Trương Văn Dũng

Trương Văn Dũng (born 1954) is a Vietnamese human rights activist. After first gaining recognition in the 2000s as a land rights activist after his home was confiscated by the Vietnamese government, he went on to become known as an advocate for freedom of expression, association, and assembly, as well as for his vocal support of prisoners of conscience. In 2023, Dũng was sentenced to six years in prison for "conducting propaganda against the state" on charges that were criticised by Human Rights Watch.

Personal life Dũng worked as a motorcycle driver and lived in the Đống Đa district of Hanoi with his wife Nghiêm Thị Hợp, a hairdresser.

Activism Dũng first gained public recognition during the 2000s as a land rights activist, after he led a campaign against the forced confiscation of his home by local authorities. By the 2010s, he had become a vocal advocate for the freedom of expression, association, and assembly in Vietnam. Dũng also took part in multiple public protests in Hanoi, including those against China's occupation of the Paracel Islands, and the pollution of parts of the Vietnamese coast by the Taiwanese company Formosa in 2018. In 2018, he took part in protests against the proposed government cybersecurity law, and boycotted subsequent elections.

Dũng was a public supporter of a number of jailed human rights activists, including Phạm Đoan Trang, Cấn Thị Thêu, Lê Đình Lượng and Phạm Chí Dũng.

Arrests, trial and imprisonment Dũng was attacked on several occasions by government authorities. In October 2013, after visiting a police station to request that possessions taken from land appropriation victims be returned to them, he was physically assaulted, leading to him having three broken ribs. In March 2014, Dũng was attacked and injured by men in civilian clothing.

On 27 October 2019, Dũng was among a group of human rights activists featured on a series of defamatory programmes on An ninh TV, a state-owned television channel.

In May 2022, Dũng was arrested in Hanoi on charges of "conducting propaganda against the state" while exercising in public. Prior to his trial, Human Rights Watch called on the Vietnamese government to drop all charges against Dũng, describing him as "the latest in a long line of human rights defenders silenced by the Vietnamese government for protesting against human rights violations". He is being held in Gia Trung prison in Gia Lai province. She also reported he had been kept in solitary confinement for a month between January and February 2024 after arguing with prison officers.