Vuong Van Tha is a religious activist from the unsanctioned Hao Hao Buddhism sect. Local authorities arbitrarily detained members of his family including his son, Vuong Van Thuan, and cousins, Nguyen Nhat Truong and Nguyen Nhat Thuong, after damaging his house with a water cannon. Vuong Van Tha previously commented on Vietnamese corruption and was subsequently sentenced to 3 years prison on August 2016 for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state.”

More information:

• http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/hermit-09282017170708.html
• https://www.voatiengviet.com/a/nha-hoat-dong-luu-van-vinh-bi-bat-o-tphcm/3584824.html

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Note on Penal Code provisions:

A revised and expanded penal code took effect January 1, 2018 (known as the “Amended 2015 Penal Code”). While the previous provisions criminalizing political expression remained unchanged, they were renumbered. For instance, Article 79 (attempting to overthrow the government), Article 88 (anti-state propaganda), and Article 258 (abusing democratic rights) were renumbered as Article 109, Article 117, and Article 331, respectively.

For consistency with past media coverage, our database records the Article(s) that the prisoner was charged with (i.e., based on the version of the penal code applicable at the time of the sentencing).

Activists