NEW YORK (Aug. [19], 2025) — The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) found that Vietnam’s detention of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong — activists and members of the Khmer Krom indigenous community — is arbitrary and violates international law. The opinion follows a submission from the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) with assistance from the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF).
Both men were convicted of “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code. Based on this vague charge, To Hoang Chuong was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, and Thach Cuong was sentenced to four years. HRF submitted the petition to the UNWGAD on their behalf in October 2024. In July 2023, the two were arrested for Facebook posts that allegedly “caused division and discrimination among ethnic groups” and “violated the interests of the state.”
In the months leading up to their arrests, both men were targeted by the regime for their activism on behalf of the Khmer Krom and their efforts to promote human rights in Vietnam, including by distributing copies of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and organizing an International Women’s Day event.
To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong were held in incommunicado pretrial detention for nearly eight months leading up to their joint trial at the Cau Ngang District People’s Court on March 20, 2024. The trial was closed to the public, and only state-run media were permitted to attend. They appeared before the court without a lawyer and were convicted and sentenced on the same day, after just a two-hour trial.
“This important UNWGAD opinion not only recognizes that the detention of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong is arbitrary but also acknowledges a concerning pattern of intimidation against both men in response to their activism on behalf of the Khmer Krom and a more general pattern of arrests in Vietnam that fail to comply with international law,” HRF International Legal Associate Kaitie Holland said. “Vietnam violated To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong’s fundamental rights to the freedom of religion, the freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to enjoy minority culture by detaining them based solely on Facebook posts and their peaceful efforts to promote the rights of the Khmer Krom.”
In addition to the violations of their fundamental rights, the UNWGAD opinion recognizes numerous violations of the right to a fair trial in the case of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong. There was no semblance of due process in this case.
HRF joins the UNWGAD’s call for the immediate release of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong, along with a full and independent investigation into their case. Vietnam cannot be allowed to continue targeting activists for exercising their fundamental rights and depriving them of their right to a fair trial. HRF calls on the international community to hold Vietnam accountable for the detention of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong and for the ongoing pattern of harassment of the Khmer Krom and other activists in Vietnam.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
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