Friends Of Viet Tan

30/07/2025

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FRIENDS OF CHAU VAN KHAM PAGE RENAMED TO FRIENDS OF VIET TAN

First of all, we would like to thank all our readers and friends near and far who have supported Mr. Chau Van Kham over the years. Your support has resulted in Mr. Chau Van Kham being released and returning to Australia to reunite with his family.

Though there are still many other Prisoners of Conscience being imprisoned in Vietnam, this page will continue to operate under the name “Friends Of Viet Tan” to speak up for them. We hope you will continue to support and accompany Friend Of Viet Tan as we speak up together for their freedom and demand that human rights issues in Vietnam must be respected.
Friends Of Viet Tan are a group of people who love freedom and democracy around the world. For over 40 years, Viet Tan has made continuous efforts to promote Vietnam's change towards open politics, multi-party pluralism and rule of law democracy.

We hope you will continue to help and support our cause.

Friends Of Viet Tan

30/07/2025

S.O.S PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE LE DINH LUONG CONTINUES TO BE PERSECUTED BY NAM HA PRISON CAMP, NOT ALLOWING HIS FAMILY VISITS OR RECEIVING ESSENTIALS

URGENT
My father, Mr. LE DINH LUONG, is currently in SOLITUDE at Nam Ha Prison in extremely CRITICAL health condition.
Since the beginning of June 2025, my family has been completely cut off from contact with him. No meetings, no supplies, not a single message from the prison. We only learned this bad news when my mother and some relatives went to Nam Ha Prison, and were informed that:
My father is being held in solitary confinement for opposing the prison.
BUT WE WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW:
The so-called “resistance” was not a dangerous or riotous act. It was just an outburst of extreme frustration, when he had repeatedly requested medical treatment and to resolve pressing issues in the camp, but all his calls for help fell on deaf ears. Before being placed in solitary confinement, my father had gone on a hunger strike to protest the prison’s refusal to allow him medical treatment. He had repeatedly reported his poor health, his debility, and his need for urgent medical treatment, but the Nam Ha prison completely ignored him.
Despite his age, illness, and deteriorating health, my father was forced to resort to the last resort of hunger strike, as a desperate cry for help, but the response was still repression and punishment.
Instead of being sent for treatment, he was thrown into solitary confinement, held alone, without light, without medicine.
He was buried alive within four walls, my family lived in fear every day, not knowing if he was alive or dead.
An old man, with many illnesses, who had gone on hunger strike because he was denied the right to medical treatment, was now being held in solitary confinement indefinitely.
My father is old. His health was already very poor after many years of imprisonment and harsh treatment. We feared that with prolonged solitary confinement, lack of medical care, and lack of nutrition, he could collapse at any moment in silence and darkness.

THIS IS NOT JUST CRUELTY, BUT
A FORM OF SLOW KILLING.

Nam Ha Prison is using solitary confinement as a tool of political revenge.
They have systematically and intentionally deprived my father of his right to life, medical treatment, and humane treatment.
Abandoning a hunger strike prisoner and then putting him in solitary confinement is an extremely cruel act.
They deliberately framed my father as “opposition” to legitimize the suppression and silencing of those who dare to speak the truth.
WE URGENTLY CALL ON THE
Online community, Vietnamese people at home and abroad

Human rights organizations

International media and global press

Please speak up and intervene urgently for my father’s life.

Please demand that Nam Ha Prison stop its inhumane solitary confinement.

Request that the Communist Party of Vietnam release my father, Mr. LE DINH LUONG, immediately and unconditionally. Because my father is innocent.
Sincerely.
Le Dinh Hieu

