On April 5, 2018, Nguyen Van Dai, was sentenced at a court in Hanoi, Vietnam, to 15 years imprisonment and 5 years probation under house arrest, on charges of “attempting to overthrow the government”, under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. Five of Dai’s colleagues tried and convicted in the same case, also received equally harsh sentences.
Since his arrest, Dai has been held in incommunicado. Authorities refused to give permission for his wife to visit him. In December an attorney submitted the paperwork to be Dai’s defence lawyer, but the Ministry of Public Security declined the request.
Learn more about Nguyen, and see how you can write to the Vietnamese government on his behalf here