Key Events

• Blogger Duong Van Thai, Who Was Abducted in Thailand, to be Tried on Oct. 30
• Lam Dong Police Fine Facebook User for Posting ‘False Information’ on Buddhist Monk Thich Minh Tue
• Rights Groups Hold Conference to Call for Protection of Y Quynh Bdap from Extradition
• Human Rights Watch Spokesperson Delivers Oral Statement at UN Human Rights Council, Highlights Vietnam’s Lack of Improvement
• Chinese Premier Li Qiang Arrives in Vietnam, Signs New Cooperation Deals

Blogger Duong Van Thai, Who Was Abducted in Thailand, to be Tried on Oct. 30

A court in Hanoi is scheduled to try blogger and asylum seeker Duong Van Thai on Oct. 30 in a trial closed to the public. Thai was allegedly abducted by security agents in April 2023 in Thailand and forcibly brought back to Vietnam. His mother, Duong Thi Lu, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that she received the information after visiting her son on Oct. 11 at the Hanoi Police Department’s B14 Detention Center.

Lu said she talked to Thai on the phone through two thick layers of glass partition. Two police officers monitored their conversation, each sitting next to her and her son, and both of the police officers told them that Duong Van Thai’s trial date would be Oct. 30. However, no more details were elaborated by the officers.