often bars citizens from leaving the country for three years (from August 2023 to August 2026) if they are put on this list. His relatives believe that his ban is due to his activism and advocacy for the rights of the local Khmer people. Trieu Sieu has also spread awareness and taught his community the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

CIVICUS also reports on the cases of Duong Tuan Ngoc and Nguyen Thu Hang, two teachers imprisoned by the Vietnamese government, as well as independent journalist Truong Huy San. These individuals were arrested due to their activities and posts on social media.

Duong Tuan Ngoc and Nguyen Thu Hang, aged 39 and 62, were jailed on April 24, 2024, for “criticizing authorities on social media, according to RFA,” CIVICUS reports. CIVICUS further states that Duong Tuan Ngoc was sentenced to 7 years in prison and 3 years of probation under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code for spreading anti-state propaganda and “smearing senior leaders” on social media. Nguyen Thu Hang received a 2-year sentence under Article 331 for “abusing democratic freedoms that violated the interests of the state and the rights and legal interests of organizations and individuals.” CIVICUS states that she used her Facebook account to defame a judge over a land dispute case. 

Independent journalist and political commentator Truong Huy San was taken into custody by the police on June 1, 2024. According to CIVICUS, he was apprehended while en route to attend an event where he was scheduled to speak. After his apprehension, the police waited 7 days before notifying his family of his arrest and detention; neither his family members nor his lawyer had been permitted to meet him. 

Both the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute claim that he was taken into custody due to his critical commentary on Vietnamese politics in his Facebook posts. He was charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the Penal Code, a common accusation against government critics. 

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CIVICUS’ update can be accessed here.