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  • LIV Co-founder Trinh Huu Long Cited in Southeast Asia Globe’s Feature on Police Brutality in Vietnam

    LIV co-founder and co-director, Trinh Huu Long, was cited in Southeast Asia Globe’s May 27, 2022 feature article titled, “Deadly confessions, the hidden abuse by Vietnam’s police,” written by Govi Snell, that tackles the culture of violence, brutality, and impunity prevalent in this organization.

    Regarding Vietnam’s police, he states that police brutality is a common experience among all Vietnamese citizens, whether they experience it directly or indirectly. He also notes that the police force, as a whole, is above reprimands or sanctions.

    He claims that the issue with Vietnam’s police is systemic in nature. Trinh Huu Long states, “The problem goes beyond [the] individual conduct of the police.” He adds, “The [Vietnam’s] justice system’s design almost always guarantees police brutality: no independent judiciary, no independent oversight from the Congress, the media, [civil society,] and detention centres are under the supervision of the very state organ that investigates crimes: the Ministry of Public Security.”

    The remainder of the article discusses other irregularities and abuses committed by Vietnam’s police forces, such as the use of various forms of torture to quickly force confessions, the targeted imprisonment of activists for “spreading anti-state propaganda,” and the concealment of the deaths of individuals under police custody. The article also highlights the inaction of the Ministry of Public Service and the Vietnamese government, as a whole.

    Also mentioned is the case of Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, or “Mother Mushroom,” as she is known internationally. She released a report in 2014 titled “Stop police killing citizens” which contained information about 31 deaths that occurred under police custody. In 2016, she was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for “conducting propaganda against the state” before being extradited to the United States two years later.

    Vietnam’s police forces continue to operate with impunity, and even though some individual police officers have been reprimanded for their actions, large-scale change is not expected to happen anytime soon.

  • LIV Collaborates with HRMI to Gather Data on the State of Human Rights in Vietnam

    Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV) collaborates with the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) to compile and gather data about the current state of human rights in Vietnam. LIV has been working with HRMI since 2021 and our arrangement has led to the release of quantitative and measurable statistics regarding Vietnam’s human rights situation in terms of Safety from the State, Quality of Life, and Empowerment.

    HRMI states that human rights information about several countries in the East Asia and Pacific region, Vietnam included, is lacking. Through LIV’s partnership and cooperation, these gaps in HRMI’s data are slowly being filled and a truthful and accurate representation of Vietnam can soon be accessible to the general public.

    HRMI began in 2016 as a project of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research (Motu) in Wellington, New Zealand. During their 6 years in operation, HRMI has collated economic and social rights data for around 200 countries worldwide.

    HRMI’s available information about Vietnam suggests that while the country’s quality of life is commendable, “the data clearly indicates that the proper observation of human rights, especially in the department of freedom of expression, association, and protection from the state, is met with impunity.” Additionally, government critics, dissenters, human rights advocates, and anyone with divergent political beliefs continue to face mistreatment and abuse from the Vietnamese government.

    LIV has also collaborated with other international human rights organizations in the past, such as Freedom House, and has contributed to their annual Freedom on the Net report in 2021.

  • CPJ Grants LIV’s Co-founder, Pham Doan Trang, the International Press Freedom Award

    On July 14 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) granted Vietnamese journalist and human rights advocate, Pham Doan Trang, the International Press Freedom Award (IPFA).

    Trang, who was arrested in October 2020, was charged under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code for “making or spreading propaganda against the state.” She was convicted in December 2021 after a one-day trial and is currently serving a nine-year long prison term.

    In their announcement, the CPJ highlights the many abuses and difficulties she faced prior to her imprisonment such the constant harassment she faced from the police and the permanent and debilitating limp she received from the beatings of Vietnamese state forces. They also add that Pham Doan Trang is one of at least 23 other Vietnamese journalists “held behind bars for their work.”

    By giving her this award, the CPJ hopes to “[shine] a spotlight on the deteriorating press freedom environment in Vietnam, which is among the five worst jailers of journalists worldwide.”

    Prior to her arrest, Pham Doan Trang served as one of the co-founders and editor for Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV). Aside from the IPFA, she has also received several other international accolades in the past such as the International Women of Courage Award and the Canada-United Kingdom Media Freedom Award.

    On June 2 2022, Pham Doan Trang was one of the three human rights defenders given the Martin Ennals Award for their “courage and unique contributions” to the international human rights movement. Her mother, Bui Thi Thien Can, received this award on her daughter’s behalf.