Lê Đình Lượng is a Vietnamese blogger, activist and prominent member of the Catholic Church. A veteran of the 1983 during Sino-Vietnamese conflicts, 1979–1991, he was arrested in Vietnam on 24 July 2017 and charged for "activities attempting to overthrow the state" under Article 79 of 1999 Penal Code.[1] Lượng was subsequently sentenced to 20 years prison and 5 years house arrest in a one-day trial in August 2018.[2]
Activism
Lượng is a citizen journalist for Good News for the Poor and Catholic Youth, reporting on the movement for environmental justice following the 2016 Vietnam marine life disaster. He campaigned for the rights of farmers to refuse to pay excessive educational and agricultural output fees imposed by local authorities. Lượng also worked on supporting detained human rights defenders and their families, advocating for the release of political prisoners and the end to intimidation and harassment of activists and their families.[3] He was physically attacked by policemen in Lâm Đồng Province following a celebration to mark the release of human rights activist and journalist Tran Minh Nhat.[4]
Lượng was arrested while on his way home after visiting the wife of Nguyễn Văn Oai, a human rights defender who has been imprisoned since January 2017.[5] According to his wife, he has not been permitted family visitations despite multiple requests.[6]
2018 Conviction
Le Dinh Lượng was sentenced to 20 years prison and 5 years house arrest on 16 August 2018 in a trial which lasted five hours.[7] He was only able to meet with his lawyer in late July 2018, after being held incommunicado for a year.[8]
The international community was quick to react following the verdict. Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch said it was "absolutely outrageous" and that "speaking out and peacefully demonstrating should not be a crime".[9] The United States Department of State expressed their concerns calling the charges "vague" and that the trend of lengthy prison sentences handed down on peaceful activists was "troubling".[10] The European Union Delegation said Lượng's conviction was in "direct breach of (the Vietnamese government's) international obligations" and conventions including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[11]

24/07/2025

Mr Tri Vo -Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Cabramatta has attended and he had a speech at the memorial event of Viet Tan in Sydney.

14/07/2025

Viet Tan Australia Representatives Attend Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue Consultation

On Monday, 14 July 2025, Viet Tan Australia representatives attended the 20th Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue Consultation scheduled to take place in August 2025. The consultation aims to listen to and collect data, concerns, improvements, challenges and recommendations from government agencies, non-governmental organisations and Vietnamese Australian organisations that have direct links or interests in Vietnam on human rights.

The program is implemented by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). This is a program that the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC-DFAT) organizes annually before they have an official dialogue with their counterpart at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. James O‘Brien, Assistant Secretary for Human Rights, with the participation of Ms. Caroline Linke, Assistant Secretary for Mekong Strategy, and Ms. Leane Smith from AHRC. Also present were a number of staff responsible for cooperation programs between the Australian and Vietnamese governments. They reported on the progress of the programs, such as achievements, difficulties, and barriers directly related to the field of human rights in Vietnam. Other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also presented the achievements and challenges they encountered when implementing projects or programs related to Vietnam and recommendations to improve human rights aspects to the DFAT.

The projects included education, vocational training, protection of people with disabilities, protection of children, gender equality, technology, law, and freedom of religion related to human rights in Vietnam. Viet Tan Australia representative presented 5 events in the past year that directly affected the human rights situation in Vietnam and made a number of recommendations to DFAT focusing on 3 areas. The five events include: 1) The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Vietnam, which took place in May 2024. 2) Tightening digital control through Decree 147/2024/ND-CP issued in late 2024 to identify and control social media users. 3) The election of To Lam to the role of party and state leader. 4) Continued repression of prisoners of conscience and 5) Cross-border arrests. All show that Vietnam has made small superficial reforms but has not made significant changes to improve serious human rights violations that have lasted for many years. Viet Tan's proposals focus on three main areas: (a) Support and protect democracy activists and prisoners of conscience in Vietnam. (b) Reform the legal system to protect basic human rights that the Vietnamese government is applying, such as Article 109 (activities aimed at overthrowing the government), Article 117 (propaganda against the state), Article 118 (disturbing public order), and Article 331 (abusing democratic freedoms) to arbitrarily arrest and prosecute dissidents or democracy activists. (c) Set conditions for improving human rights in the Australia-Vietnam bilateral relationship.

The consultation on the 20th Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue was conducted online and it is hoped that the Human Rights Commission of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs will raise issues of human rights violations and recommendations for improvement with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the two sides meet at the Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue this August. The Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue is necessary and the participation and voice of many organizations and associations in the Vietnamese community in Australia will create more weight for the DFAT to listen, care and include in the Human Rights Dialogue between Australia and Vietnam.

