August 3, 2025
In early June 2025, Le Dinh Luong’s wife and two grandchildren witnessed the forceful removal of Le Dinh Luong during the allotted monthly family visit to Nam Ha prison. The authorities abruptly ended the visit, and dragged Le Dinh Luong out of the visiting room in front of his shocked grandchildren, leaving them visibly traumatized.
Since that incident, the family has had no further contact: no phone calls, no visits allowed, no permission to send packages. Authorities claim he was placed in solitary confinement for “violating prison regulations.”
In May 2025, Le Dinh Luong made a brief phone call to family. Speaking in a weak voice, he stated he was on a hunger strike since May 10 to protest the prison’s denial of medical treatment for severe migraines and dental pain. In June, he was allowed to see a dentist who focused on prescribing medication without proper dental care.
Le Dinh Luong’s current isolation in the midst of his ailing health leads to further concerns about his well being since no fellow inmates can be a witness to or report on his status.
Prolonged solitary confinement is considered a violation of the Convention Against Torture, which Vietnam must adhere to as a state party.
The inhumane treatment treatment of Le Dinh Luong contradict official statements made by Ms. Le Thi Thu Ha, representative of the Ministry of Public Security, during the CCPR review of Vietnam in Geneva on July 7, 2025. She declared that all prisoners receive appropriate medical care and may be transferred to hospitals if needed.
We demand that Hanoi to immediately end Le Dinh Luong’s solitary confinement, to resume family visits and phone calls, and to allow him extensive medical consultations.
We urge diplomatic missions in Hanoi to request immediate access to Nam Ha prison, located 50 km south of the capital, to verify the condition of Le Dinh Luong.
Sentenced in August 2018 to 20 years in prison for “activities aimed at overthrowing the state,” Le Dinh Luong received the harshest sentence ever imposed on a human rights defender in Vietnam. He is well known for documenting the Formosa environmental disaster of 2016 and its devastating impact on coastal communities.
In 2019, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) issued Opinion No. 45/2019, declaring his detention arbitrary and calling for his immediate release
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