Joint letter on the arrest of Obama Foundation Scholar Hoang Thi Minh Hong in Vietnam
Download the joint letter as a PDF
Mr. Barack Obama
c/o Obama Foundation
Chicago, Illinois
Re: Arrest of Obama Foundation Scholar in Vietnam
Dear Mr. Obama,
We write to request your assistance in calling for the unconditional release from jail of Obama Foundation scholar Hoang Thi Minh Hong. Hong is one of 12 members of the very first cohort of your foundation. She is also the founder of the Center of Hands-on Action and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE), an organization that advocates for action on climate change, the environment, and wildlife protection. CHANGE was a leading organization in the campaign to stop the construction and financing of new coal-fired power plants in Vietnam. Unfortunately, Hong was forced to close CHANGE in October 2022, after being harassed by the government.
Vietnamese police arrested Hong on 1 June, 2023. She is being held incommunicado and has been denied access to a lawyer. The government is preparing to prosecute Hong on a false charge of tax evasion. She faces up to seven years behind bars and if found guilty, she may be subjected to a prison system that is known for torture and willful neglect.
Hong is the fifth climate activist to be jailed in the past two years in Vietnam for supposed tax evasion. Dang Dinh Bach, another jailed activist, was sentenced to five years in prison after he successfully advocated for the government to decarbonize the energy sector. A human rights investigation, published in April, documents clear evidence that these prosecutions are politically-driven and designed to criminalize climate activism using false charges of tax evasion.
The United Nations and the U.S. State Department have already made public statements calling for Hong’s release. You have met Hong and praised her work, and your foundation continues to use her name and image on its website. Given this, it seems appropriate that you would join the UN and State Department by making your own public statement calling on the Vietnamese government to release her.
We would be happy to provide you more information on this important case. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
350.org
350Hawaii
350 Silicon Valley
Accelerate Neighborhood Climate Action
Agency for Turkana Development Initiatives
Amnesty International
Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc.
Article 19
Asia Democracy Network
Asian NGO Coalition
Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders
Center for Energy, Ecology and Development
Center for Environmental Concerns - Philippines Inc.
Center for Human Rights and Environment
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Climate Rights International
EarthRights International
Environmental Defender Law Center
Extinction Rebellion Phoenix
FIDH - International Federation for Human Rights
Fortify Rights
FORUM-ASIA
Freedom House
Friends of the Earth Japan
Friends of the Earth US
Front Line Defenders
Global Network of Movement Lawyers at Movement Law Lab
Global Witness
Grassroots Foundation (Germany)
Greenpeace UK
Human Rights Foundation
Human Rights Watch
International Accountability Project
International Commission of Jurists
International Rivers
International Service for Human Rights
Mano River Union Civil Society Natural Resources Rights and Governance Platform
Manushya Foundation
Market Forces
Mekong Watch
Mighty Earth
North American Climate Conservation and Environment
Not1MoreIpsum
Nuclear Energy Information Service
Oil Change International
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum
Peace Action WI
PowerShift e.V.
Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights
Protection International
Reclaim Finance
Recourse
Rivers & Mountains GreenFaith Circle
Sierra Leone Land Alliance
Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, New York
Social Eco Education
Terra Advocati
The 88 Project
Third Act
Trend Asia
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Unite North Metro Denver
Urgewald
Vietnamese Advocates for Changes
Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