  • LIV Co-director Vi Tran Discusses US-Vietnam Relations with Nikkei Asia

    LIV co-director and co-founder, Vi Tran, was cited in Nikkei Asia’s July 20, 2022 feature article, “Asia’s odd couple: Vietnam and the U.S. find opposites attract,” which discusses the relationship between the two aforementioned countries.

    The article goes into detail about several factors of U.S.-Vietnam relations such as the mutual benefits of trade, the quick re-establishment of ties despite the atrocities committed by both sides during the Vietnam war, and the apparent hypocrisy shown by the U.S. when dealing with Vietnam and China, despite the many similarities between both countries.

    Regarding the differences in how the U.S. interacts with Vietnam and China, Vi Tran states, “[Biden] reassured that America stands for these universal values [freedom, democracy, rule of law].” She adds, “I really hope he will mean what he said.”

    Ms. Tran also highlights the stance the U.S. takes regarding the issue of human rights in China and Vietnam. She says, “The U.S. calls both China and Vietnam authoritarian, but in public, its rhetoric is harsh on the former and weak on the latter.” In addition, she adds that the climate for activists in Vietnam has “hit a new low” and that in the past ten years, many civil society groups in Vietnam have been dissolved.

    Towards the end of the article, Ms. Tran states that “[the Vietnamese communist party] is becoming more skilled at and prolific in restricting the internet, and the U.S. has not done enough to censure the censors.” She believes that U.S. leaders should be more active in “specifically and more forcefully defending civil liberties.”

    She ends with, “Don’t be afraid, the Vietnamese people love the U.S.” and claims that the Vietnamese people would love America more if it was more proactive in upholding the proper observation of human rights in Vietnam.

  • LIV Co-director Trinh Huu Long Cited by the New York Times in Their Feature About Nguy Thi Khanh’s Arrest

    The New York Times cited LIV co-founder and co-director, Trinh Huu Long, in their June 17, 2022 feature article, “She Spoke Out Against Vietnam’s Plans for Coal. Then She Was Arrested.” regarding the imprisonment of prominent Vietnamese environmental activist Nguy Thi Khanh.

    Ms. Khanh, recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, was sentenced to two years in jail by the Hanoi People’s Court on June 17, 2022 for tax evasion. Her supporters claim that this tax evasion charge is bogus and that the real reason behind her arrest is due to her campaign against the use of coal in Vietnam.

    In 2016, Ms. Khanh was successful in making the Vietnamese government cut down their coal-fired power by 20, 000 megawatts and this was seen as a significant victory for Vietnam’s environmentalists. Her efforts made Vietnam the “country with the largest installed capacity of solar and wind power in Southeast Asia.” However, several government officials pushed back against the use of renewable energy and wanted to return to the usage of coal for energy production.

    In response to her arrest, Trinh Huu Long states, “This is a very strong signal from the Communist Party that they are now willing to go much further to control civil society.” He adds that  “[the Vietnamese government] will not tolerate even slight criticism.”

    Vietnam was the 9th largest consumer of coal in the world. Due to Ms. Khanh’s efforts, the country is currently ranked as the 16th.

  • [Closed] Job opportunity: Chief Operating Officer – Taipei

    [Closed] Job opportunity: Chief Operating Officer – Taipei

    Type: Full-time, 40 hours per week
    Location: LIV’s Representative Office in Taipei, Taiwan (NCCU campus)
    Start date: As soon as possible
    Contract: Two years, extendable

    Legal Initiatives for Vietnam’s mission is to build a democratic society in Vietnam through independent journalism, research, and education. LIV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization registered as a 501(c)(3) legal entity in California, United States in January 2017. However, the organization started operating in 2014 as a small project with four founding members.

    As we grow, we are looking for a Chief Operating Officer to strengthen our management team.

    RESPONSIBILITIES:

    General

    • Oversee daily operations of the organization and the work of executives;
    • Manage the organization’s assets (equipment, IT infrastructure…);
    • Establish policies and monitor policies’ implementation;
    • Advise the Co-Directors in strategic planning and strategy implementation.

    Project Management

    • Monitor projects’ implementation;
    • Document projects’ implementation;
    • Manage projects’ budget;
    • Assist Co-Directors in fundraising;
    • Assist the reporting team in writing reports.

