Huỳnh Trương Ca

Huỳnh Trương Ca (born 1971) is a Vietnamese human rights activist. The founder of the pro-democracy group Hiến Pháp, he played an organising role in the 2018 Vietnam protests; he was arrested shortly afterwards on charges of posting anti-government material on social media, and served a five year custodial prison sentence before being released in 2024.

Personal life Ca lives in Hồng Ngự district, Đồng Tháp province, with his wife, Phạm Thanh Tâm, with whom he has at least three children.

Activism On June 16, 2017, Ca founded Hiến Pháp , an independent organisation that sought to promote Vietnamese people's understanding of their human rights as enshrined in the 2013 constitution. Ca stated publicly that it was not an opposition group, commenting that the Communist Party of Vietnam's official policy was to "live and work according to the constitution and the law", a policy that Hiến Pháp endorsed. Hiến Pháp remains officially unregistered in Vietnam.

Ca and Hiến Pháp rose to greater prominence through the use of social media. Ca frequently livestreamed on Facebook, where he shared his political views, and played an active role in online pro-democracy forums. Ca criticised the Vietnamese government and accused it of committing human rights violations, primarily the rights to freedom of speech and expression.

Arrest and imprisonment In August 2018, local police in Hồng Ngự staged a conference in which they publicly criticised Ca. Ca was not at home at the time. The Investigation Agency of Đồng Tháp Province subsequently charged Ca with "making, storing, disseminating or propagandising information, materials and products that aim to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" under article 117 of Vietnam's penal code. He reported being visited by police officers who tried to get him to identify people who had taken part in the 2018 protests.

Ca's family raised concerns around his health needs being neglected, stating that he had diagnoses of lung disease and diabetes, as well as stomach problems; they also shared he had been placed into cells with inmates who had physically assaulted him.

Release Ca was released from prison on 4 March 2024. Shortly afterwards, he gave an interview to Radio Free Asia in which he vowed to continue fighting for democracy in Vietnam.