"This verdict is a self-inflicted wound on Vietnam's ability to tackle one of the most seismic issues of our time."
"The Vietnamese authorities are using the vaguely worded tax code as a weapon to punish environmental leaders whom the ruling Communist Party deems a threat to their power," Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy Asia director Phil Robertson
asserted earlier this week. "The government should stop punishing activists for peacefully advocating action on climate change and for green policies, and drop the case against Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng."
After the 51-year-old was sentenced on Thursday and fined $4,100, 350.org executive director May Boeve said in a statement that "we are deeply dismayed by Hồng's wrongful imprisonment, and in light of her formal sentencing today we reiterate our call for her prompt release and that of fellow climate advocates throughout Vietnam."
350.org Asia regional director Norly Mercado declared that "Hồng is a dedicated and fearless climate defender, and as a treasured colleague, we will continue to offer her our utmost support. Her contributions to climate justice globally, and in her home country of Vietnam, are vital."
Hoàng was accused of dodging $274,488 in tax payments during the 2012-22 period,
Reutersreported, citing a local newspaper's review of the indictment. Her attorney, Nguyen Van Tu, explained that "Hồng pleaded guilty, and therefore the trial ended quickly," and now she has 15 days to decide whether to appeal.
"This conviction is a total fraud, nobody should be fooled by it," said Ben Swanton, co-director of the Vietnam-based 88 Project. "This is yet another example of the law being weaponized to persecute climate activists who are fighting to save the planet."
As HRW detailed Wednesday:
Police arrested the prominent environmental campaigners Dang Dinh Bach, Mai Phan Loi, and Bach Hung Duong in 2021, and
Nguy Thi Khanh and Hoang Ngoc Giao in 2022, all on tax evasion charges under article 200 of the criminal code.
International pressure purportedly pushed the Vietnamese authorities to release Mai Phan Loi and Nguy Thi Khanh a few months before the end of their prison sentences. Bach Hung Duong, who was sentenced to 27 months in prison, should have completed his prison sentence as of September 25.
Dang Dinh Bach, who remains behind bars, was reportedly assaulted in prison for demanding that the prison guards respect his basic rights.
"Vietnamese authorities must end their crackdown on environmental campaigners now," Amnesty International deputy regional director for campaigns Ming Yu Hah
argued Thursday. "This verdict is a self-inflicted wound on Vietnam's ability to tackle one of the most seismic issues of our time."
"The international community must condemn this verdict and urge Vietnam to drop all criminal charges against environmental activists," the campaigner continued. "Authorities in Vietnam must also wake up to the fact that they can only fulfill their climate goals and responsibilities by working with, rather than against, those most dedicated to this cause in their own country."
Hoàng's sentencing comes as Vietnam—which is incredibly
vulnerable to the climate emergency—is working to implement the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a $15.5 billion initiative to cut planet-heating emissions whose funders include Canada, Japan, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"Having imprisoned the country's human rights defenders and democracy activists, the Vietnamese government is now targeting those working for a cleaner, more sustainable environment," said Robertson. "International donors need to be clear with Vietnam's leaders that the Just Energy Transition Partnership cannot move forward so long as environmental activists are under attack."
Mercado also noted the initiative, saying that "Vietnam's ambitious climate goals—made more potent by the country's position on the frontlines of climate impacts—have been achieved in no small part through the dedicated efforts of climate champions like Hồng. The unjust imprisonment of fearless changemakers like Hồng not only imperils initiatives within Vietnam such as its JETP deal, but also undermines the country's vital role in shaping a fair and equitable response to the urgent climate crisis."
U.S. President Joe Biden visited Vietnam earlier this month to elevate relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership." In a joint statement, he and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong "affirmed the importance of promoting and protecting human rights in accordance with each country's constitution and international obligations," and said that "the United States committed to assisting Vietnam with both finance and advanced climate technology to fulfill its international climate commitments."
HRW highlighted that "just four days after Biden departed Hanoi, Vietnam arrested another prominent environmental researcher, Ngo Thi To Nhien, the executive director of the Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition," which "works alongside the United Nations and donors to help provide research and planning advice for the JETP."
Biden served as vice president under former U.S. President Barack Obama. In 2018, the Obama Foundation recognized Hoàng's two decades of "tackling Vietnam's most urgent issues, including climate change, pollution, and illegal wildlife trade," with a grant to join its one-year scholars program at Columbia University in New York City.
On social media this week, Robertson urged the Obama Foundation and the former U.S. president "to demand that Vietnam immediately and unconditionally release" Hoàng, stressing that "this is when international solidarity is really needed!"