    Human Resources

    • Conduct recruiting and onboarding activities;
    • Manage the training program;
    • Conduct employee performance evaluation.

    Public Relations

    • Handle outward communications (newsletters, press releases, website updates, emails…);
    • Conduct surveys on various issues concerning LIV’s products;
    • Manage community engagement with readers/viewers, individual donors, and supporters.

    QUALIFICATIONS:

    • Extensive experience in management. Holding postgraduate degrees in business administration/ management is a plus;
    • Ability to speak and write in English fluently. We prefer candidates who are capable of conducting business in Vietnamese language;
    • Excellent communication skills;
    • Knowledge about independent journalism, human rights, democracy, the rule of law, environmental protection, gender equality, and others.

    BENEFITS:

    • Salary: US$ 2,000 – $2,200 per month (negotiable, depending on your capacity);
    • Medical and labor insurances in accordance with Taiwanese law;
    • Holidays, annual leave, parental leave, and sick leave in accordance with Taiwanese law;
    • Relocation package that assists you with settling in Taipei, Taiwan (if needed), including visa/ work permit sponsorship, airfare, and moving expenses, among others;
    • Training and traveling opportunities in Taiwan and overseas.

    APPLICATION:

    • Résumé, including at least 02 references;
    • Personal statement;
    • Scanned copies of degrees and professional certificates (if any).

    All documents should be in English and the PDF format. Please send your application to recruit@liv.ngo with email title: [COO] – Your full name.

    Deadline: July 31, 2022.

    WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING AT LIV?

    • Every employer claims to have a meaningful mission. We are no exception. We want to make democratic changes in Vietnam and contribute to the human rights movement in East and Southeast Asia through independent journalism, research, and civic education. If that is appealing to you, we can’t wait to see you!
    • We collaborate with staff members and partners around the world: Vietnam, Taiwan, United States, Canada, Europe, Thailand, Australia and counting. That means both international traveling and working out of normal office hours.
    • We value constructive criticism and innovative spirit. You are working with a bunch of movers and shakers here.
    • We offer a significant degree of autonomy and flexibility. We don’t count the hours you spend at the office. You design and manage your work in a way that fits the office’s best interests and your personal preferences.
    • Want to bring your children to the office? No problem. We will create suitable office conditions so you can take care of your children while working. Kids are gods, we know it.
  • Báo cáo Thường niên | Annual Report 2021

    Báo cáo Thường niên | Annual Report 2021

    22 tháng Sáu năm 2022

    Sáng kiến Pháp lý Việt Nam (LIV) trân trọng công bố Báo cáo Thường niên năm 2021 với các thông tin về hoạt động, tài chính và nhân sự của LIV.

    Xin cảm ơn quý độc giả và các nhà tài trợ đã ủng hộ LIV trong suốt hơn tám năm qua.

    Mọi ý kiến đóng góp xin liên hệ contact@liv.ngo.

    22 June 2022

    Legal Initiatives For Vietnam (LIV) is pleased to present the 2021 Annual Report. The creation and impact of activities, finance, and human resources outlined our growth and development for independent media for Vietnam.

    Thank you to our readers for your resilience and encouragement.

    Thank you to all of our donors in your continued support and donations.

    Please don’t hesitate to make enquiries on contact@liv.ngo.

    Tải báo cáo/ Download:

    Tiếng Việt

    English: Forthcoming

  • Martin Ennals Award Ceremony 2022: Pham Doan Trang’s mother accepts the award on her daughter’s behalf

    Martin Ennals Award Ceremony 2022: Pham Doan Trang’s mother accepts the award on her daughter’s behalf

    On June 2, the Martin Ennals Award Ceremony 2022 took place in Geneva, Switzerland to honor three human rights defenders for their “courage and unique contributions” to the international human rights movement. The ceremony was hosted and live-streamed directly from Salle Communale de Plainpalais, Geneva.

    The Martin Ennals Award laureates in 2022 are Pham Doan Trang from Vietnam, Dr. Daouda Diallo from Burkina Faso, and Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja from Bahrain. Bui Thi Thien Can, Doan Trang’s mother, was present at the ceremony and received the award on her daughter’s behalf. Pham Doan Trang has been sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly “distributing anti-State propaganda.”

    In her speech, Can said she was “happy and proud” of Doan Trang’s achievement and that she thought her daughter is “a courageous woman who was persistent to follow the dangerous and arduous path [of being a human rights defender.]”

