28-9-2023 (HANOI) A Vietnamese court has sentenced environmental activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong to three years in prison on charges of tax fraud. This verdict comes just days after the government discussed human rights with US President Joe Biden during his state visit. Hong, who directed an environmental advocacy group from 2013 to 2022, was convicted of tax evasion after a trial in Ho Chi Minh City that lasted half a day.
According to her lawyer, Nguyen Van Tu, Hong pleaded guilty, which expedited the trial. The indictment alleged that she evaded tax payments totaling 6.7 billion dong (US$274,488) from 2012 to 2022. She was also fined 100 million dong and has 15 days to decide whether to appeal.
This verdict has been widely criticized by human rights organizations and activists. Ben Swanton, co-director of The 88 Project charity, said, “This is yet another example of the law being weaponized to persecute climate activists who are fighting to save the planet.” He added that climate activists often receive harsher sentences than others who evade taxes in Vietnam.
Joe Biden recently visited Vietnam and upgraded diplomatic relations while concluding several deals with the country’s leaders. However, his focus on diplomacy drew criticism from human rights organizations who accused him of sidelining human rights issues.
In 1997, Hong became the first Vietnamese person to visit Antarctica and was praised by former US President Barack Obama in 2018 for her efforts in creating a greener world. She received a grant from the Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Vietnamese government to drop all charges against Hong and unconditionally release her. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW, stated, “The Vietnamese authorities are using the vaguely worded tax code as a weapon to punish environmental leaders whom the ruling Communist Party deems a threat to their power.”
As of early September, Vietnam was holding at least 159 political prisoners and detaining 22 others pending trial, according to HRW. On September 15, Hanoi police detained Ngo Thi To Nhien, Executive Director of the Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition, an independent think tank focused on green energy policy.
