Vietnam: Rejection of the appeal on the prison sentence of Trinh Ba Phuong

The Observatory has been informed about the rejection of the appeal on the conviction and prison sentence of Mr. Trinh Ba Phuong, as well as the reprisals against his relatives as they attempted to attend the appeal trial. Trinh Ba Phuong is a land and environmental rights defender who has denounced land grabbing and its impact on small-scale farmers across the country. He has been arbitrarily detained since June 24, 2020.

On August 17, 2022, the Hanoi High People’s Court upheld the 10-year prison sentence and five years of probation against Trinh Ba Phuong under Article 117 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam (“making, storing or disseminating information, documents, materials and items against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”). The Court also upheld the sentence of five years of probation after his release.

The courthouse was surrounded by dozens of plain-clothes police officers. Mses. Do Thi Thu and Trinh Thi Thao, Trinh Ba Phuong’s wife and sister, respectively, were prevented from attending Trinh Ba Phuong’s trial, as their requests to observe it were ignored by the court, even though the court had declared the trial would be public. Ms. Do Thi Thu was assaulted by a policeman while she attempted to seek refuge at a coffee shop near the courthouse. He slapped her and pulled her back taking her by the neck.

Trinh Ba Phuong was taken to Hanoi Police Detention Centre No.1 after the trial, where he remained detained at the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal.

The Observatory recalls that Trinh Ba Phuong was arbitrarily arrested in Hanoi on June 24, 2020, under Article 117 of the Criminal Code. On the same day, in Hoa Binh Province, his mother and brother, Ms. Can Thi Theu and Trinh Ba Tu, were arbitrarily arrested on the same charge.

Trinh Ba Phuong was subjected to acts of torture and ill treatment throughout the investigation of his case and was confined to a psychiatric hospital for one month in March 2021. He was not allowed to have access to his lawyers until for over one year. On December 15, 2021, the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison and five years of probation. His relatives were not allowed to attend the trial, and the police detained two of his family members, including his father, Trinh Ba Khiem, and his wife, Do Thi Thu. They were released when the trial ended.

The Observatory condemns the unfair convictions, ongoing arbitrary detention, and judicial harassment of Trinh Ba Phuong, as well as Can Thi Theu and Trinh Ba Tu, and expresses its grave concern over the high risk of torture and ill-treatment they face while in detention. The Observatory urges the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them.

The Observatory further condemns the alleged acts of torture and ill-treatment to which Trinh Ba Phuong has been subjected while in detention, and urges the authorities to carry out an immediate, thorough, and impartial investigation into these allegations and hold those responsible accountable.

The Observatory urges the Vietnamese authorities to stop misusing Article 117 of the Criminal Code to prosecute human rights defenders and silence dissent in Vietnam, and recalls that several United Nations Special Procedures declared that this article is “overly broad and appears to be aimed at silencing those who seek to exercise their human rights to freely express their views and share information with others”.