Case History: Bui Thi Minh Hang

Imprisoned human rights defender Bui Thi Minh Hang has been denied access to her family and lawyer. She is currently on hunger strike in protest against her treatment in prison.

Bui Thi Minh Hang is a human rights defender and blogger. She publishes information on human rights violations in Vietnam, in particular land rights, and provides support to victims of land grabs.

On 4 May 2015, the son of Bui Thi Minh Hang filed a complaint with prison and state justice officials, contesting the ongoing mistreatment of the human rights defender at Gia Trung Prison Camp. The complaint detailed two recent instances of refusal by prison officials to allow Bui Thi Minh Hang's family to visit her, and the rejection of a request for visitation made by her attorney. Prison officials claimed her refusal to wear prison uniform as the reason for disallowing visitation by Bui Thi Minh Hang's family. No reason was given for the refusal of permission for her attorney. Requests to send parcels to the human rights defender have also been denied without explanation.

Bui Thi Minh Hang has been on hunger strike since 2 April 2015. She began her strike in protest against her harsh treatment by prison guards, who have reportedly attempted to incite hostility towards the human rights defender amongst her cell mates, and against the decision of authorities at Gia Trung Prison Camp to confiscate all her regular clothes in response to her refusal to wear prison uniform.

Bui Thi Minh Hang is currently held at Gia Trung Prison Camp, approximately 700km from her home, following her transfer from An Binh prison in Dong Thap province. On 12 December 2014, the Dong Thap Appellate Court in Vietnam upheld the sentence of three years' imprisonment issued against Bui Thi Minh Hang on 26 August 2014 by the People’s Court of Dong Thap province. She had been sentenced under Article 245 of Vietnam's Criminal Code for “causing public disorder”. Whilst being held awaiting trial, Bui Thi Minh Hang went on a six week hunger strike in protest at her detention. The human rights defender was initially detained along with 21 other activists as she attempted to visit the partner of an imprisoned human rights lawyer. Whilst 19 of those detained were released the next day, Bui Thi Minh Hang was one of three who were retained and charged.

In June 2012, Bui Thi Minh Hang was released after serving six months of an order for two-years in a 're-education camp'. The order was made by the People’s Committee of Hanoi City, reportedly in response to the human rights defenders' work on land rights.

Front Line Defenders expresses its grave concern at the recent attempts to cut off communication between Bui Thi Minh Hang and the outside world. Front Line Defenders believes that her sentencing is solely related to her human rights work, concerning land rights in particular, and urges the authorities in Vietnam to quash her sentence and bring about her unconditional release.

On 12 December 2014, Dong Thap Province Appellate Court in Vietnam is expected to examine the sentence of human rights defender Ms Bui Thi Minh Hang who was sentenced earlier this year to three-years' imprisonment under Article 245 of Vietnam's Criminal Code for “causing public disorder”.

Bui Thi Minh Hang is a human rights defender and blogger. She publishes information on human rights violations in Vietnam and provided support to victims of land grabs. Bui Thi Minh Hang was previously sent to a 're-education camp' for two years by the People’s Committee of Hanoi City, and was eventually released after six months in June 2012. This conviction is believed to have resulted from the human rights defenders' work on land rights. Bui Thi Minh Hang was one of 21 people beaten and detained when they attempted to visit the partner of a human rights lawyer who defends victims of forced evictions. The visit was to provide support to the woman after her husband was detained during a police raid of their house on 9 February 2014. Eighteen of those detained were released the next day, but Bui Thi Minh Hang and two other activist were charged with “causing public disorder” and remained in custody.

On 26 August 2014, in a one-day trial, Bui Thi Minh Hang was sentenced by the Court of First Instance to three-years' imprisonment. Her co-defendants, Mr Nguyen Van Minh and Ms Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, religious workers from the independent Buddhist Church, faced two-and-half-year and two-year sentences respectively.

The public were not allowed to attend the trial even though, according to Vietnamese legislation, it must be held publicly. The police blocked the entrance to the court building to prevent the public from attending and a number of prominent human rights defenders were stopped or taken into custody by security officials prior to the trial. Approximately 33 individuals were detained and several activists in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were barred from leaving their homes in the days before the trial.

The witnesses for the defence were also prevented from attending the trial, despite the fact that they were officially summoned to the court hearing. According to the human rights defenders' lawyers, they were only informed of the criminal charges against their defendants and of the police investigation's findings several days prior to the trial, contravening Vietnamese legislation which stipulates that the lawyers must be informed further in advance.

Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Vietnam to overturn the conviction of Bui Thi Minh Hang in the Appeal Court, as she was prosecuted solely for her peaceful and legitimate human rights work.

Front Line Defenders is concerned by the continued detention of human rights defender and blogger Ms Bui Thi Minh Hang. She is held in An Binh prison in Cao Lanh city since 11 February 2014, charged with “causing public disorder.”

The health of the human rights defender is of serious concern as Bui Thi Minh Hang was on hunger strike for six weeks in protest at the detention and was severely beaten at the time of the arrest.

Bui Thi Minh Hang is a human rights defender and blogger. She publishes information on human rights violations in Vietnam and provided support to victims of land grabs. Bui Thi Minh Hang was previously sent to a 're-education camp' for two years by the People’s Committee of Hanoi City, and was eventually released after six months in June 2012. That detention is believed to have resulted from the human rights defenders' work on land rights.

Bui Thi Minh Hang was one of 21 people beaten and detained when they attempted to visit the partner of a human rights lawyer who defends victims of forced evictions. The visit was to provide support to the woman after the detention of her husband in a police raid on their house on 9 February 2014. 19 of those arrested were released the next day, but Bui Thi Minh Hang and two other persons remain in detention and were charged under article 245 of Penal Code for “causing public disorder”. They face a possible sentence of three years' imprisonment. The human rights defender was interrogated on 23 March 2014 without her attorney, as her attorney was only notified the next day. Bui Thi Minh Hang was questioned again on 31 March 2014, but this time in the presence of her attorney.

According to the human rights defender's attorney, Bui Thi Minh Hang was on hunger strike until 30 March 2014. The attorney visited the human rights defender on that date and reported that, due to the six week hunger strike, Bui Thi Minh Hang had suffered significant weight loss and needed assistance to remain standing. It is reported that she had pre-existing health conditions, including kidney stones, that may have been aggravated by the hunger strike. Bui Thi Minh Hang was also beaten severely during her arrest.

Bui Thi Minh Hang's family have also experienced harassment in their attempts to obtain the release of Bui Thi Minh Hang. They have raised the case with local authorities and when they attempted to lodge a complaint with higher authorities in Hanoi on 23 March 2014, they were briefly detained.

In addition, a number of persons have reportedly been questioned by the police and asked to sign fabricated witness statements incriminating Bui Thi Minh Hang. Those questioned state that they refused to sign the documents, which they claim did not accurately reflect the testimony they provided.

Front Line Defenders expresses concern at the continued detention of Bui Thi Minh Hang, particularly in light of her poor health following a six week hunger strike. Front Line Defenders believes that the detention and charges are solely related to her human rights work, particularly concerning land rights.