Viet Tan Australia

Đại diện đảng Việt Tân Úc Châu tham dự buổi tham vấn Đối Thoại Nhân Quyền Úc-Việt

Vào ngày thứ hai, 14 tháng 7 2025, đại diện Việt Tân Úc Châu đã tham dự buổi tham vấn Đối Thoại Nhân Quyền Úc Việt lần thứ 20 dự trù sẽ diễn ra vào tháng 8 2025. Buổi tham vấn nhằm lắng nghe và thu thập các dữ kiện, mối quan tâm, những cải tiến cũng như thử thách và các đề nghị từ các cơ quan chính phủ, các tổ chức phi chính phủ và các tổ chức hội đoàn người Úc gốc Việt có liên hệ trực tiếp hoặc quan tâm đến Việt Nam trên lãnh vực nhân quyền. Chương trình này do Ủy Ban Đặc Trách về Nhân Quyền (AHRC) của Bộ Ngoại Giao Úc (DFAT) thực hiện. Đây là chương trình mà Ủy Ban Đặc Trách Nhân Quyền của Bộ Ngoại Giao Úc (UBNQ-BNGU) tổ chức hàng năm trước khi họ có buổi đối thoại chính thức với đối tác bên Bộ Ngoại Giao của Việt Nam.

Điều hành buổi họp là ông James O‘Brien, Phụ tá Thư Ký về Nhân Quyền với sự tham dự của bà Caroline Linke, Phụ tá Thư ký đặc trách Chiến Lược Mê Kông, và bà Leane Smith thuộc AHRC. Góp mặt còn có một số nhân sự trách nhiệm các chương trình hợp tác của chính phủ Úc và Việt Nam. Họ báo cáo về tiến trình các chương trình, như thành quả, khó khăn, rào cản liên quan trực tiếp trong lãnh vực về nhân quyền tại Việt Nam. Các tổ chức phi chính phủ (NGO) khác cũng trình bày những thành quả và những thử thách mà họ gặp phải khi thực hiện các dự án hay chương trình liên quan với Việt Nam và những đề nghị cải thiện khía cạnh nhân quyền với BNG - Úc. Các dự án bao gồm giáo dục, huấn nghệ, bảo vệ người tàn tật, bảo vệ trẻ em, quyền đối xử bình đẳng giới tính, kỹ thuật, luật pháp, quyền tự do tôn giáo có liên quan đến nhân quyền tại Việt Nam.

Đại diện Việt Tân Úc Châu trình bày 5 sự kiện trong năm qua có ảnh hưởng trực tiếp đến tình hình nhân quyền tại Việt Nam và đưa ra một số đề nghị với DFAT tập trung vào 3 lãnh vực. Năm sự kiện bao gồm: 1) Bản báo cáo Định Kỳ Phổ Quát (Universal Periodic Review-UPR) đối với Việt Nam, diễn ra vào tháng năm 2024. 2) Xiết chặt kiểm soát kỹ thuật số qua nghị định 147/2024/ND-CP được ban hành vào cuối năm 2024 nhằm nhận diện và kiểm soát người sử dụng các phương tiện xã hội. 3) Sự đắc cử của Tô Lâm vào vai trò lãnh đạo đảng và nhà nước . 4) Tiếp tục đàn áp Tù nhân lương tâm và 5) Truy lùng bắt giữ xuyên quốc gia. Tất cả cho thấy Việt Nam có những bước cải cách nhỏ bề ngoài nhưng không có những thay đổi đáng kể để cải thiện những vi phạm nhân quyền nghiêm trọng kéo dài từ nhiều năm qua. Các đề nghị của Việt Tân tập trung vào 3 lãnh vực chính: (a) Hỗ trợ và bảo vệ các nhà đấu tranh dân chủ và các tù nhân lương tâm ở Việt Nạm. (b) Cải cách hệ thống luật pháp để bảo vệ các quyền căn bản con người mà nhà cầm quyền Việt Nam đang áp dụng như điều 109 (hoạt động nhằm lật đổ chính quyền), điều 117 ( tuyên truyền chống phá nhà nước), điều (118 (quấy rối trật tự), và 331(lợi dụng quyền tự do dân chủ) để tùy tiện bắt giữ và truy tố những người bất đồng chính kiến, hay các nhà đấu tranh dân chủ. (c) Đặt những điều kiện cải thiện nhân quyền trong quan hệ song phương Úc-Việt.

