Protests result in violence, jail and house arrest
Our researchers are monitoring human rights in Vietnam. Torture is rife in Vietnamese prisons and we have documented how prisoners are beaten with sticks, punched and kicked, and even electrocuted. Vietnam is one of the most prolific jailers of peaceful activists in South East Asia.
Over the last three years, Vietnamese authorities have intensified crackdowns on the peaceful exercise of the human rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association as well as thought, conscience, and religion.
Tran Thi Nga, a survivor of human trafficking, was one of almost 100 prisoners of conscience in Vietnam included on an Amnesty International list.
Targeted for her human rights advocacy against human trafficking and support for migrant rights, Tran Thi has faced several threats and attacks from Vietnamese authorities for her work.
In 2014, an assault from plain-clothes police left her with a broken arm and leg and, in July 2017, she was sentenced to nine years in prison and five years under house arrest, for “conducting propaganda against the state” for her involvement in peaceful protests in 2016.
Earlier this year, Tran Thi was released on condition that she and her family immediately go into exile.
She successfully sought asylum in the USA with her young son. She told Amnesty International: “I am happy my family are reunited and living in peace. However, there are still many prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, I hope that Amnesty International will continue to fight for their freedom.”