Repression in Vietnam and abroad under General To Lam’s police state

May 26, 2026

Over the past two years, the level of repression under Communist Party Chief To Lam, who holds the rank of Police General, has increased in severity against both citizens within the country and individuals in the Vietnamese diaspora. Hanoi’s systematic repression at home and abroad violates international norms, erodes its credibility in the global community, and threatens the sovereignty of partner nations.

1- STATE REPRESSION IN VIETNAM

To Lam employs a restrictive public security apparatus to stifle dissenting voices.

Citizens are detained simply for clicking “like” or posting comments on social media. Since 2018, at least 128 individuals were convicted under Article 331 “abusing democratic freedoms” of the Penal Code, including lawyer Tran Dinh Trien, blogger Truong Huy San, and YouTuber Nguyen Thai Hung.

This police state fabricates links between activists and certain organizations, including those advocating for nonviolent resistance, in order to create pretext to detain individuals.

Furthermore, the regime organizes numerous “mobile trials” held in public venues such as stadiums and schools, serving as a means of social pressure. In 2024, Son La province hosted 71 such trials, Hung Yen province hosted 52, and Nam Dinh province hosted 28.

Even more brazen is the recent policy that allows the chairperson of the local People’s Committee to revoke a lawyer’s license and then put in place a “public lawyer.” This policy change effectively abolishes a citizen’s right to an independent legal defense.

2-TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION

Over the past decade, To Lam oversaw or authorized several forms of transnational repression, including:

Kidnapping and forced repatriation, during To Lam’s tenure as Minister of Public Security, which includes these cases:

• Trinh Xuan Thanh (Berlin, July 2017)
• Truong Duy Nhat (Bangkok, January 2019)
• Duong Van Thai (Bangkok, April 2023)

Trials in absentia, targeting Vietnamese people living abroad, such as:

• Lawyer Nguyen Van Dai (Germany): sentenced to 17 years in prison in absentia (December 2025)
• Journalist Le Trung Khoa (Germany): sentenced to 17 years in prison in absentia (December 2025)
• Human rights defender Y Quynh Bdap (Thailand): sentenced to 10 years in prison in absentia (January 2024); and forcibly extradited to Vietnam (November 2025).
• Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang (United States): sentenced to 11 years in prison in absentia (April 2026)

Groundless labeling of organizations and associations as “terrorist,” including:

• Viet Tan (2016)
• Provisional National Government of Vietnam (2018)
• Trieu Dai Viet (2021)
• Montagnard Assistance Group and Montagnards Stand for Justice (2024)
• Boat People SOS (2025)

3-VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

This state repression infringes on Vietnam’s international commitments, disregards the sovereignty of other nations, and contradicts Vietnam’s own laws. These violations include:

International Law:

• The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Vietnam ratified in 1982. The following articles are consistently violated: Article 9 (no arbitrary detention), Article 14 (due process), Article 19 (freedom of expression), and Article 22 (freedom of association). Hanoi’s recent increase in state repression led the UN Human Rights Committee to officially condemn such actions in July 2025.
• 1951 Refugee Convention, particularly the principle of “non-refoulement” that was violated with the forceful repatriation of activists Duong Van Thai and Y Quynh Bdap who had been in Thailand as UN-recognized refugees.
• Convention against Torture (CAT) and infringing on the territorial sovereignty of Germany and Thailand when individuals were forcefully returned to Vietnam.

Laws from Host Countries:

• In Germany, Vietnamese agents were found guilty of espionage and assisting in the kidnapping of Vietnamese businessmen Trinh Xuan Thanh.
• In the United States, Hanoi’s conviction of U.S. citizens and designation of certain U.S.-based organization as a “terrorist entity,” violates U.S. law that protects due process and freedom of association.
• In Thailand, the abduction and interrogation of refugees violate Thailand’s Anti-Torture Act and bilateral extradition treaties.

Vietnamese Laws:

• The 2013 Constitution, particularly Article 20 (inviolability of the body), Article 25 (freedom of speech), Article 31 (right to legal counsel).
• The 2015 Code of Criminal Procedure, specifically Articles 72 to 79 (right to legal counsel).
• Law on Entry and Exit (revocation of passports without due legal process).

Viet Tan asserts that these actions constitute a calculated policy of repression. Hanoi’s resort to arbitrary detention, forced abduction, and fabricated criminal charges, even against individuals living abroad, reveal a government uneasy about its legitimacy.

Viet Tan seeks to coordinate with Vietnamese communities around the world to:

1. Urge democratic governments to sanction Vietnamese communist officials and their families responsible for such repression
2. Prevent the Vietnamese government from abusing Interpol and call on Interpol to review Red Notice requests made by To Lam’s regime
3. Protect the Vietnamese diaspora against schemes by the Vietnamese authorities to coerce them into collaborating with Vietnamese intelligence services
4. Support activists and their families to get legal assistance
5. Bring these issues before the United Nations, the European Union, and the U.S. Congress
6. Encourage democratic nations to reject politically motivated extradition requests.

We call upon all Vietnamese people, both at home and abroad, to unite, to refuse intimidation, and to stand firm together for a free and democratic Vietnam where human rights are respected.