Buổi tham vấn về Đối Thoại Nhân Quyền Úc- Việt lần thứ 20 thực hiện trực tuyến, hy vọng Ủy Ban Nhân Quyền của Bộ Ngoại Giao Úc sẽ đưa những vấn đề vi phạm nhân quyền và những đề nghị cải thiện với Bộ Ngoại Giao Việt Nam khi hai bên gặp nhau trong buổi Đối Thoại Nhân Quyền Úc-Việt vào tháng tám này. Đối thoại Nhân Quyền Úc-Việt là điều cần thiết và có nhiều tổ chức, hội đoàn trong cộng đồng người Việt tại Úc tham gia và có tiếng nói sẽ tạo thêm trọng lượng cho UBNH-BNG Úc lắng nghe, quan tâm và đưa vào cuộc Đối Thoại Nhân Quyền giữa Úc và Việt Nam.

Việt Tân Úc Châu

27/06/2025

Australian Foreign Affairs Responds to Advocacy for Prisoners of Conscience Trịnh Bá Phương and Lê Đình Lượng

Recently, Việt Tân members and friends in Australia met with several MPs to advocate for Vietnamese prisoners of conscience Trịnh Bá Phương and Lê Đình Lượng. These MPs expressed strong concern and raised the matter with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

In official replies, the Department confirmed it had previously raised both cases with the Vietnamese government and would continue monitoring them through the Australian Embassy in Hanoi.

In today’s context, international pressure is vital to support those unjustly imprisoned in Vietnam. Advocacy efforts not only offer hope and protection to prisoners but also help expose human rights abuses. Việt Tân remains committed to speaking up for victims of injustice and for all who seek freedom and democracy.

26/06/2025

Thanks, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs responsed regarding the case of Mr Trinh Ba Phuong in Vietnam

The Australian Government is committed to protecting and promoting universal human rights, including by engaging with civil society and the Government of Vietnam and supporting human rights in Vietnam through our bilateral development program.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of the case of Mr Trinh Ba Phuong. The Australian Embassy in Hanoi is actively monitoring this case.

We believe all countries must adhere to their international obligations, noting Vietnam is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

We will continue to discuss human rights matters and the importance of upholding rights to freedom of expression and association with the Government of Vietnam, including at the annual Australia-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue.

‐------‐---------------

Mr. Trinh Ba Phuong is a human rights defender and blogger who defends his community’s right to housing and land. He extensively documents alleged human rights violations in D**g Tam and has been significantly active since the January raids of the village. He is vocal on Facebook, sharing information and raising awareness on the issue nationally with his 50,000 followers. He was arrested on June 24, 2020 with his brother, Trinh Ba Tu, and their mother, Can Thi Thieu, on charges of “creating, storing, and disseminating information, documents, items and publications opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” The three family members had been outspoken in social media postings about the Jan. 9, 2020 clash in D**g Tam commune in which 3,000 police stormed barricaded protesters’ homes at an airport construction site about 25 miles south of the capital, killing a village leader Le Dinh Kinh. Many of the 9,000 residents of D**g Tam have spent a number of years peacefully opposing the construction, fearing that there could be further displacement resulting from the 50 hectares of farming land that they have already lost. Allegedly, they were not properly consulted at any point during the planning or construction of the airport. The Hanoi Inspectorate rejected the farmer’s claims that 47 hectares (116 acres) of their farmland was seized for the military-run Viettel Group—Vietnam’s largest mobile phone operator—without adequate compensation.

21/11/2024

23/06/2024

During Refugee Week 2024, we are sharing the story of Chau Van Kham, an Australian Vietnamese political activist and dedicated member of Viet Tan. After being unjustly imprisoned in Vietnam for his activism, Kham has returned to Australia, where he continues his fight for freedom and democracy in Vietnam.

Kham's journey is a powerful testament to resilience and unwavering commitment to human rights. From fleeing Vietnam as a refugee to facing imprisonment for his beliefs, his story underscores the ongoing struggle for freedom many refugees endure.

This Refugee Week, let's stand with Chau Van Kham and amplify his voice. His dedication and courage inspire us all to continue the fight for justice and freedom.

Together, we can make a difference and stand up for freedom and human rights.



Thank you for supporting the cause and being a part of the good history!

———

Trong Tuần Lễ Tị Nạn 2024, chúng tôi chia sẻ câu chuyện của ông Châu Văn Khảm, một người tị nạn cộng sản, nhà hoạt động nhân quyền người Úc gốc Việt và thành viên của Đảng Việt Tân.
Sau khi bị giam cầm bất công ở Việt Nam vì những hoạt động của mình, ông Khảm đã trở về Úc và tiếp tục đấu tranh cho tự do và dân chủ cho Việt Nam.