Le Dinh Luong

Current Status: Pre-trial detention

Photo of Le Dinh Luong

Other Names: Lê Đình Lượng

Date of Birth: December 10, 1965

Gender: M

Religion: Christian (Catholic)

Ethnicity: Kinh

Occupation: Veteran

Latest Prison: Nghe An province police detention center, Nghe An province

Areas of Activism:

  • Environment
  • Maritime sovereignty

Known Affiliations:

Arrest History

July 24, 2017
Unknown
  • Art. 117 (new)
  • Art. 79
Defense Counsels: Ha Huy Son; Dang Dinh Manh

Details

August 2018:

After his July 30 trial was postponed, political activist Le Dinh Luong will now face trial on August 16 in Nghe An province. He was finally allowed to meet with his lawyers in late July, after a year of incommunicado detention.

Veteran Le Dinh Luong was taken into custody by plainclothes police on July 24, 2017, in Nghe An province, for alleged subversion under Article 79 of the 1999 Criminal Code. He has written on the Formosa environmental disaster and has been targeted by authorities for calling for an election boycott and for connections to Viet Tan, an overseas pro-democracy group. 

July 2018:

Activist and veteran Le Dinh Luong was originally scheduled to be tried on July 30. However, his lawyer Ha Huy Son announced on July 27 that the trial has been postponed; reasons were unclear, however Luong's other lawyer, Dang Dinh Manh, was travelling outside of Vietnam. 

Le Dinh Luong was one of several activists attacked by plainclothes police and unidentified persons in August 2015 after attending the celebration of recently-released political prisoner Tran Minh Nhat. 

Le Dinh Luong's son, Le Dinh Hieu, was attacked by police, and his daughter-in-law, Nguyen Thi Xoan, taken into custody for hours, just days after Mr. Luong’s arrest. 
 
In August 2017, police attacked fifteen relatives of Le Dinh Luong when they came to try to meet with Luong and to learn more about his current situation. Police initially took the family members, including pregnant women and elderly family members, in to the station and then beat them and detained part of the group.

September 2017:

Several UN Rapporteurs released a letter expressing concern about the arrests and detentions of Nguyen Bac Truyen, Truong Minh Duc, Nguyen Trung Ton, Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Van Tuc, and Le Dinh Luong. They highlighted the issue that these arrests took place during a concerted crackdown on human rights activists and point out that Vietnam has international obligations to protect universal freedoms, such as the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. 

July 2018:

Human Rights Watch called for his release ahead of the previously-scheduled trial, noting that Luong has been denied due process, lacking a lawyer for almost the entire first year of his detention. 

Vietnamese Activist Held in Nghe An on Suspicion of Subversion, Radio Free Asia, July 27, 2017

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Profile last updated: 2018-08-12 23:48:21