    “As a mother, I have had to sacrifice a mother’s love so that my child could become an activist. I hope that one day, the sooner the better, Vietnam will have real democracy and human rights so that our people can truly be free and happy,” Can says, adding that she has not been able to see her daughter for nearly 20 months.

    Just before the award ceremony, Michèle Taylor, U.S. ambassador at the UN Human Rights Council, met with Bui Thi Thien Can in the U.S. Mission in Geneva. “I was honored to have met with the mother of Pham Doan Trang, one of this year’s Martin Ennals Award recipients, an inspiring human rights defender & journalist who has been unjustly detained in Vietnam,” Ambassador Taylor wrote on Twitter. “Today was a vivid reminder of the importance of the work we do in Geneva,” she added.

    In a short documentary about Doan Trang’s activism shown during the ceremony, the journalist explained that she chose to become an activist because “being a reporter or a journalist was still not enough” to push for social change in an authoritarian country like Vietnam. “[Being an activist] means that someone can take the matter into their own hands and not wait for someone else to pick up the fight,” she said.

    In an opinion article published on the Martin Ennals Award website on May 30, Saman Zia-Zarifi, secretary-general of the International Court of Justice, wrote that the human rights situation in Vietnam “continues to degenerate despite the country’s increasing engagement with the global economy.”

    Zia-Zarifi added that Vietnam “should be held accountable to its international human rights obligations” and he urged the Vietnamese government to “immediately release Pham Doan Trang and all political prisoners like her.”

    The Vietnamese government’s mouthpieces, on the other hand, have criticized and defamed the Martin Ennals Award. An article in Nhan Dan, the official mouthpiece of the Vietnamese Communist Party, accused the Martin Ennals foundation of cooperating with other human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, to “interfere in several countries’ internal affairs” and give the awards to those who “violated their country’s own laws and were given the prison sentences.”

    Another article in the local Nghe An Newspaper wrote that there are “malicious purposes behind the human rights awards” and that these awards have been “used by hostile forces” to “inflict damages and interfere in the internal affairs of socialist countries, including Vietnam.” “The arguments and statements of the aforementioned organizations and individuals are groundless, unobjective, and blatantly distorted the situation in Vietnam,” it wrote.

    Source: The Vietnamese

  • Pham Doan Trang in BBC News Tiếng Việt: Phán quyết từ LHQ nói VN ‘bắt giữ tùy tiện’ nhà hoạt động Phạm Đoan Trang

    The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) has just released its verdict on the case of journalist Pham Doan Trang and says that Vietnam ‘arbitrarily detained’ activist Pham Doan Trang.

    Excerpt:

    International human rights lawyer Kurtuluş Baştima, who filed Pham Doan Trang’s case with the UN, told BBC News Vietnamese that he received the UN’s ruling on October 25.

    Accordingly, the judgment said that Pham Doan Trang was arrested and detained without an arrest warrant, nor was she informed of the reason for her arrest. Since being arrested until now, Ms. Trang has not been able to see her relatives, and her meeting with a lawyer has been delayed for a long time. As a result, Ms. Trang’s rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) have been violated.

    The working group concluded that the Vietnamese government had “arbitrarily detained journalist Pham Doan Trang for the past 11 months”, and that she should be released immediately.

    “The current case is one of many submitted to UNWGAD in recent years related to arbitrary arrests in Vietnam. These cases follow a similar pattern of arrests that do not comply with the regulations. international norms; prolonged detention pending trial without access to indictment files, access to lawyers, prosecution under dubious criminal offenses…; no access to the outside world.”

    “This pattern points to a systemic problem with arbitrary detention in Vietnam that, if continued, could seriously violate international law,” the UNWGAD report reads.

    In the 17-page ruling, UNWGAD also laid out further measures to monitor Vietnam’s compliance, asking the Vietnamese government, within six months, to provide information including:

    Has Pham Doan Trang been released yet? If so, what time?

    Have the terms of compensation been fulfilled?

    Has an investigation been conducted for the violation of Pham Doan Trang’s rights? How’s the result?

    Have there been any legal amendments, namely Article 117 of the old Penal Code and Article 88 of the new Penal Code to be consistent with international obligations?

    Has any other action been taken under this judgment?

    Perspectives from international human rights lawyers

    “This is a very important ruling,” Mr Kurtuluş Baştima told the BBC. He analyzed:

    “Pham Doan Trang could not object to her detention, so her right to apply remedial measures under Article 2(3) ICCPR was violated.”

