Lands Rights Activist Trinh Ba Tu Faces Torture in Prison
GHRTV Reporter
Jessica Cook
Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (‘OMCT’) released new information on December 8th concerning the case of land rights activist Trinh Ba Tu, who is reportedly facing torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, foot shackling, disciplinary procedures and solitary confinement as part of his imprisonment [1].
After Trinh Ba Tu’s land was confiscated by Vietnamese authorities in 2010, he became a prominent land rights campaigner alongside his mother Can Thi Theu and other family members. Trinh Ba Tu and his mother were imprisoned in May 2021 for eight years whilst his brother Tinh Ba Phuong received a ten-year sentence [2]. The individuals were officially convicted under article 117 of the Vietnamese 2015 Criminal Code which covers “making, storing or spreading information, materials or items for the purpose of opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam” [3]. The same law has enabled authorities to imprison political commentators, journalists and citizens criticising the government’s response to the pandemic.
The imprisonment of Trinh Ba Tu is reportedly linked to his online activism denouncing use of force by local police forces against farmers and land-grabbing practices on a national-scale and his role as part of a wider land rights activism movement in the country. The OMCT has since reported that Trinh Ba Tu has been denied family visits whilst in Prison No. 6, Nghe An province [4], and is being forced into hard labour.
Sources and further reading:
[1] OMCT World Organization Against Torture. (2022, December 8). Vietnam: Land rights defender Trinh Ba Tu continues to be tortured in prison. OMCT. Retrieved on December 16 from: https://www.omct.org/en/resources/urgent-interventions/vietnam-land-rights-defender-trinh-ba-tu-continues-to-be-subjected-to-torture-in-prison
[2] Amnesty International. (2022, September 23). Viet Nam: Imprisoned activist ‘beaten and shackled’. Amnesty International. Retrieved on December 16 from:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/vietnam-activist-trinh-ba-tu/
[3] Amnesty International. (n.d). Viet Nam: Country Background. Amnesty International. Retrieved on December 16 from:
[4] The 88 Project - Free Speech in Vietnam. (n.d). Profile: Trinh Ba Tu . The 88 Project. Retrieved on December 16 from:
