HANOI, Vietnam: A Vietnamese court in Ho Chi Minh City has handed down a three-year prison sentence to prominent climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong for tax evasion, marking the latest case of environmentalists being incarcerated by the country’s communist government.
Hong, who is 50 years old, was found guilty of evading approximately $275,000 in taxes related to her environmental advocacy group, CHANGE, according to her lawyer, Nguyen Van Tu.
This verdict represents the fifth instance in the last two years in which green campaigners have been imprisoned on tax evasion charges as Vietnam’s authoritarian government intensifies its crackdown on activists.
Hong’s husband, Hoang Vinh Nam, expressed disappointment with the sentencing, deeming it overly harsh. He said, “I think it was unfair to Hong. The defense lawyer did his best, but his arguments were not considered properly.”
According to state media, the charges against Hong were related to revenue generated by CHANGE between 2012 and 2022. Hong admitted to the charges and, along with her family, paid the state 3.5 billion dong ($145,000) as a settlement, state media reported.
CHANGE was founded by Hong with the aim of mobilizing Vietnamese citizens, especially young people, to address pressing environmental issues such as climate change, illegal wildlife trade, and pollution. However, she abruptly shut down the organization last year after four environmental and human rights activists were imprisoned for tax evasion.
While Vietnam has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and has received pledges of financial assistance to transition away from fossil fuels, the government has shown limited tolerance for dissent on environmental matters. Critics have faced intimidation, harassment, and restrictions on their activities.
Earlier this month, Hanoi police detained Ngo Thi To Nhien, the director of the Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition, an independent energy policy think tank. Nhien was reportedly working on the implementation plan for Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a $15-billion G7-funded project aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Hoang Thi Minh Hong, recognized internationally for her environmental work, participated in the Obama Foundation Scholars program in New York in 2018 and was listed by Forbes as one of the 50 most influential Vietnamese women in 2019. Her detention in May prompted concern from international organizations, including the UN’s human rights body, which warned of the “chilling effect” of tax-related cases on civil society groups.
Among the four green activists jailed last year was Nguy Thi Khanh, a globally recognized climate and energy campaigner who won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018. Khanh, the founder of Green ID, an influential environmental organization in Vietnam, was released last month after spending nearly a year in jail.
Hong’s case follows US President Joe Biden’s recent visit to Hanoi, during which he announced a new “strategic partnership” and indicated that he had raised human rights issues with Vietnam’s top leadership.
