Notable events:

• Three Social Media Users Arrested for ‘Abusing Democratic Freedoms’
• National Assembly to Convene an Extraordinary Session to Discuss Personnel Issues
• Phan Tat Thanh, Administrator of a Dissident Fan Page, Will be Tried this May
• Tran Mai Son, a VinFast Critic, Seeks Political Asylum Amid Detention Threat

Three Social Media Users Arrested for ‘Abusing Democratic Freedoms’

The Vietnamese authorities have arrested three social media users living in different provinces and charged them with violating Article 331, which criminalizes the act of “abusing democratic freedoms.” Article 331 is a provision in the Penal Code that many human rights groups deem vague and politically motivated.

On April 26, the Kien Giang Provincial Police Department detained Duong Hong Hieu, 46, under Clause 2, Article 331 of the Penal Code, for criticizing a monk in the state-controlled Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. The police department said that from 2020 until his arrest, Hieu had used different social media accounts, “Duong Hong Hieu,” “Duong Hieu,” and “Phu Dung,” to publish fabricated, slanderous, distorted content that offends the honor and dignity of the Kien Giang Provincial Buddhist Church and its members.