HANOI, Vietnam: Journalist Le Anh Hung, who was secretly tried for “abusing democratic freedoms” and detained in a psychiatric hospital, knows well the cost of standing up to Vietnam’s communist government.
A well-known critic of the Vietnamese state, Hung, 50, spent three years against his will in a psychiatric facility before being brought to trial without his family’s knowledge and sentenced to five years in prison.
Hung was charged with an anti-state measure of “abuse of democratic freedoms” after he said he had accused several top officials of serious crimes. However, details of his alleged crimes have not been released.
The former blogger for the US-funded Voice of America was released in July and later told news agency about his experiences at the hands of a government that tolerates no dissent from one-party rule.
“They tried to force me to take medication. I refused,” he said of his stint in psychiatry.
“But they tied my arms, legs and even my shoulders to the bed and then injected me.
US President Joe Biden visited Vietnam on Sunday and pushed for closer ties as Washington seeks to reduce its reliance on China.
But while Biden has often criticized Beijing’s human rights record, he has been largely silent on Vietnam, and activists do not hope he will use his visit to push the issue.
According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam’s rights record is “horrendous in virtually every area”.
Government critics face intimidation, harassment, restrictions on movement, arbitrary arrest and detention, and imprisonment after unfair trials, and there are reports of police torture to extract confessions, HRW says.
A crackdown on dissent has intensified since 2016 under Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and the government has largely succeeded in crushing the opposition, activists say.
Since 2022, five environmental activists have also been detained in a crackdown on civil society groups.
The arrests come as Vietnam welcomes the expected arrival of billions of dollars in international aid to help the country wean itself off fossil fuels.
The government said in a statement this year that “the protection and promotion of human rights is a consistent policy of the Vietnamese state.”
She did not respond to a recent request for comment from news agency.
Activists imprisoned
According to The 88 Project, which advocates for freedom of expression in the country, there are currently 193 activists in Vietnamese prisons.
They include noodle vendor Peter Lam Bui, who went viral for impersonating Salt Bae after the celebrity chef served a golden steak to a powerful Vietnamese official during a trip to London.
Lam was imprisoned for “anti-state propaganda” and his appeal was turned down last week.
And prominent climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong, who has been widely recognized for her work, is in pre-trial detention for alleged tax evasion.
For those left in the democratic movement, the picture is bleak.
“I think the Communist Party has certainly been successful in suppressing the voice of people like me,” said Nguyen Vu Binh, 54, a political activist who served nearly five years in prison in the early 2000s.
Civil society groups have been disbanded and what used to be protests have mostly stopped, while a draconian cybersecurity law has stifled online discussion.
But while the situation has worsened, Washington has been strengthening ties with Vietnam as it seeks to counter Beijing’s influence in the region and diversify supply chains away from the likes of China and Russia.
A US State Department spokesman told news agency that “human rights is an issue we raise at the highest levels in Vietnam”.
But with geopolitical concerns prevailing, most activists have little hope that Biden’s visit will do much to change Vietnam’s behavior.
“I don’t expect any serious pressure (for change) from the US and the EU,” said Le Cong Dinh, a former human rights lawyer in Ho Chi Minh City who was jailed for subversion.
“These countries view Vietnam as a strategic partner for their security and trade policies in Southeast Asia… protecting human rights is no longer a top priority in the relationship, especially during Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Allegations of torture
Some, like Nguyen Truong Chinh, whose son is on death row, continue to protest regardless of the consequences.
Chinh has been campaigning for the release of his son Nguyen Van Chuong – whose murder conviction came after allegations of torture – for 16 years and faces regular harassment from the authorities.
“I did not ask for amnesty or a reduced sentence because he is innocent,” Chinh, 77, told news agency.
Chuong’s sentence was condemned as “arbitrary and a violation of the right to life” by the United Nations, which last month called for an immediate halt to his impending execution.
He is still alive at the moment.
But his father says “it’s a slow death” for the rest of the family as their vociferous push for release aggravates the government.
“I want to help, but I feel very desperate,” Chinh said.
For Hung, faith remains in Vietnam’s good future.
There will be “a Vietnam with freedom, democracy and human rights”, he said.
