Vietnamese activist released 3 months early

Huynh Thuc Vy was serving 33 months for insulting the national flag.

Jun 5, 2024 - 08:00
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Vietnamese activist released 3 months early

Vietnamese human rights activist Huynh Thuc Vy has been released from prison three months before the end of her 33-month sentence for "insulting the national flag."

The 39-year-old is one of the founders of Vietnam Women for Human Rights.

In 2018, the People's Court of Buon Ho town in Dak Lak province sentenced her to two years and nine months in prison for spraying paint on a Vietnamese flag and posting the picture on Facebook. Her sentence was postponed because she was pregnant and raising a child under the age of three.

However, on Nov. 30, 2021, she was sent to Gia Trung Prison in Gia Lai province, about 200 km (124 miles) from home, even though her younger child wasn’t yet three years old.

Vy told Radio Free Asia this week that she decided to plead guilty in order to secure early release because she had been suffering from depression for the past 10 years and had young children.

“In my life there is nothing more joyful than the moment I met my child again after two and a half years in prison,” she said. “Since leaving prison, I want to spend all my time with my children without having to give any information to the authorities or answer their questions.” 

Vy confirmed reports that she had been beaten and choked by guards in Gia Trung prison in October 2022.

She told RFA Vietnamese her immediate plan is to rest and plan for the future.

Vy is the oldest child of former political prisoner Huynh Ngoc Tuan, who spent 10 years in prison from 1992 for sending a political book he had written out of the country.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.