Vietnamese activist Trần Thị Nga was released from prison in January.
Trần Thị Nga was released in January, after having served three years of a nine year prison sentence. She has since safely arrived in the USA along with her partner and two sons.
Tran Thi Nga shared the following message with Amnesty supporters;
“I thank Amnesty International for your tireless effort in demanding for my freedom, I am happy that my family are now reunited and living in peace. However, there are still many prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, I sincerely hope that Amnesty International will continue to fight for their freedom.”
Trần Thị Nga’s message to Amnesty supporters following her release.
What happened?
21,381 people signed a petition calling for her release in Australia. Their signatures were handed over to the authorities ahead of Vietnam National Day – a traditional day for prisoner pardons – in September 2019.
In 2017, Trần Thị Ng awas arrested for peacefully protesting a major
environmental disaster that killed hundreds of thousands of tons of fish.
She was convicted and sentenced to 9 years in prison, and 5 years of house arrest. In August 2018 she was brutally beaten and threatened with death by . Guards banned her from seeing her family as punishment for ‘not following prison principles.’
What’s next?
Vietnam is one of the most prolific jailers of peaceful activists in Southeast Asia. Torture and other ill-treatment, including incommunicado detention, prolonged solitary confinement, beatings and deliberately withholding medical treatment remain common practice.
Amnesty International remains deeply concerned about the ongoing imprisonment of peaceful activists in Vietnam. We will continue to campaign for the release of all prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.
