Profile: Huynh Anh Khoa – The 88 Project

Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested Huynh Anh Khoa and Nguyen Dang Thuong on June 13, 2020, for their activities in an online discussion group. They have been charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the 2015 Criminal Code. Public security officers from the District 8 police department searched Khoa’s home and forced him and his wife to sign three unspecified documents; he and Thuong are both reportedly now held at the detention center in District 8 in Ho Chi Minh City. Defend the Defenders reported that Khoa led a Facebook group with almost 50,000 users called Economic-Political Discussion. The group was closed down after the arrests.

On June 22, 2020, attorney Nguyen Van Mieng went to the District 8 Detention Center to meet with Huynh Anh Khoa to discuss his case. The police told Mieng that Khoa had waived his right to an attorney. The police asked Mieng and Khoa to sign a refusal letter to hire an attorney. Khoa’s wife was confused because right after Khoa got arrested, he sent a message to her asking her to hire Nguyen Van Mieng as his attorney. Mieng told Khoa’s wife that Khoa didn’t say anything during the meeting; he only spoke a little about his current health condition. Khoa’s wife believes that something might have happened to Khoa in detention, and that he may have been threatened by the police to not hire a lawyer. 

December 2020:

The trial for Facebookers Huynh Anh Khoa and Nguyen Dang Thuong, scheduled for December 7, was moved to December 21 after Thuong requested a delay due to poor health. Their families were not notified of the trial date until the morning of the trial, and then they were called and told it’d been postponed.

On December 21, social media activists Huynh Anh Khoa, Nguyen Dang Thuong, and Tran Trong Khai were sentenced to 15 months, 18 months, and 12 months in prison, respectively. They were accused of “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the 2015 Criminal Code for administering a Facebook page that discusses economics and politics. The defendants were tried without counsel, and their families were not allowed into the courtroom.