Key events:

• Court Sentences Democracy Activist Nguyen Chi Tuyen to Five Years in Prison
• Vietnam Delays Response to UN Special Rapporteurs’ Letter Concerning Repression of Religious Minorities
• To Lam Travels to China in First State Visit as Party General Secretary

Nguyen Chi Tuyen Receives Five Years Imprisonment Under Article 117

The pro-democracy activist and YouTuber Nguyen Chi Tuyen on Aug. 15 received five years in prison on a charge of “distributing anti-state propaganda,” a violation of Clause 1 of Article 117 of the Penal Code, the Hanoi People’s Court declared. He was arrested in February this year and kept in solitary confinement, and only his lawyer, Le Dinh Viet, has been able to see him in custody.

Tuyen, also known as Anh Chi, was indicted for publishing two videos on his YouTube channel in 2021 that allegedly violated Article 117. The videos discussed corruption and suggested that opening the country to political pluralism could help Vietnam effectively prevent and combat this chronic issue. The lawyers asked the court to summon officials from the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications, who reviewed the alleged videos, to inquire about their evaluation methods. However, these people have requested to be absent.