    “In addition, UNWGAD ruled that Article 117 of the old Penal Code or Article 88 (Amendment of the Penal Code) were too vague and broad to be used as a legal basis to invoke arrest and detention. Pham Doan Trang.”

    In addition, the right to freedom of speech, the right to association and the right to express opinions are also violated by the Vietnamese state, because all activities of Ms. Trang as an author, blogger and journalist are prevented. .”

    “Ultimately, the delay in allowing Ms. Trang to see a lawyer caused her right to a fair trial to be violated under Article 14 of the ICCPR. Ms. Trang’s detention was due to her participation in anti-corruption and civil rights reporting. owner is a violation of his right to engage in public affairs, in particular Article 25(a) of the ICCPR.”

    “This is a decision made by UNWGAD based on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This convention places an obligation on the state to respect those decisions. Ms. Trang’s lawyer in Vietnam Nam should use this decision of the UN in the upcoming trial,” said Mr. Kurtuluş Baştima.

    However, Mr. Kurtuluş Baştima said that the UN’s ruling is not legally binding, so UNWGAD cannot impose penalties if the Vietnamese government does not implement the proposals made by the UN.

    However, this does not mean that the Vietnamese government will be ignored this decision. Because if not, the Vietnamese government will be held responsible for violating international law and UNWGAD will refer the situation to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

    Immediately following the UN ruling, a joint statement on Tuesday from 28 national and international civil society organizations called on the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Pham Doan Trang.

    The suppression of Doan Trang and other human rights defenders, including independent writers and journalists, is part of an increasingly worse attack on freedom of expression and information in Vietnam. South,” the joint statement read.

    The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention – UNWGAD – was established on the basis of Resolution 1991/42 of the United Nations Human Rights Commission and has the task of investigating arrests, detentions and imprisonments made by member states, whether it is in accordance with the UN Charter of Human Rights.

    They have the right to request that governments and states submit periodic reports or on specific cases related to acts, decisions or trials that deprive citizens of their freedoms in the Member State.

    Download article in Vietnamese:

    Phan quyet tu LHQ noi VN bat giu tuy tien nha hoat ong Pham oan Trang BBC News Tieng Viet
    Phán quyết từ LHQ nói VN ‘bắt giữ tùy tiện’ nhà hoạt động Phạm Đoan Trang – BBC News Tiếng Việt.pdf
    2 MB

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    Download article in English:

    Judgment from UN says Vietnam arbitrarily detained activist Pham Doan Trang BBC News Vietnamese
    Judgment from UN says Vietnam ‘arbitrarily detained’ activist Pham Doan Trang – BBC News Vietnamese.pdf
    2 MB

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  • Vietnam Briefing: 119 death sentences recorded in 2021

    Vietnam Briefing: 119 death sentences recorded in 2021

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    Amnesty International report: Hundreds of people sentenced to death annually in Vietnam

    • In an annual report released on May 24 documenting the international judicial use of death penalty, Amnesty International noted that at least 119 death sentences were recorded in Vietnam last year, and that “a 30% increase was recorded between 1 October 2020 and 31 July 2021.”
    • The report said that there is no official record of the number of death penalties that have occurred  in Vietnam since the numbers are classified as a state secret. However, Amnesty’s calculation suggests that there were around 1,200 people under sentence of death at the end of 2021 in Vietnam. According to the report, Vietnam is the only country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that carried out executions in 2021.
    • Drug trafficking offenses accounted for the majority of death sentences in Vietnam. It was calculated that 93 of the 119 new death sentences in Vietnam were imposed for drug-related offenses.

    Former Vietnamese journalist’s health worsens in jail

    RFA:

    • Nguyen Tuong Thuy, a Vietnamese journalist jailed for writing articles that criticized Vietnam’s one-party communist government, is in failing health, according to RFA. The prison authorities also refused his family’s request to approve medical treatment for Thuy outside the facility.
    • Thuy, 72, is a former vice president of the Vietnam Independent Journalists Association (IJAVN). He is currently serving an 11-year sentence at the An Phuoc Detention Center in Vietnam’s Binh Duong Province on the charge of “distributing anti-state propaganda.”
    • The former journalist is now suffering from back pain, high blood pressure, scabies and inflammatory bowel disease, Thuy’s wife, Pham Thi Lan, told RFA in a recent interview.
    • Thuy’s harsh treatment behind bars may be due to his refusal to plead guilty to the charges filed against him, Lan said. She called on the international community to pressure Vietnam to allow him to receive medical care.

