Dao Quang Thuc was born in 1960 and died in 2019 in custody. He lived in Nga Son District, Thanh Hoa Province. He was a retired primary school teacher and a war veteran.
Background information
Dao Quang Thuc was born in 1960 and died in 2019 in custody. He lived in Nga Son District, Thanh Hoa Province. He was a retired primary school teacher and a war veteran. [1]
Activism
Mr. Thuc’s commentary on Facebook was about Vietnamese government policy. He wrote about environmental issues, territorial disputes, democracy, and anti-corruption. He was also known for peacefully criticizing the Government’s response to the Formosa steel plant chemical spill in 2016 to the territorial dispute with China.
Arrest and pretrial detention
The arrest of Mr. Thuc was on the 5th of October at his residence, shortly after he wrote an internet article about how the Government handled the South China Sea territorial conflict. He was charged under article 79 of the 1999 Penal Code with “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”
Mr. Thuc was held in pretrial detention for 11 months at the Cham Mat detention centre in Hoa Binh Province. During his detention, he was limited with food supply, and his family was not permitted to send him money for food at the detention’s canteen. He was also mentally and physically tortured and hospitalized. Moreover, he received limited access to his legal counsel.
First instance trial and appeal
Mr. Thuc’s pretrial detention lasted for 11 months with two extensionsAfter the first instance trial hearing that lasted for only 5 hours, he was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and a further 5 years of house arrest, under article 79 of the 1999 Penal Code with “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”. [2] During the trial, none of the 15 defense witnesses was permitted to testify. There was a heavy presence of police officers and military surrounding the trial area to prevent public attendance and protests of local activists.
Although Mr. Thuc’s conviction was upheld at the appellate court, his imprisonment sentence was reduced for 1 year due to his good character and service as a primary school teacher for over 30 years. Before the court, he was limited with access to his legal counsel. He was detained at detention camp No. 6, in Nghe An Province.
Death of Mr. Thuc
Mr. Thuc went on a hunger strike for 5 months over his poor conditions of detention at camp no.6. His health deteriorated quickly, and he was beaten and tortured by the police.On the 4th of December, 2019, his family was informed that he was hospitalized and when they arrived, he was in a coma. They were granted very limited visitation during this time. On the 10th of December, 2019, they were notified that he had passed away, and the body had been transferred to the mortuary.His body remained on the prison grounds. His family was not permitted to receive the body or to temporarily take him home for a private funeral. They couldn’t visit the grave in the detention place either.
Response from the Government
After receiving the communication including the above allegations from the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), United Nations(UN), the Government submitted its response on the 13th of May 2020, 12 days after the deadlineIn its late response, the Government confirmed that he was convicted under article 79, Penal Code 1999.The allegations that said Mr. Thuc’s family was not allowed to visit him at the detention centre and was limited visitation rights while he was hospitalized, as long as he had limited access to his legal counsel, were denied by the Government.However, it presented no further information as it is the Government’s burden of proof since it wishes to refute the allegations. [3] It claimed that Mr. Thuc’s activities on social networks constituted a criminal crime, but it provided no details on those alleged activities.
Opinion adopted by the WAD, UN
On the 18th of September, 2020,WAD adopted opinion no.36/2020, with a length of over10,500 words, concerning Dao Quang Thuc (Viet Nam). [4] The WGAD concluded that the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Thuc, being in contravention of articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19 and 21 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2 (1), 2 (3), 9, 14, 16, 19, 25 (a) and 26 of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, was arbitrary and fell within categories I, II, III and V. 5] [6]The WGAD requested the Government to immediately returnMr. Thuc’s remains to his family members and to accord his family an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations. The WGAD also requested the Government to conduct an investigation into the violation of Mr. Thuc’s rights and his death in custody.
As in many previous adopted opinions that article 79 is vague and broadly worded, the WGAD requested the Government to bring article 79 of the Penal Code (now article 117 of the Penal Code 2015) into conformity with the recommendations made in the present opinion and with the commitments made by Viet Nam under international human rights law.
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References:
[1] https://the88project.org/profile/7/dao-quang-thuc/. [2] Article 79 of the Penal Code 1999 is now article 117 of the Penal Code 2015. [3] See report of the WGAD undocs.org/A/HRC/19/57. [4] http://www.undocs.org/A/HRC/WGAD/2020/36. [5] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights. [6] https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx.
