"Vietnam: Rejection of the appeal on the prison sentence of Trinh Ba Phuong", 23 August 2022

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... 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...