GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO FREE NGUYEN VAN HOA
Nguyen Van Hoa is a journalist and activist serving a seven year prison sentence for activities related to his reporting and activism around the Formosa waste spill.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Send postcards to Nguyen Bac Truyen (click to select a design)
Send a letter calling for Nguyen Bac Truyen’s immediate and unconditional release to (click to view and download):
► Mr. To Lam, Minister of Public Security.
► Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
► Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary, Communist Party of Vietnam.
Send a personal letter to Nguyen Bac Truyen at:
► An Diem Prison, Dai Hung commune, Dai Loc district, Quang Nam province, Vietnam.
► Or call: +84 (0235) 377 4502.
Hoa’s work includes
First independent reporter who broadcast live footage of more than 10,000 protesters against the construction of the Formosa plant using a flycam drone.
Advocated for the rights of those injured in the waste-spill incident.
Timeline
Prior to his arrest, Nguyen Van Hoa was a videographer for Radio Free Asia’s Vietnamese language service.
Before 2017
2017
He was arrested for drug possession on January 11, 2017 but two weeks later, his family received a notice with the charges listed as “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State,” (Penal Code, Article 258).
On April 6, 2017, the government officially announced his arrest and the charges against him were changed again to ““disseminating propaganda against the state” (Penal Code, Article 88).
In his letter to his family in October 2018, he described physical abuse and ploys to coerce him into testifying against other activists.
2018
2020
He has been repeatedly abused by prison guards during his detention. After complaining about abuse, he was kept in solitary confinement between May and September 2019. In November 2020, He began a hunger strike to protest prison conditions and denial of access to his family.
Currently
Nguyen Van Hoa is currently held at An Điềm Prison in south-central Vietnam's Quang Nam province.