human rights defender
Trinh Ba Tu
Actions and Campaigns
Trinh Ba Tu
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
HRD's year of birth
1989
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- Other
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Land rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
HRD's bio and work
Trinh Ba Tu is a human rights defender and land rights activist who - along with his mother, Ms Can Thi Theu, father, Mr Trinh Ba Khiem, and brother, Mr Trinh Ba Phuong - has campaigned against land grabbing in the region of Dong Tam, Vietnam, to highlight its impact on small-scale farmers across the country.
Detained since
Jun 24, 2020
Charge(s)
- Anti-government propaganda
Sentence
8 years in prison
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Trinh Ba Tu has been subjected to several forms of torture and ill-treatment while in detention. These include severe physical violence which caused his hospitalisation, prolonged solitary confinement while being foot shackled, lack of light in his cell, lack of access to adequate food and sanitation as well as to his family, and forced hard labour. He has engaged in hunger strikes to protest his treatment.
Latitude: 18.816460132267306
Longitude: 105.20741704366351
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Asia: South-eastern Asia
Location of detention - City/Town
Thanh Chuong District, Nghe An Province
Location of detention - Facility
Prison number 6
Recent case update / evolution
On 5 May 2021, the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Trinh Ba Tu to 8 years in prison on the charge of “preparing, publishing and disseminating video clips and writing distorted contents that sow confusion among the people in order to oppose the state” (Article 117 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam).
Any other relevant documents
Joint communication, UN special procedures, AL VNM 6/2021: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=26765
Joint communication, UN special procedures, AL VNM 6/2022: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27619
Joint communication, UN special procedures, AL VNM 8/2025: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=30638
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's year of birth
- 1989
- HRD's Gender
- Man
- Type of HRD
- Other
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Land rights
- HRD's Picture
- HRD's bio and work
Trinh Ba Tu is a human rights defender and land rights activist who - along with his mother, Ms Can Thi Theu, father, Mr Trinh Ba Khiem, and brother, Mr Trinh Ba Phuong - has campaigned against land grabbing in the region of Dong Tam, Vietnam, to highlight its impact on small-scale farmers across the country.
- HRD's geographical origin
- Urban
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Asia: South-eastern Asia
- Location of detention - City/Town
- Thanh Chuong District, Nghe An Province
- Location of detention - Facility
- Prison number 6
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 18.816460132267306
Longitude: 105.20741704366351
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Jun 24, 2020
- Current Status
- In prison (sentenced)
- Charge(s)
- Anti-government propaganda
- Sentence
8 years in prison
- Recent case update / evolution
On 5 May 2021, the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Trinh Ba Tu to 8 years in prison on the charge of “preparing, publishing and disseminating video clips and writing distorted contents that sow confusion among the people in order to oppose the state” (Article 117 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam).
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Trinh Ba Tu has been subjected to several forms of torture and ill-treatment while in detention. These include severe physical violence which caused his hospitalisation, prolonged solitary confinement while being foot shackled, lack of light in his cell, lack of access to adequate food and sanitation as well as to his family, and forced hard labour. He has engaged in hunger strikes to protest his treatment.
- Protection actions and campaigns
- Any other relevant documents
Joint communication, UN special procedures, AL VNM 6/2021: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=26765
Joint communication, UN special procedures, AL VNM 6/2022: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27619
Joint communication, UN special procedures, AL VNM 8/2025: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=30638
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
sorted by
Date added
4 relationships, 3 entities