NEW YORK (Oct. 22, 2024) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) submitted a joint petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) on behalf of indigenous activists To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong.
To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong are members of the Khmer Krom indigenous group in the Mekong Delta region of southwestern Vietnam. Both men are outspoken activists on behalf of the Khmer Krom people and advocate for the recognition of the Khmer Krom as an indigenous group, as well as the rights to freedom of religion and the freedom to exercise the Khmer Krom culture. Officials in the region have targeted the men in the past for their advocacy on behalf of the Khmer Krom.
On July 31, 2023, officers from the Tra Vinh Provincial Police arrested To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong in their respective homes in Tra Vinh Province and charged them under Article 331 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code for “abusing” democratic freedoms. They were placed under pretrial detention and held without access to family members or legal counsel for nearly eight months.
On March 20, 2024, the two men were tried and convicted of abusing democratic freedoms by the Cau Ngang District People’s Court following a brief hearing which only state-run media were permitted to attend. They appeared at trial without legal representation and the court relied on confessions obtained during their incommunicado pretrial detention.
The court sentenced To Hoang Chuong to three-and-a-half years in prison and Thach Cuong to four years. They appealed the decision, but their appeal was denied in another closed, single-day hearing before the People’s Court of Tra Vinh Province. To Hoang Chuong is currently detained at Chau Binh Detention Center in Ben Tre Province, and Thach Cuong is detained at An Phuoc Detention Center in Binh Duong Province, where they have limited and strictly supervised access to family.
“To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong were convicted under Vietnam’s vague law criminalizing the ‘abuse of democratic freedoms.’ The law punishes the exercise of basic fundamental freedoms like the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association,” said Kaitie Holland, International Legal Associate at HRF. “The complete lack of due process, particularly the denial of their right to a lawyer, and disregard for fundamental rights, renders the detention of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong baseless and arbitrary.”
In its petition, HRF and KKF requested that the UNWGAD investigate To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong’s cases and determine that they are arbitrary under international law. The petition calls on the UNWGAD to order Vietnam to release both men from custody immediately and to ensure that their rights are respected.
Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
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