13 DECEMBER 2014
The appeal of three Vietnamese human rights activists was held in Dong Thap Province on 12 December 2014, resulting in their convictions being affirmed. We denounce the results as a violation of fair trial standards under Vietnamese law and the international human rights standards and call on the Vietnamese authorities to release the Defendants immediately.

Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hang, along with her co-Defendants, Mr. Nguyen Van Minh and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, had been arrested on 11 February 2014. On 26 August 2014, they were convicted and sentenced to 3 years, 2.5 years and 2 years imprisonment under Article 245 for causing public disorder.

On 26 August 2014, in a one-day trial, three human rights defenders were sentenced in Dong Thap Province, Vietnam under Article 245 of its Penal Code for “causing public disorder.” Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hang, a defender for land-lost farmers and religious groups, was sentenced to three years imprisonment, while her co-defendants, Mr. Nguyen Van Minh and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, both religious workers of the independent but outlawed Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, were sentenced to two-and-a-half years and two years’ imprisonment, respectively. The defendants were 3 of 21 individuals who were beaten and detained while attempting to visit a fellow activist, human rights lawyer Nguyen Bac Truyen. With the upcoming appeal to be held on 12 December 2014, we would like to call on the Vietnamese government to ensure that the appeal proceedings are carried out in a way which complies with Vietnamese laws as well as the international law and standards on fair trial.