Hoang Thi Minh Hong sentenced to three years of prison on false tax evasion charges
On 28 September 2023, woman human rights defender Hoang Thi Minh Hong was sentenced to three years of imprisonment on tax evasion charges related to the work of the environmental rights campaign group Center of Hands-on Action and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE)
Hoang Thi Minh Hong is a woman human rights defender advocating for environmental rights and tackling climate change in Vietnam. She is the founder of the Center of Hands-on Action and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE), an organization that works for tackling climate change, the sustainable environment, and wildlife protection. CHANGE is a member of the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance, an advocacy coalition that was forcibly disbanded after four of its leaders were imprisoned on false charges of tax evasion between 2021-2022.
On 28 September 2023, woman human rights defender Hoang Thi Minh Hong was sentenced to three years of imprisonment on tax evasion charges related to the work of the environmental rights campaign group Center of Hands-on Action and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE). Hoang Thi Minh Hong’s sentence is the fifth in the series of Vietnamese human rights defenders working on environmental rights to be falsely accused of tax evasion.
Hoang Thi Minh Hong is the is the founder of the Center of Hands-on Action and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE). CHANGE is a member of the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance, an advocacy coalition that was forcibly disbanded after four of its leaders were imprisoned on false charges of tax evasion between 2021-2022. In October 2022, Hoang Thi Minh Hong was forced to close CHANGE. On 1 June 2023, she was arrested and was held incommunicado. She is now the fifth climate HRD in Vietnam to face false charges of tax evasion.
Front Line Defenders condemns the targeting of human rights defenders, especially through trumped-up charges by the Vietnamese authorities. Front Line Defenders is concerned about the chilling effect among the human rights defenders and organisations working or the protection of human and environmental rights in the country.
