Le Dinh Luong on trial
On 22 July 2018, Le Dinh Luong’s (Vietnamese: Lê Đình Lượng) daughter announced that the human rights defender is due to face trial on 30 July 2018. The People’s Court of Nghe An province will try the defender over a year after his arrest, on charges of “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration.” If convicted, Le Dinh Luong could face between twelve and twenty years in prison, life imprisonment, or capital punishment.
Le Dinh Luong is a pro-democracy human rights defender who has has taken part in campaigns in support of imprisoned activists in Vietnam and actively used social media to share information about human rights violations in the country. He has also campaigned for compensating fishermen whose livelihoods were destroyed by the Formosa waste spill disaster in April 2016. He was previously attacked in Central Highlands province of Lam Dong in August 2015 following a celebration to mark the release of human rights journalist Tran Minh Nhat.
On 16 August 2018, the People’s Court of Nghe An province convicted and sentenced Le Dinh Luong to 20 years in prison - the maximum term - and five years under house arrest for “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”, in a trial that lasted only a few hours. This jail sentence is the longest received by a Vietnamese human rights defender in recent cases.
Đọc hoặc tải về phiên bản tiếng Việt
Le Dinh Luong’s lawyer said that the Court presented no evidence whatsoever to prove that the human rights defender had worked to overthrow the government, a charge frequently used to criminalise and imprison human rights defenders in Vietnam. Among the evidence cited was a signed statement by jailed human rights defenders Nguyen Viet Dung and Nguyen Van Hoa, which stated that Le Dinh Luong had been present at Nguyen Van Hoa’s official induction into the Viet Tan organisation, a US-based Vietnamese pro-democracy group considered by the Vietnamese authorities to be a terrorist organisation. During their address before the court, both Nguyen Viet Dung and Nguyen Van Hoa informed the judge that this confession had been extracted through torture. Following this announcement, the two defenders were immediately taken from the courtroom. When Le Dinh Luong’s lawyers asked to meet the defenders for further questioning, police informed the lawyers that the defenders were ill and unfit for questioning.
On 24 July 2017, Le Dinh Luong was arrested in Nghe An province on charges of violating Article 79 of the 1999 Vietnamese Penal Code. He had also posted on his Facebook account asking for compensation for fisherman affected by the 2016 Formosa waste-spill in Vietnam’s central coast region.
On 22 July 2018, Le Dinh Luong’s (Vietnamese: Lê Đình Lượng) daughter announced that the human rights defender is due to face trial on 30 July 2018. The People’s Court of Nghe An province will try the defender over a year after his arrest, on charges of “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration.” If convicted, Le Dinh Luong could face between twelve and twenty years in prison, life imprisonment, or capital punishment.
On 24 July 2017, Le Dinh Luong was arrested in Nghe An province on charges of violating Article 79 of the 1999 Penal Code by “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”. He was arrested in Hoang Mai town by plainclothes policemen on his way home, after visiting the family of fellow human rights defender Nguyen Van Oai. The human rights defender is accused of membership of Viet Tan, a U.S. based pro-democracy organisation, which the Vietnamese authorities consider to be a terrorist organisation. He is also accused of calling for a boycott of parliamentary and people’s council elections.
On 4 July 2018, authorities in Nghe An province issued a letter allowing Le Dinh Luong to meet his lawyers in Nghi Kin temporary detention facility to prepare for his defence. They are scheduled to meet on 24 July, giving them only six days to prepare.
Le Dinh Luong has been kept in incommunicado pre-trial detention since his arrest. His family hasn’t been allowed to meet him, despite repeated requests, and has been attacked by the police on multiple occasions. Four days after his arrest, Le Dinh Luong’s son and daughter-in-law were attacked by security officers in Ho Chi Minh City, where his son was beaten and his daughter-in-law was forcibly taken while looking after their 18-month-old baby to Ward 8, Go Vap District for interrogation. She was released later that night. On 18 August 2017, 15 relatives of the detained human rights defender, including his son, were brutally beaten by the police in Nghe An province when they went to the province’s Department of Public Security to request a meeting with him. Le Dinh Luong’s wife has expressed worry about his physical condition as he suffers from multiple health problems, for which his family have not been permitted to send medication. It is unclear whether his family and relatives will be able to attend his hearing even though it is open to the public.
Front Line Defenders condemns the charges against Le Dinh Luong and expresses concern about the lengthy period of his pre-trial detention. It believes that the human rights defender is being held solely as a result of his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence and promotion of human rights.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Vietnam to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally release Le Dinh Luong and drop all charges against him;
2. Ensure that the treatment of Le Dinh Luong, while in detention, adheres to the conditions set out in the “Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment”, adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;
3. Allow Le Dinh Luong immediate and unfettered access to his family, as well as with access to necessary medical treatment;
4. Ensure the physical and psychological security and integrity of Le Dinh Luong’s family and carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the attacks from police that they suffered, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
5. Cease targeting all human rights defenders in Vietnam and guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.
