Vietnam

Vietnam’s human rights record remains dire in virtually all areas. The ruling Communist Party maintains a monopoly on political power and allows no challenge to its leadership. Basic rights are severely restricted, including freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion. Rights activists and bloggers face police intimidation, harassment, restricted movement, arbitrary arrest, and detention. Farmers lose land to development projects without adequate compensation, and workers are not allowed to form independent unions. The police regularly use torture and beatings to extract confessions. The criminal justice system, including the judiciary, lacks independence. Political dissidents and civil society activists are frequently sentenced to long prison terms on bogus national security charges.

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Hanoi, Vietnam 

January 9, 2020 

 

Now I shall record the public security  

force that is monitoring my house. 

 

This is the public security force that has monitored  

my house continually in the past few days.  

 

In 2017, 

 

this very force charged into my house, climbed onto my bed. 

 

They climbed onto my bed to arrest me  

and took me to the public security station. 

 

Trinh Ba Phuong 

Land Rights Activist 

 

Vietnamese authorities routinely use plainclothes security  

 

to keep activists like Trinh Ba Phuong  

from attending meetings or protests. 

 

This is a violation of freedom of  

movement and it needs to stop. 

 

In this incident, Trinh Ba Phuong was beaten  

by police and released a few hours later.  

 

-What are you filming?  

-Are you going to beat me up? 

 

Are you beating me up? 

 

Take him to the [police] station. Invite him to the station. 

 

Oh my God! Oh heaven! 

 

In December 2021, Trinh Ba Phuong was sentenced to  

ten years in prison for his reporting on land confiscation. 

 

US Delegation 

Hanoi, 2015 

 

Dissidents are also often detained and interrogated  

 

when they try to attend meetings abroad or  

meet with foreign dignitaries in Vietnam. 

 

Nguyen Quang A 

Human Rights Activist 

 

Nguyen Quang A has been detained or put under  

house arrest more than 24 times in the past eight years. 

 

Hanoi, Vietnam 

May, 2016 

 

In this incident, he was  

stopped from going to a public protest. 

 

What’s up today? 

 

-Today, you’re not going anywhere. 

-Please go back in the house for your health.  

 

Hey, son, why are you doing this? 

 

At the very least he must have his own 

liberty. You guys act as if he is a criminal.  

 

He is going to take care of his business.  

He is not joining the protest. He has work to tend to.  

 

When he was invited to meet with  

US President Barack Obama in 2016, 

 

state security shoved Nguyen Quang A into a  

car and drove around for several hours. 

 

So he missed the meeting. 

 

Hanoi, Vietnam  

May 24, 2016 

 

I should note that there were several  

other activists who were invited 

 

who were prevented from coming for various reasons. 

 

Hua Phi 

Activist  

 

In another incident, the police used furniture to  

block the car of religious freedom activist Hua Phi  

 

when he was set to meet with a  

US delegation in Ho Chi Minh City. 

 

Lam Dong, Vietnam 

May, 2019 

 

Respectfully to the international community,  

I’m now going to Saigon, with my car here.  

 

It is clear that they are blocking the front here. 

 

I was preparing to go to Saigon, but  

was stopped by these guys out here. 

 

I will continue to report on this. 

 

Authorities have also used padlocks to  

keep dissidents in their homes.  

 

These practices are so common, activists joke  

that it’s like they’re eating “guard soup.” 

 

Freedom of movement is a human right.  

Vietnam: Don’t lock critics up. 

 

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