    Vietnamese delegation arrives in Geneva to advocate for human rights improvements in Vietnam

    • In preparation for the Martin Ennals Award (MEA) ceremony on June 2, a Vietnamese civil society delegation arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on an advocacy trip to push for the improvement of the human rights situation in Vietnam and the release of journalist Pham Doan Trang, one of the three MEA laureates this year.
    • Bui Thi Thien Can, Doan Trang’s mother, and a member of the delegation, will receive the award on behalf of her daughter. Other members of the delegation include Will Nguyen, a former political prisoner, and a pro-democracy advocate; and Tran Quynh-Vi, co-director of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV.)
    • In an email interview with RFA, Nguyen said one of the priorities of the delegation’s agenda is to pressure the Vietnamese authorities to “provide adequate and immediate healthcare services” for Pham Doan Trang as her health has significantly deteriorated while in detention.
    • Nguyen added that the delegation would also demand the international representatives at the award to pressure Hanoi to respect the human rights of its citizens and uphold Vietnam’s international commitments and its own Constitution in safeguarding fundamental freedoms.
    • The latest arrests and imprisonment of civil society leaders in Vietnam, including Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong, who are the executive board members of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)-VNGO, are also mentioned in the delegation’s working agenda with the international community, Nguyen said.

    Vietnamese activist arrested on “anti-state” charges

    • Truong Van Dung, a Vietnamese pro-democracy activist, was arrested at his home on May 21 on “anti-state” charges. Nghiem Thi Hop, his wife, told RFA in an interview that Dung was detained by plainclothes police around 7.30 am. The police later conducted a house search and confiscated some of Dung’s books, laptop computer and protest bandrolls, according to Hop.
    • According to State media, Dung was charged with “distributing anti-state propaganda,” a violation of Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code. The arrest warrant was approved by the Hanoi City People’s Procuracy, state media reported.
    • Dung, 64, is popularly known for his activism on the promotion of human rights and Vietnam’s maritime sovereignty issues. Dung also co-founded a civil association named “Hoi Bau Bi Tuong Than” (Mutual support among countrymen,) which was established to support political prisoners in Vietnam and their families.
    • Dung previously participated in several demonstrations protesting Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea and consequently became a target of police harassment and assault. In 2018, he was beaten unconscious by Hanoi police after attending a memorial ceremony for Vietnamese martyrs who died in the Gac Ma incident, according to the ceremony attendees.
    • The family of Truong Van Dung also encountered difficulty in sending him supplies in detention. Nghiem Thi Hop told RFA that when she came to the detention center on May 24 to deliver basic necessities to her husband, the authorities refused to receive her supplies and requested that she purchase those items at the facility-owned canteen.
    • Hop added that the authorities also refused to accept the books she sent to her husband since they claimed they could not “verify its content.”

    Activist Do Nam Trung transferred to a prison camp far from home

    • In an interview with RFA on May 26, Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet, fiancee of Vietnamese activist Do Nam Trung, said that Trung had been transferred from the Nam Dinh Prison to Thanh Hoa Province’s Prison Camp 5 on the same day. The new prison is located 200 kilometers away from his home.
    • Do Nam Trung was convicted of “distributing anti-state materials” in December last year and subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison. A court in Vietnam’s Nam Dinh Province upheld his conviction in an appeals trial on March 24.
    • The Vietnamese authorities have commonly transferred political prisoners to detention centers located far from their homes in order to limit family visitations and their contacts outside the prison.

    12 Hmong people jailed for attending a religious leader’s funeral

    • In an online update on May 24, attorney Nguyen Van Mieng announced that a court in Vietnam’s Tuyen Quang Province had given prison sentences to  12 Hmong people who had participated in the funeral of religious leader Duong Van Minh on December 12, 2021.
    • The Tuyen Quang authorities previously prosecuted a total of 15 people, charging them with “resisting officers in the performance of their duties” and “violating safety regulations in crowded places.”
    • According to Mieng’s update, after a three-day trial, from May 18-20, the court sentenced one person to four years in prison, four people to two years and six months in prison, and the other seven people to two years each in prison. They were charged with “resisting officers on public duty,” a violation of Article 330 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
    • The attorney added that a person could only be prosecuted using this law when they are proven to have inflicted death, injuries or financial damages to more than two people. However, none of the public officers were killed or injured during the funeral, he noted.
    • The trial date for another three Hmong practitioners, including Duong Van Tu, Ly Van Anh, and Duong Van Lanh, has not been announced, Mieng wrote.

    The Third Meeting of Vietnam’s 15th National Assembly begins on May 23

    • According to vice chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Office, Vu Minh Tuan, the third session of the country’s 15th National Assembly began on May 23 and is expected to last for 19 days. At a press conference in Hanoi on May 20, Tuan said that the Vietnamese legislators are expected to debate and approve five draft laws, three draft resolutions, and to examine six other bills.
    • More specifically, the National Assembly will consider and approve amendments to a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law, the Insurance Business Law, the Cinematography Law, the Emulation and Commendation Law, and the Mobile Police Law.
    • At the same time, the legislators will debate six bills, including the draft revisions of the Domestic Violation Prevention and Control Law, Medical Examination and Treatment Law, Implementation of Democracy at Grassroots Level Law, Inspection Law, Radio Frequency Law, and Petroleum Law.
    • Most importantly, the Vietnamese lawmakers also expressed their concerns over the draft revision of the Mobile Police Law and emphasized the need for the law to be more specific and strict regarding situations where mobile police forces are allowed to bring weapons and other special technical devices onto airplanes and ships. They noted that this law needs to be further reviewed to avoid an abuse of power by police officers.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Deadly confessions, the hidden abuse by Vietnam’s police

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ May 27

    “Torture as an interrogation technique is driven by the rat race in Vietnam’s police force where there is constant pressure to close cases quickly to get promoted, said Le Cong Dinh, a lawyer and human rights advocate who was jailed and then put under house arrest for critiquing Vietnam’s ruling one-party government. Instead of investigating the evidence, police force their understanding of the crime onto a suspect.”

    Biden must promote democracy among Asian nations — including Vietnam

    The Hill/ Lianchao Han, Bradley A. Thayer/ May 22

    “As the U.S. is tested in the Sino-American security competition, it needs allies that possess a shared vision. It needs a solid partnership that can be sustained in the face of China’s aggression. To meet the dangers posed by Beijing, the U.S.-ASEAN partnership must be based on similar values.

    It is critical, therefore, for the U.S. to realize that communist values and ideology are the definition of the VCP.  That makes Vietnam a potentially unreliable partner for the U.S. and its democratic allies in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. must promote democracy in Vietnam — and strengthen democracy in other ASEAN countries — to create the strongest coalition possible to resist China’s expansion and avoid the strategic ​​errors of the past.”

    It Takes Two to Tango: Vietnam-US Relations in the New Context

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Hong Kong Nguyen, Pham Muoi Nguyen/ May 23

    “Just as it has taken Vietnam and the United States decades to transform their relationship from foes to friends, it will take time for the two countries to build trust and deepen their current partnership. During this process, bilateral dialogues and engagements in different domains, including trade and investment, cultural, education and people-to-people exchanges, as well as defense and security cooperation activities, should be further strengthened and promoted.”

    Vietnam and Russia’s Political Alignment: More than Meets the Eye

    Fulcrum/ Hoang Thi Ha, Darren Cheong/ May 25

    “Vietnam and Russia advocate alternative approaches that challenge the West’s human rights discourse. Such approaches put emphasis on national and regional particularities versus the notion of universality of human rights; the right to development and the importance of social-economic development as a means to realize human rights; respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, and diversity of democratic systems in electoral processes; and equitable geographical distribution of membership in human rights treaty bodies. Unlike the divergence in the previous period, both countries have completely converged in voting against resolutions on human rights situations in countries such as Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Belarus, North Korea and Myanmar.”

    PM Chinh Goes to Washington: Equal Importance of Foreign and Domestic Goals

    Fulcrum/ Le Hong Hiep/ May 17

    “Boosting Vietnam’s economic performance within the next three years and strengthening his economic credentials will therefore be of critical significance for Chinh’s political prospects. Compared to foreign policy goals, economic outcomes from the U.S. visit and follow-up actions to implement them will be of equal, if not greater, significance for Chinh and his supporters. Vietnam’s economy is running into significant headwinds. If Chinh’s efforts in this regard are successful, he will burnish his political prospects — and also benefit the Vietnamese economy as a whole.”

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